topic: Climate Science

topic: Climate Science

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Vietnamese environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach released after 5 years in prison
Vietnamese environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach was released from prison on June 24 after serving a full five-year sentence for tax evasion, charges advocates say were a pretext to silence his activism against coal mining. Bach, the founder and former director of the Law and Policy of Sustainable Development Research Center, was arrested in 2021 […]
Amazon floodplains cocoa offers a climate-resilient and sustainable chocolate
- Traditional communities in Pará, Brazil’s top cocoa-producing state, are managing native species that naturally resist pests and extreme weather.
- The dense forest canopy of the floodplains provides natural irrigation and protection for cocoa trees against extreme droughts, heavy rain and pests.
- Global demand for organic and ethically sourced chocolate is expected to rise, positioning Amazonian states to fill international supply gaps, despite hurdles.
- Experts compare Pará’s emerging artisanal chocolate sector to Burgundy wine or Ethiopian coffee due to the unique “terroir” flavors of its native beans.

Trump admin persists in quixotic quest against wind power despite legal defeat
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is continuing its campaign to end wind energy development through a series of executive orders, lawsuits, and lease buybacks. This is despite a recent court defeat and its own Department of Energy estimating the country could be powered by wind alone. Trump has made no secret of his disdain for […]
Fire surge in 2025 threatened isolated peoples in Brazil
- In 2025, fires caused a significant spike in forest loss in Indigenous territories in Brazil that are home to peoples living in voluntary isolation: Alto Turiaçu, Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, and Apiaká do Pontal e Isolados.
- According to data from Global Forest Watch, fires were responsible for nearly all of the forest loss in each of the territories, destroying mostly primary forest.
- Indigenous leaders told Mongabay that fires are a threat to their way of life, including those living in voluntary isolation, negatively impacting health, vegetation, biodiversity, and food security.
- A climate expert warns the upcoming El Niño, predicted to be stronger than the 2023-2024 event, will likely lead to warmer temperatures and drier conditions across the Amazon Basin, making it more prone to fires.

Bangladesh’s lightning death toll persists as years of gov’t safeguards fail
- Lightning strikes continue to claim lives, mostly farmers’, in Bangladesh, especially across its northeastern region.
- Despite several measures by the Bangladeshi government, including palm tree plantation and installation of lightning arresters, all efforts so far have largely failed to protect lives.
- Experts suggest building public awareness about thunderstorms and thunder clouds to reduce deaths from lightning strikes.

Study offers first map of Amazon’s climate-resilient upslope corridors
- Worsening climate change creates enormous challenges for ecosystems and individual species. As the world warms, plants and animals must quickly migrate to cooler places to stay resilient and survive. But today such migrations are often blocked by deforestation, human infrastructure and lack of conserved lands.
- In the tropics, vast lowlands can require species to move large distances north or south to escape warming. The most rapid path to climate-resilience is upslope migration, with plants and animals relocating shorter distances uphill to cooler places.
- A new study has mapped major elevational gradients in the Amazon that offer the best possibility for connectivity and upslope relocation in the biome — overlaying elevational gradients, amount of forest cover, fragmentation and protected areas.
- This broad-brush research could aid policymakers in identifying the most viable upslope corridors, helping nations and NGOs target best opportunities for land protection to enhance connectivity and aid species survival.

South America’s farms depend, in part, on a healthy Amazon
- The Amazon is not only a carbon store; it is also a major source of atmospheric moisture that helps sustain rainfall across much of South America.
- A new Nature study finds that deforestation lowers the warming threshold at which large parts of the Amazon could lose stability.
- Recent droughts, El Niño conditions, and fire risk show why degraded forests are less able to withstand climate stress and recover afterward.
- Protecting intact forests, restoring degraded areas, and reducing fire are increasingly important for climate resilience, biodiversity, and South America’s food system.

Rain along the Gulf Coast could become the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season
MIAMI (AP) — A cluster of storms along the Gulf Coast could become the first named tropical storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center said. The storms threatened to bring heavy downpours that could lead to dangerous floods across southern states including Texas and Louisiana. The system was centered Tuesday afternoon about […]
Can a new methodology save the carbon market?
- A new variation of carbon credits, which puts more focus on biodiversity protection and income generation, is attempting to get the carbon market back on track.
- The methodology for the new initiative called Balance focuses on climate mitigation by making sure that the biodiversity and social aspects of carbon projects succeed first.
- The voluntary carbon market has faced widespread criticism in recent years for a lack of transparency as well as allegations of greenwashing and human rights abuses.

Himalayan rivers shifting course as climate warming thaws the ‘Water Tower of Asia’
Rivers are known to naturally meander, change courses, braid and branch. But as rising temperatures melt glaciers and thaw frozen ground, the courses of Himalayan rivers are shifting and changing shape much more rapidly than before, according to a new study published in the journal Science. The rising instability of the rivers could pose a […]
Lawmakers fight to stop the Trump administration’s dismantling of a $386M ocean observatory project
SEATTLE (AP) — Lawmakers are demanding the National Science Foundation stop dismantling the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a $386 million ocean monitoring network being wound down under President Donald Trump’s administration. House Democrats on two committees call the action illegal. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley says he’s drafting legislation to freeze the removal of instruments until a […]
El Nino is here and scientists fear it’ll be big, bad and costly with heat, floods, droughts, fires
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. meteorologists say an El Nino has formed. That’s the natural warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather around the globe. It is likely to a major factor in extreme and deadly weather across the planet for the next year or so. The one announced Thursday is expected to rival […]
The search for climate-resilient coffee: Diversifying beyond Arabica and Robusta
As rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, and increased pest pressure reduce yields and quality of Arabica and Robusta coffees, the two species that account for nearly all commercial production, researchers and growers are turning to overlooked coffee species for a more climate-resilient future, Mongabay-India contributor Meena Menon reports. Arabica (Coffea arabica) and Robusta (C. canephora) have […]
Sri Lanka’s recent drowning deaths linked to aftermath of extreme weather events
- Sri Lanka recorded more than 50 drowning deaths in the first five months this year.
- Faster currents on the outer banks of rivers can pull swimmers off balance, especially during the monsoon season when river discharge increases, researchers say.
- Experts observe multiple factors including flash rains, more silt and eroding riverbanks that impact the river flow.
- A 2020 study recorded how curvatures of critical meandering bends in Deduru Oya have increased between 1989 and 2021.

Indonesia’s grassroots farmers face increased unpredictability, experts say
The intersection of environmental breakdown, climate change and economic instability has emerged as a primary threat to the resilience of smallholder farmers in Indonesia, according to researchers and local entrepreneurs who spoke at a recent convention. During the 2026 Asia Grassroots Forum, held in Jakarta on June 3 and 4, Alex Arnall, an associate professor […]
A year on, Australia’s biggest harmful algal bloom continues to wreak havoc
- The largest and longest-lasting harmful algal bloom in Australia’s history, which started in early 2025, has potentially affected more than 20,000 square kilometers of ocean waters and about a third of the coasts in the state of South Australia.
- The algal bloom has devastated marine ecosystems and caused significant economic losses in the local fishing, aquaculture and tourism industries.
- As officials, researchers and communities grapple with its ecological, health and social impacts, the bloom has exposed a lack of preparedness at all levels of government for responding to future HABs.

‘Slumping’ afflicted soft corals around a South Korean island in 2024. Will it return this year?
- In 2024, scientists and conservationists documented a soft coral “slumping” event along the southern coast of South Korea’s Jeju Island, which led soft corals to lose their shape, droop, and even die in vast numbers.
- The event coincided with record heat and rainfall, which has led scientists to surmise, in a new paper, that the “slumping” resulted from a combination of thermal stress and changes to salinity and water quality.
- However, further research and testing is needed to determine the actual cause, researchers say.
- Scientists and conservationists say that while widespread slumping did not occur during 2025 or so far in 2026, the “Super El Niño” predicted for later this year could impact Jeju’s soft corals in a similar way.

Scientists warn of climate blind spot as U.S. dismantles ocean sensors
Over the next 15 months, major sensor arrays that have provided crucial, decade-long observations of the ocean, marine ecosystems and climate change will be dismantled. These sensors are part of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), a $386 million network of more than 900 instruments funded by the U.S. government’s National Science Foundation (NSF), which has […]
From the wreckage of Super Typhoon Sinlaku, Pacific Islanders slowly recover
- More than one month after Typhoon Sinlaku, the strongest storm on Earth so far this year, people in the Western Pacific are slowly picking up the pieces of the wreckage.
- Officials are counting the number of people displaced, families are fishing to put food on the table, some schools are out, many remain without stable housing and electricity and thousands are applying for aid as recovery remains uncertain.
- In Chuuk State, the part of the Federated States of Micronesia hardest hit by the typhoon, emergency officials estimate that the storm destroyed or severely damaged more than 7,000 homes in Chuuk and Yap and displaced more than 13,000 people. The regionwide death toll has ticked up to 17, making Sinlaku the deadliest storm in the Micronesian region of the Pacific since 2002.
- A meteorologist said Sinlaku’s sudden escalation happened over ocean waters 0.6°Celsius warmer than average — temperatures made 70-100 times more likely due to climate change.

New book offers tips to translate climate science into political gains
- The scientific evidence linking human activities to climate change is now well established.
- Even in the United States, where the Trump administration has pulled out of the Paris Agreement twice and often dismisses the science of climate change, federal scientific agencies such as NASA continue to maintain that the evidence is clear: human activities are driving climate change.
- Yet translating climate science into meaningful policy action and political gains has proven frustratingly slow for many climate advocates and campaigners. At the same time, misinformation and disinformation have further complicated public understanding of the issue.
- In his book, “Radically Reframing Climate Change: A Guide to Saving Ourselves,” Will Hackman contends that many climate communicators are approaching the issue the wrong way. Rather than speaking the language of the audiences they hope to reach, he says, they often rely on language that resonates only with those who already agree with them.

Fisheries and climate research would be hit hard in Trump’s proposed budget
- In April, the Trump administration released its proposed fiscal year 2027 budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- The proposed budget would slash around $1 billion from the agency, terminate or reduce dozens of programs, and eliminate more than 1,000 positions, with particularly deep cuts aimed at NOAA Fisheries and climate research.
- While the budget proposes many cuts to NOAA’s operations, it also recommends increased financial support for deep-sea mining development, vessel development, and the seafood industry.
- Experts say delayed release of already-approved funding is disrupting research, threatening long-term scientific data sets and hampering fisheries management, species protection and weather and climate monitoring. However, the Office of Management and Budget, which is responsible for dispersing NOAA’s funding, denies there have been delays.

Uncertainty about weakening Atlantic currents isn’t a reason to wait but to act (commentary)
- The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is the system of ocean currents that mediates weather on both sides of the Atlantic, and research suggests it’s shifting due to climate change in ways that threaten marine ecosystems, wildlife, agriculture and more.
- Though no one can yet prove how it’s changing and how soon, the latest research on the AMOC should be understood as a warning sign that the potential outcomes could be even more severe than projected, a new op-ed argues.
- “Discussions about AMOC weakening should not be confined to maps of temperature and rainfall. They should also be about biodiversity, fisheries, and the resilience of ocean ecosystems already under strain,” the author writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Intense heat during Mecca’s spring threatens millions of Hajj pilgrims
As millions of Muslims gather for the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a new scientific analysis warned the “safe window” for the event is shrinking, with increased risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke due to human-induced climate change. The report was released by the World Weather Attribution (WWA), an initiative that analyses the […]
As African cities heat up, a new book argues trees are part of the solution
- Africa’s population is now estimated at nearly 1.5 billion people; the continent is urbanizing faster than any other region in the world and projections suggest that nearly 80% of future population growth will take place in urban areas.
- As the climate continues to warm, scientific evidence shows with high confidence that hot days and nights will become more frequent, while many coastal cities are expected to face increasing flood risks related to rainfall events and sea level rise.
- Across the continent, national authorities, city councils and local governments are increasingly turning to trees and green spaces as part of the solution. But the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of many of these initiatives continue to raise questions.
- A new book documenting 34 case studies from Southern, Eastern, Western and Northern Africa places trees and urban green spaces at the center of efforts to address the continent’s intertwined climate, biodiversity and inequality challenges.

Parts of Europe swelter in record May heat as deaths at amateur sports events spur warnings
PARIS (AP) — Europe is baking under unseasonal heat that is shattering temperature records, including in the United Kingdom on Monday, and prompting government warnings after deaths were reported at amateur sports events in France. The French sports minister, Marina Ferrari, posted condolences to the loved ones of a runner who died Sunday in a […]
Carbon cowboys and unpaid pledges: Ex-Gabon environment minister Lee White on conservation in Africa
- In an interview with Mongabay, the former Gabon environment minister Lee White makes the case that the Congo Basin should be treated as “critical national infrastructure” to be protected for Africa’s future water and climate security.
- He also defends nuclear energy as a “necessary evil” to generate the energy that Africa needs while avoiding catastrophic climate and water crises across the continent.
- White says weak governance, not mining itself, is the main driver of environmental destruction linked to mineral extraction.
- He criticizes the current carbon finance system, saying developed countries failed to honor their pledges to pay developing ones like Gabon for protecting their forests.

The most underfunded climate opportunities may be at sea
- At the Philanthropy Asia Summit’s “Sea Change” panel on ocean-climate solutions in Asia, speakers highlighted a mismatch between the ocean’s importance to the climate transition and the tiny share of philanthropic funding directed to ocean-climate work.
- Ocean philanthropy has long focused on conservation, fisheries, and coastal livelihoods, but climate change is now threatening many of those gains while also making the ocean central to mitigation through offshore wind, cleaner shipping, blue carbon, and coastal resilience.
- Philanthropy cannot finance offshore wind farms or the decarbonization of global shipping, but it can play a catalytic role by funding policy design, marine spatial planning, community engagement, technical research, coordination, and local capacity.
- Some of the strongest opportunities for funders lie in Asia, where offshore wind, ports, shipbuilding, shipping routes, and coastal communities converge, and where early philanthropic support can help make large-scale transitions faster, more inclusive, and more credible.

Climate change triples chance of deadly 2026 South Asia pre-monsoon heatwave: Report
From mid-April through May 2026, India and Pakistan were gripped by a heatwave that saw daily maximum temperatures soar above 46° Celsius (114.8° Fahrenheit) in numerous cities. This ongoing period of intense heat has resulted in at least 10 reported deaths in Karachi, Pakistan and 6 reported cases of deaths from heat stroke in India, […]
New conservation effort launched to protect coral reefs in Yap
Conservation groups have launched a new initiative to safeguard coral reefs in Yap, a state in the Federated States of Micronesia, through both scientific innovation and traditional stewardship. The Yap Resilience Hub, a partnership between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF), is a three-year project that seeks to support local […]
An Australian icon, the platypus is struggling — and scientists still lack answers
- Australia’s iconic platypus is under threat as climate change hits the country hard. Intense heat and longer droughts are parching waterways that platypuses live in; wildfires are more frequent and heavy rainfall events inundate their burrows.
- Platypuses are elusive animals, primarily active at dawn and dusk, making them difficult to locate and count, which hinders conservation efforts. Researchers are working to improve platypus population data.
- Without comprehensive information on their whereabouts, conservationists can’t intervene early in natural disasters to save platypuses.
- Australia’s intense three-year drought and the following 2019-2020 “Black Summer” bushfires led to new ways to manage wild platypus populations during natural disasters. Now, a new framework outlines ways to save populations in crisis: whether to help animals in situ or deciding to move them.

FIFA’s World Cup heat measures may not go far enough, expert warns
Measures proposed by organizers of the upcoming FIFA World Cup won’t be sufficient to protect players and fans from the significantly higher risk of extreme heat and humidity expected at this year’s tournament, a medical expert warns. In December 2025, FIFA announced there would be three-minute hydration breaks for players in each half of every […]
Zambian prodigy draws on theoretical physics to improve weather prediction
- A weather prediction model by a teen prodigy from Zambian is one of five shortlisted projects from Africa for the Earth Prize this year.
- The prize is awarded to youths between 13 and 19 who have come up with innovations that aim to solve pressing environmental challenges.
- Recognizing the need for weather prediction models that work in the sub-Saharan African context, Prosper Chanda, now 18, developed a model that aims to complement existing ones built largely with data from the U.S. and Europe.
- A scientific paper he authored focusing on the physics behind the model is currently undergoing peer review ahead of publication.

After quinoa’s boom, Bolivian farmers face degraded soils and climate stress
- Quinoa, a pseudocereal, has been grown in the Andes since pre-Hispanic times. The 2010-2014 quinoa boom benefited some farmers in the region, but intensified production also brought soil depletion, increased erosion and social conflicts.
- Climate change and shifts in regional weather patterns have also brought more frequent and irregular frosts, rains and heat, making quinoa production more difficult.
- Most of the Bolivian quinoa that’s exported is smuggled through Peru and sold as Peruvian, experts say, complicating efforts by Bolivian producers to benefit from using higher-quality seeds.
- Growers in Bolivia’s southern Altiplano, the Andean Plateau, are cultivating a premium variant of the crop in an effort to bypass middlemen and benefit from a price premium, but lack governmental support and direct access to markets.

Long dubbed a ‘climate refuge,’ warming Tasmanian forests need our help
- Tasmania has long been considered a global “climate refuge,” where cool, ocean-influenced conditions allow species like the giant freshwater crayfish to persist as mainland Australia warms.
- But new research shows that the world’s climate refuges are not immune to threats: shifting rainfall, warming waters, sediment runoff, land-use change and other impacts are eroding the ecological conditions that sustain numerous species.
- In Tasmania, emerging pressures are impacting the island’s biodiversity, ranging from warming and sedimentation in forest streams affecting sensitive crayfish habitat, to declining oxygen levels putting the endemic Maugean skate at risk.
- Scientists say protecting climate refuges now requires active coordinated management between federal, state and local partners, with multimillion-dollar investments in watershed restoration and ongoing conservation efforts.

Nearly all climate claims by meat and dairy firms amount to greenwashing: Study
Meat and dairy production are significant drivers of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Many companies claim to be tackling this, but nearly all these claims, 98%, could be considered greenwashing, a recent study found. Researchers logged more than 1,200 environmental commitments made by 33 of the sector’s largest companies between 2021 and 2024. They found […]
The European wildcat hovers between recovery and local extinction
- European wildcats are making a comeback in the Czech Republic, where they’re critically endangered. Conservationists found evidence of this species breeding in the Lusatian Mountains.
- Though these wildcats, similar in size to large domestic cats, aren’t at risk range-wide, some populations face local extinction.
- Experts note that positive recovery in Central European countries is countered by declines and a lack of basic population data elsewhere.

From Africa to Central Asia, the European roller’s migration builds relationships
- The European roller breeds in open woodlands across Europe and Central Asia and migrates as far as 10,000 kilometers to Africa each year.
- Since 2024, a nascent project of BirdLife South has been investigating the birds’ migration routes and stopover sites.
- The European Roller Monitoring Project aims to identify valuable or vulnerable habitat and build the international relationships that can support the protection of this and other species.

Up to half the bird species using the African-Eurasian flyway are declining
- Every year, billions of birds migrate long distances with the changing of seasons — according to BirdLife Africa, 40 to 50 percent of avian species migrating to and from Africa are in decline.
- BirdLife Africa’s Kariuki Ndang’ang’a says climate change and infrastructure collision stand as three of the main reasons for the decline in migratory bird species.
- Because many birds rely on the same sites each year to make their transit, loss or degradation of even small areas can push an entire population towards collapse.

Conservationists fear fires could erase years of orangutan habitat recovery
- Fires have burned part of a restoration site being prepared for orangutan habitat in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, raising fears that another severe fire season could undo years of recovery work.
- The restoration project, led by the government, Yayasan IAR Indonesia and local communities, has replanted about 300 hectares (740 acres) with 150,000 trees to help keep critically endangered orangutans out of nearby farms.
- Conservationists say the fires, likely sparked by nearby land clearing for oil palm, spread rapidly through dry peat and scrub vegetation, despite the area still being in the rainy season.
- With severe El Niño conditions forecast later this year, conservation groups warn they lack sufficient resources to fully prepare for another major fire season like the devastating 2015 crisis.

The world’s great deltas are sinking — and with them, a global food system
- The Mekong Delta is sinking. Projections indicate that 90% of this life-sustaining landform could disappear by 2100 due to human-driven factors such as groundwater pumping and sediment capture by dams, compounding the effects of sea-level rise.
- The Mekong is just one of 40 of the world’s large river deltas threatened by high subsidence rates coupled with rising sea levels, according to a 2026 global study. Among the 19 river deltas seeing the most significant widespread subsidence are those on the Mekong, Nile, Chao Phraya, Ganga-Brahmaputra, and Mississippi rivers.
- As the world’s great deltas sink, humanity loses rich, irreplaceable agricultural lands, fisheries, urban areas and exceptional biodiversity — much of which will not be salvageable beyond a certain point. Delta loss poses a significant threat to global food security, and an existential threat to often impoverished delta communities.
- Delta subsidence can be slowed and even reversed by implementing well-understood mitigation strategies, say experts, by replacing hydropower dams with alternative energy, reducing sand mining and groundwater extraction, and altering agricultural practices. But these solutions are hampered by economics and lack of political will.

In Nepal’s plains, traditional bins help keep food safe from heat, floods
- In Nepal’s southern plains, Indigenous communities such as the Tharu and Yadav use traditional earthen storage bins (dehari) to safely store grains and seeds, relying on knowledge passed down through generations.
- Made from locally available materials such as clay, husk and dung, the bins naturally regulate temperature and moisture, helping protect crops from extreme heat, pests and seasonal flooding without electricity.
- Experts say these traditional storage systems are climate-adaptive, environmentally friendly and crucial for preserving local seed diversity and sustaining smallholder farming systems.
- While durable and effective, dehari have limitations such as vulnerability to moisture, pests and floods requiring careful placement, regular monitoring and adaptation to changing climate conditions.

A “good year” for forests changes less than it seems
- Tropical primary forest loss saw a significant drop in 2025, but the decline likely represents a temporary reprieve driven by favorable weather rather than a fundamental shift in the root causes of deforestation.
- The reduction was largely due to a decrease in fire-related losses following the extreme droughts of 2024, highlighting how forest health is increasingly dictated by climate variability and rainfall extremes.
- While policy-driven successes in Brazil and Indonesia offer a blueprint for enforcement, these gains remain fragile and vulnerable to shifting political dynamics and weakening governance.
- The resilience of recent progress faces an imminent test in 2026, as forecasts for a returning El Niño threaten to bring back the dry conditions that historically trigger catastrophic forest loss.

Offshore wind’s clean energy potential remains largely untapped, say experts
- Offshore wind has enormous clean energy potential across the globe. Though the sector has expanded in recent years that potential remains largely untapped.
- Today, China and European nations lead the way in developing offshore wind farms, with the U.S. hampered by the Trump administration, and other nations just beginning to tap into the potential of marine wind.
- Currently, about 80 gigawatts of power is generated by existing marine wind farms. According to some estimates, more than 2,000 GW of offshore wind is needed to meet climate goals, requiring a huge expansion including in deeper waters using floating platforms.

Heat, fires and agribusiness squeeze traditional Amazon açaí harvesters
- Intensive farming of the popular açaí berry grew by 70% since 2015, while community cooperatives reported losses of 35% or more during recent heat waves and fires.
- Industrial açaí crops often rely on artificial irrigation and nonnative honeybees, adapting the Amazon to intensive methods rather than benefiting from the biome’s own systems.
- Market analysis indicates increasing international demand and rising prices, a trend that pushes for high-yield commercial monocultures over forest-based extraction.

In Pakistan’s deadly heat, low-cost cooling tools offer a lifeline for pregnant women
Canvas canopies, hand fans, damp cloths and solar reflective paint may not sound like elaborate medical interventions. But in Pakistan’s hottest neighborhoods, they can act as a lifeline for pregnant women and newborns from low-income households. In a recent trial of affordable cooling solutions led by researchers at Pakistan’s Aga Khan University, low-tech interventions were […]
Scientists forecast wildfire risk for species survival under climate change
A new study warns climate change could increase the global area susceptible to wildfires in the future, putting many more species at risk than today. Previous research has shown that climate change is increasing the risk of wildfires as precipitation patterns change and vegetation becomes drier in parts of the world. Researchers have now projected […]
New treaty to end the fossil fuel era is needed more than ever (commentary)
- As oil prices rise along with the social and environmental tolls of both war and continuing fossil fuel use, delegates from 50 nations are about to gather in Colombia to frame a treaty that moves the world more quickly toward a renewable future.
- Policy breakthroughs can occur outside formal U.N. processes like this, and the Santa Marta conference beginning April 24 seeks to add momentum for a Fossil Fuel Treaty.
- “The end of fossil fuels is no longer a distant goal; it is an unfolding reality. The task now is to govern it,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

From the Atlantic Forest to the Amazon: Alexandre de Santi on camaraderie and uncovering hidden truths in Brazil
- Alexandre de Santi is Mongabay’s managing editor for Brazil, where he leads coverage of the Amazon and other national environmental issues.
- His career spans more than two decades, from founding the investigative studio Fronteira to serving as deputy editor at The Intercept Brazil, where he helped lead landmark investigations.
- Since joining Mongabay in 2022, Santi has brought a collaborative approach to investigative reporting, including editing a 2024 story that exposed links between Amazon carbon credits and timber laundering.
- This interview is part of Inside Mongabay, a series that spotlights the people who bring environmental and conservation stories to life across our global newsroom.

Indonesia braces for possible ‘Godzilla El Niño’ as fire season escalates early
- The 2026 fire season in Indonesia is already showing early signs of escalation, as burned areas reached 32,637 hectares by February, 20 times higher than the same period in 2025.
- Some global forecasts suggest this year’s predicted El Niño could become one of the strongest in at least a decade, raising the risk of prolonged drought and widespread fires, although significant uncertainty remains over how intense it will ultimately be.
- Fire monitoring by the watchdog Pantau Gambut show that many hotspots are in oil palm and timber concession areas, which the group says suggests that legal permits alone do not guarantee fire-safe land management and highlights gaps in oversight and enforcement.

Tropics take the brunt as hotter oceans drive large-scale humid heat waves: Study
- It’s well known that hotter temperatures due to climate change are dangerous to human health. But when paired with high humidity, this intense heat can be especially deadly. These extreme weather events, known as humid heat waves, are rapidly intensifying and increasing in frequency as the world warms.
- A recent study found a strong causal link between hotter coastal ocean temperatures and large-scale humid heat waves. Rising sea surface temperatures are driving 50-64% of the increase in large-scale humid heat waves, researchers found, especially in the tropics, and raising the risk of heat-related fatalities.
- These events do not remain localized. The researchers found that coastal humid heat waves can move far inland, and have a 90% chance of occurring even 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away from where they originated over the ocean.
- Humid heat waves now pose a serious risk to people in tropical regions, though such events are forecast to worsen in temperate zones too as the world warms. Adding to threats in the tropics is insufficient air-conditioning to safeguard populations against such events. Humid heat waves also make outdoor work unsafe, impacting local economies.

Novel research finds unexpected climate resilience in up to 36% of Amazon forest
- In recent decades, the Amazon Rainforest has repeatedly and increasingly been struck by devastating drought along with record heat due to climate change. Add to this record wildfires, rapid deforestation and land conversion for agriculture.
- Numerous field studies and modeling have found that these extreme changes are pushing the Amazon toward a tipping point and collapse of the biome — an ecological disaster that would release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
- But one research team, in a recently published study, offered up some hope: They found that little-studied low water table wetland Amazon forests — constituting up to 36% of Amazon trees — have stood up well to, and even thrived, during major droughts, with an increase in aboveground biomass.
- Those findings, the research team says, put the inevitability of an Amazon tipping point and collapse in some doubt, with the possibility that low water table forests could serve as a refugia for biodiversity. They also urge that these areas become a priority for protection and conservation as a hedge against future climate change.

March smashes record as most abnormally hot month for continental US, federal meteorologists say
WASHINGTON (AP) — March’s persistent unseasonable heat was so intense that the continental United States registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years of records, according to federal weather data. And the next year or so looks to turn the dial up on global warmth even more, as some forecasts predict a brewing El Nino will reach superstrength. […]
Is the Galápagos damselfish extinct?
- A once-common reef fish in the Galápagos has not been seen since 1983, raising the question of whether it has already disappeared.
- A recent study by Jack Stein Grove and colleagues concludes the species is likely extinct, based on decades of failed searches and historical records.
- Its disappearance is linked to the severe 1982–83 El Niño, which disrupted the islands’ nutrient cycles and food webs.
- The case highlights how even well-known marine ecosystems can lose species quietly, with declines only becoming clear in hindsight.

Canadian muskoxen hit by double punch of novel diseases and climate change
- New emerging diseases and other threats, including climate change, are upending muskox recovery in parts of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
- An emerging pathogen, dubbed Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Arctic clone, was linked to widespread muskox mortalities on Victoria and Banks islands from 2009-14. Another outbreak was identified on Ellesmere Island in 2021.
- Brucellosis, a zoonotic disease, is now appearing in muskoxen on Victoria Island and parts of the mainland, with rates increasing since 2015.
- These emerging diseases were identified, researched and tracked via an innovative community-based wildlife health surveillance program that teams up Inuit hunters and trappers, scientists and government agencies. Muskoxen are a key food source for many Inuit communities and play a vital role in Arctic ecology. Their loss could put food security and Indigenous culture at risk.

Green and gray: Mangroves and dikes show potential in protecting shorelines together
- A recent paper modeled how restoring mangroves in front of water-controlling infrastructure like dikes might create a hybrid coastal defense system in the face of global sea level rise.
- The model found that this combination, put in place today, could reduce the annual damage from storms and flooding by $800 million, and that 140,000 fewer people would be impacted by these events every year.
- They also found that these numbers would increase over time with the impacts of climate change.
- The researchers also evaluated where these projects would be most cost-effective, finding that the benefits disproportionately help lower-income areas, particularly in Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Africa.

Who gives up land for the world’s climate fixes?
Planting trees has become one of the most widely promoted responses to climate change. As forests grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while offering habitat for animals, plants and other organisms. The idea is straightforward: Expand forests, and the planet gains both climate mitigation and renewed biodiversity. Yet the land required to remove […]
‘Sharing is off the table’ as drought reshapes the culture of Ethiopia’s pastoralists
- Pastoralists in Ethiopia’s Somali region say that worsening drought is eroding traditional systems of sharing that once helped communities survive.
- A recent study finds rainfall patterns have grown increasingly unpredictable, making it harder for pastoralists to plan and sustain their herds.
- Indigenous systems such as Gergar — a form of social insurance — and communal grazing are weakening as households struggle to sustain their own herds.
- As climate pressures grow, pastoralists are turning to alternative livelihoods, while assistance struggles to keep up with the scale of the problem.

Oil surge sharpens calls for Indonesia to shift away from fossil fuels
- Indonesia faces rising fiscal and economic pressure as global oil prices surge amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, exposing its heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels.
- Analysts say the crisis underscores the need to accelerate renewable energy development, which could reduce exposure to volatile global markets and improve long-term economic stability.
- Despite this, the government is also boosting coal output and exploring expanded biofuel use — moves that critics warn could undermine climate goals and create new environmental risks.
- Civil society groups are calling for windfall taxes on fossil fuel companies to fund a just energy transition, arguing current policies risk deepening inequality and dependence on extractive industries.

Indonesia reviews firms in river basins after latest floods affect 7% of Bornean province
- The province of South Kalimantan experiences annual flooding, frequently worse than other Indonesian provinces on the island of Borneo.
- In late December, Indonesia’s environment minister said the government would review companies operating within watersheds in the province after a large share of the province’s 4.4 million people were impacted by floods at the end of last year.
- Civil society organizations and scientists say land-use change in the water catchment area has reduced the drainage capacity of soils and increased the likelihood of runoff, which inundates a large share of settlements in the province every year.
- A spokesperson for the environment ministry told Mongabay in March that a review of companies operating in the river basis was ongoing.

‘Ancient’ carbon venting from lakes in the Congo Basin peatlands: Study
- A new study finds that lakes are likely releasing carbon that’s been held in the peatlands of the Congo Basin for thousands of years.
- Scientists know these lakes release carbon dioxide, which until now was thought to result from recently decayed plant matter.
- A team of researchers radiocarbon-dated carbon from water samples to show that some of the CO₂ probably has much older origins, reporting their findings in a new study.
- The authors says more work is needed to understand the implications of this ancient carbon release for carbon dynamics and climate change.

Sri Lanka sweats in scorching heat, but reasons ‘unlikely due to El Niño’
- Warm temperatures across Sri Lanka are likely to prevail till mid-May, with the heat index showing temperatures between 39° Celsius and 45°C, officials say.
- The Department of Meteorology has issued an “amber alert,” cautioning people to brace for warmer temperatures and to take adequate safeguards.
- Experts argue that prevailing warm temperatures in Sri Lanka are unlikely due to El Niño events.

Global warming already impacts daily lives around the globe, study finds
- Recent research finds that limitations to people’s daily lives imposed by climate change are already widespread and likely to continue growing as global temperatures rise. Older people are the most impacted.
- The researchers used a “physiologically grounded” heat model to analyze 75 years of global climate data.
- The global average number of hours per year that people are exposed to heat that severely limits their activity was found to have doubled for younger adults since the 1950s, while for older adults, it went from about 600 hours per year to about 900 hours.
- Parts of Southwest and South Asia, South America and Australia already experience what the study researchers call “extreme livability limitations,” which is even true for younger adults.

Study finds deforestation accounts for major Amazon rainfall decline
- A study looking at land and atmosphere interactions in the Amazon Basin across four decades found that 52-72% of the rainfall decline in the southern Amazon is due to large-scale deforestation.
- Between 1980 and 2019, annual precipitation in the southern Amazon declined by 8-11%, with most of the region losing on average 7.7% of its forest cover over largely the same period.
- The research also indicates that climate models might underestimate the contribution of deforestation to precipitation reduction by as much as 50%, which could mean that rainfall thresholds in the Amazon could be crossed earlier than expected.

A nature-based solution to save the Mekong Delta’s water future (commentary)
- The Mekong Delta — a global rice and aquaculture hub — is increasingly at risk from climate change, with rising seas, salinity intrusion, pollution and groundwater depletion threatening the livelihoods of dependant communities and lives of millions of residents in the delta.
- In Vietnam, a proposed nature-based groundwater replenishment system aims to combine water treatment, aquifer recharge and wind energy to boost clean water supply, reduce salinity and stabilize the delta’s fragile ecosystems.
- Backers say the plan could deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in annual benefits through higher farm yields, improved public health and stronger climate resilience, though it will require major investment and coordinated governance to succeed.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

French company stops US offshore wind projects in $1B deal with Trump administration
The Department of Interior says a French energy company has agreed to give up two U.S. offshore wind leases and invest in fossil fuel projects instead. The department said Monday that TotalEnergies committed to invest approximately $1 billion in oil and natural gas production in the United States. That is the amount the company paid […]
PNG’s New Ireland coastal waters causing fish deaths, human sickness
- Communities on the east coast of Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland province report that contact with the seawater there has made people sick since December 2025; residents have also reported spikes in the number of dead fish and other marine life along the shoreline.
- A group of local and international NGOs has responded, providing help with sampling to determine the cause and raising money for the affected villages.
- New Ireland’s coastal communities depend on the sea for food, but government officials have warned against eating fish until the cause of the problems has been identified.
- Government ministries have been aware of the situation for at least two months, and while leaders say that tissue, water and soil samples have been collected, no results have been released yet.

Shipping’s biofuel gamble could deepen Africa’s land squeeze and food insecurity (commentary)
- Using crops as fuel to cut emissions from the shipping sector could cause more harm than good, the authors of a new op-ed argue.
- Next month, leaders will gather at the UN’s International Maritime Organization meeting to lay down the rules for decarbonizing shipping, and African governments must ensure that crop-based biofuels are not a part of the solution, they say.
- “African states should demand that food-based biofuels are excluded from shipping’s decarbonization targets, and insist on robust sustainability criteria to prevent the conversion of forests, peatlands, and other high-biodiversity or community-managed areas into fuel plantations,” the authors say.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Hat Yai’s floods are a warning for cities built against nature (analysis)
- Hat Yai’s economy is still struggling to recover from the devastating November 2025 floods, raising fears that repeated disasters could drive businesses and investment away from the southern Thai tourism hub.
- Flood risk is rising due to urban expansion, altered drainage, upstream land-use change and increasingly intense rainfall linked to climate change.
- Decades of costly engineering fixes have failed to keep pace, and without major land-use reforms and nature-based solutions, the city risks locking itself into a cycle of worsening floods.
- This post is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Accidental discovery reveals new climate threat to emperor penguins
- Scientists have discovered new sites in Antarctica where emperor penguins gather for their annual molt, a vulnerable life stage when they shed and replace all their feathers.
- Through satellite data, they also discovered that many of these sea ice sites might have melted from under the penguins.
- The discovery suggests that the threats posed by global warming to emperor penguins might be more dire than previously thought.

Climate-resilient housing models slow to gain ground in disaster-prone Bangladesh
- In one of the world’s most climate sensitive deltas, disasters are on the rise. The need for resilient housing has become a significant concern for Bangladesh.
- Amid various challenges, architectural models to promote sustainable construction materials are emerging.
- Experts recommend separate zonal building codes for specific climatic event-prone areas.

Outlook for migratory species worsens amid habitat loss & avian flu, report finds
- A U.N.-backed report finds that nearly half of the world’s migratory species protected under a global treaty are now decreasing — and about one in four now faces extinction.
- Habitat loss and degradation as well as hunting and fishing are driving these declines, but a deadly virus, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, is also taking a heavy toll on bird populations.
- Wildlife corridors and protected ocean networks can play a pivotal role in conserving imperiled species: Animals need to move to find food, a mate and migrate.

If Florida reefs aren’t protected, storms will increase flooding & costs: Study
- Coral reefs absorb incoming waves, protecting shorelines from tropical storms.
- A recent Earth’s Future study examines flood risks from tropical storms to communities in Florida, if coral reefs keep degrading at current rates.
- The study finds that future coral reef degradation will increase the annual risk of flooding to people by 42% and to buildings by 47%.
- This increased degradation would predictably cause $412.5 million in damages to structures and economic disruption of $438.1 million annually.

Rush to put AI data centers in space poses poorly understood dangers
- Recently announced plans by companies and nations to send AI data centers into space come as experts warn of a perilous situation developing in Earth orbit as thousands of new satellites are launched, orbit the planet, risk collision, and burn up on reentry.
- Concerns are that the booming numbers of satellites could incur an as yet undefined toll on Earth’s environment — with potential pollution impacts on the atmosphere, ozone layer and even terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
- Lack of regulation of space activity is a major challenge as researchers work to understand potential impacts of launching and decommissioning satellites.
- Though arguments are made that AI data centers in space could relieve environmental pressures on Earth, there are multiple trade-offs to consider, experts say. Researchers underline the need to embrace the precautionary principle and define possible hazards before satellites multiply further.

A sanctuary… for glacier ice?
Scientists in Antarctica have just inaugurated the first global repository of mountain ice cores. As the climate crisis melts glaciers all around the world, this frozen vault aims to preserve the history of the Earth’s atmosphere for future generations to study.
Falling Amazon river flows trigger reality check at Belo Monte power plant
- Studies warn that climate change could slash hydropower generation across the Amazon by up to 40%, with controversial Belo Monte among the most exposed plants in Brazil.
- Researchers and regulators say relying on historical river flows is no longer viable as droughts intensify and rainfall patterns drop.
- Belo Monte’s operator argues the plant remains strategic for Brazil’s energy security, despite growing climate risks.

Indonesia farmers count the costs as rains wash out Java durian harvest
- In a quiet village in central Java, farmers report that their durian fruit trees have failed to bear fruit amid local anxieties over climate change and other environmental shifts.
- Every year farmers around Plana village plant a type of durian known as the Kromo, named after a returning Islamic pilgrim whose durian trees produced unusually large fruit, which people here prize for its heightened flavor profile.
- Peer-reviewed research and official comment by Indonesia’s state meteorology agency, the BMKG, shows fruit growers in Java may face declining yields in the future amid increasingly erratic weather.

‘An epidemic of suffering’: Why are conservationists breaking down?
- Research finds that more than 27% of conservationists are struggling with moderate to severe distress, as conservationists tell Mongabay the industry is in a mental health “crisis.”
- Conservationists are struggling with their mental health for many reasons, but one of the largest is watching ecological destruction in real time.
- The industry was also not built with “well-being” in mind, given its low wages, exploitative practices like endless volunteering or unpaid internships, job insecurity, few benefits and high (sometimes wholly unrealistic) expectations for output and work.
- Experts say the sector can improve with more funding toward staff as well as leaders who are trained in how to handle mental well-being; meanwhile, individuals need to value their own mental health.

Climate change drives uneven shifts in tree diversity across Amazon and Andes
- A team of researchers looked at changes in tree richness across the lowland and montane forests of the Andes and Amazon over the last four decades.
- While their results didn’t show an overall shift in any one direction, they found that tree richness changed significantly across the six subregions: forests in the central Andes, Guyana Shield and central-eastern Amazon have been losing species, while the northern Andes and western Amazon showed increased tree richness.
- Changes in the seasonality of precipitation, total rainfall, temperature, as well as the degree of forest fragmentation are key drivers for tree richness: forests that warmed more since 1971 lost species faster than those moderately warming; but regionally, precipitation plays a bigger role than temperature in richness changes.
- Forests with a higher number of trees and landscape integrity gain species, so limiting deforestation across the Andes–Amazon ecosystems can protect tree richness, in particular the northern Andes, which could serve as a key refuge for species that can no longer survive the warming Amazon.

In Nepal polls, political parties root for mega infrastructure
- Nepal’s major political parties focus their election manifestos on mega projects, viewing big construction as the primary engine for economic growth.
- Despite Nepal ranking as the sixth most climate-vulnerable nation globally, parties largely treat environmental issues as an afterthought or a development delay, often ignoring the fact that recent climate-driven disasters have already severely damaged expensive infrastructure like the Melamchi water project.
- While “green” terminology occasionally appears in the fine print to satisfy international frameworks, experts warn that low budget allocations and a lack of coordination mean these environmental commitments usually remain “on paper” while industrial expansion takes center stage.

Penguins are breeding much earlier in a warming Antarctic, study finds
- Penguins on the Antarctic peninsula and surrounding islands are breeding substantially earlier in the year than just a decade ago, according to new research.
- The study used remote cameras to track the breeding season of three penguin species across 37 colonies from 2012 to 2022.
- Gentoo penguins advanced their breeding season by about 13 days over the 10-year period, while Adélie and chinstrap penguins each shifted breeding by about 10 days.
- Researchers don’t yet know how the changes are impacting penguins, but it could lead to a mismatch in food availability for chicks or create competition among species for food and other resources.

Petrostates stymie effort to rein in Arctic shipping carbon emissions
- Black carbon emissions (colloquially known as soot) produced by marine shipping contribute to Earth’s warming climate and also reduce ice and snow cover. In the Arctic, those emissions are hastening regional heating and sea ice loss.
- In the 21st century, climate change has so diminished Arctic sea ice thickness and extent that transpolar crossings in summer by large numbers of commercial vessels has not only become possible but also increasingly frequent, resulting in a marked increase in black carbon emissions from dirty fossil fuels.
- In February, members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) considered a proposal by several nations to require use of cleaner polar fuels, which emit lower amounts of black carbon. But the effort was blocked and delayed by large petrostates, including the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia.
- Implementation of the measure is expected to be delayed by at least two years. With Arctic sea voyages forecast to soar from thousands of trips annually to tens of thousands by 2050, NGOs are calling for greater support for clean polar fuels as a quick and effective way of reducing warming pressure on the Arctic region.

Mongabay Explains
Join Mongabay’s reporters as we unpack some of the most urgent and intriguing issues in climate, the environment and biodiversity today. In this multimedia Special Issue, we go beyond the headlines to examine how science, policy and human activity intersect with Nature. We try to answer questions you might not have known to ask, with […]
New study assesses geoengineering marine ecosystem risks, knowledge gaps
- A new review study examines the current research regarding the risks that various geoengineering approaches pose to marine ecosystems.
- The study looked particularly at a range of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) methods, along with solar radiation modification (SRM) technologies, and found that some approaches carry fewer risks than others.
- Electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement and anoxic storage of terrestrial biomass in the deep ocean (utilizing crop waste, for example) carry fewer risks to marine ecosystems than some carbon dioxide removal methods, such as those that would add nutrients to seawater to promote major plankton growth.
- However, better models, increased field testing, and better geoengineering regulatory oversight are needed to fully assess potential geoengineering marine ecosystem impacts, especially if commercialization proceeds. Public fears over field testing also need to be allayed.

The Amazon’s most valuable export isn’t timber — it’s rain
- Tropical forests actively generate rainfall by releasing moisture into the atmosphere, with each square meter producing hundreds of liters of rain annually across surrounding regions. Clearing even small portions can measurably reduce precipitation, especially during dry seasons.
- Much of the rain that falls far inland originates from forests through long-distance moisture transport known as “flying rivers,” meaning farms, cities, and reservoirs may depend on ecosystems located hundreds or thousands of kilometers away.
- Reduced rainfall from deforestation can undermine agriculture, river flows, and hydropower, revealing forests as a form of natural water infrastructure that supports food production, energy systems, and economic stability.
- By assigning a monetary value to forest-generated rainfall, researchers estimate the service in the Amazon alone is worth on the order of tens of billions of dollars annually, underscoring that forest loss threatens not only biodiversity and carbon storage but regional climate systems themselves.

Floods linked to climate change hit nearly 1 million in Southern Africa
- A rapid analysis of heavy floods that occurred between December 2025 and January 2026 in Southern Africa finds that climate change has exacerbated extreme rainfall events.
- Scientists found that rainfall events in the region seem to be becoming more intense, and the likelihood of extreme precipitation occurring is higher in a warmer world.
- Despite limitations of climate models in the African context, scientists say they’re confident that weather patterns are shifting due to climate change.
- The study also revealed that the impacts were heightened due to structural and social vulnerabilities in the affected countries, with Mozambique being the hardest hit.

Forests don’t just store carbon. They keep people alive, scientists say
- Forests influence climate not only by storing carbon but by cooling the air, moderating extreme temperatures, and regulating water flows in ways that directly affect human well-being, concludes an academic review published this week in the journal Science.
- These effects are strongest at the local level: intact forests can make surrounding areas markedly cooler, stabilize rainfall, and create microclimates that support agriculture, health, and daily life.
- When forests are cleared, those protections can disappear quickly, often producing hotter, drier conditions and exposing large populations to increased heat stress and associated health risks.
- The greatest climate benefits occur where forests are native, underscoring that protecting and restoring natural ecosystems can be as important for adaptation to climate change as for reducing emissions, argues the paper.

Thousands of peat fires flare across Indonesia despite rainy season
- More than 5,000 fire hotspots were detected across Indonesia’s peatlands in January, according to an independent watchdog — an alarming spike despite peak rainy season conditions and recent severe flooding in parts of Sumatra and Borneo.
- About a third of the hotspots were inside company concessions, mostly oil palm, reinforcing long-standing evidence that drained and degraded peatlands are highly flammable even after short dry spells, with fire risk now shaped more by hydrology than by calendar seasons.
- Provinces such as West Kalimantan and Aceh were hardest hit, with fires producing thick haze in cities like Pontianak and contributing to respiratory illness, underscoring how degraded peat amplifies both flood and fire risks.
- After a presidentially appointed peat restoration agency was allowed to lapse in 2024, watchdogs say fragmented oversight, weak monitoring and uncertainty over responsibility have created setbacks in peat protection, raising concerns ahead of potential future El Niño conditions.

Pilot projects aim to break Indonesia’s habit of burning household waste
- More than half of Indonesian households still burn their trash, often because bulky or inorganic waste isn’t collected and dumping it creates safety risks in dense neighborhoods.
- Burning waste releases fine particles and black carbon that penetrate deep into the body, contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular disease, organ damage and conditions such as anemia.
- Black carbon is also a potent climate pollutant, meaning cutting household waste burning could deliver fast benefits for both air quality and global warming if addressed at the source, experts say.
- Cultural norms, lack of infrastructure, limited enforcement and financial constraints drive waste burning, prompting pilot projects that combine community engagement, better waste systems and real-time pollution monitoring.

Mapping underground fungal networks: Interview with SPUN’s Toby Kiers
- Mycorrhizal fungi are found in every soil system on Earth, and have symbiotic relationships with the plants whose roots they live on.
- They receive carbon dioxide from plants in exchange for nutrients, making them major carbon repositories and an important tool for carbon sequestration.
- The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) is deploying a wide range of technologies, from remote sensing to imaging robots, to map these crucial underground networks.
- “We think of these networks as one of Earth’s circulatory systems, but people are not paying attention,” SPUN co-founder Toby Kiers tells Mongabay in an interview.

Indonesia’s steel expansion risks a surge in greenhouse gas emissions
- As global demand for steel is rising, Indonesia’s steel industry is one of the country’s largest industrial greenhouse gas emitters and is set to become far more polluting if current trends continue, according to a nonprofit report.
- Indonesia’s high emissions stem largely from its reliance on coal-based blast furnace steelmaking, which uses coal both as a chemical input and as a source of the extremely high heat required to smelt iron ore.
- The climate footprint of Indonesia’s steel industry is closely tied to public health risks for communities living near major production hubs; steelmaking releases hazardous air pollutants that are linked to respiratory and cardiovascular disease and reduced productivity.
- The Ministry of Industry has introduced policies intended to promote more sustainable practices across industrial sectors, including steel, but the recent report found that these policies lack binding sector-specific emissions targets, clear transition timelines and enforcement mechanisms.

Plastic household waste burned as fuel on rise in Global South, risking health
- Urban households in developing countries are burning plastic waste in their homes to dispose of waste and as a cooking fuel to a greater extent than realized, according to a new study.
- Researchers surveyed urban households in 26 Global South countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, revealing that this practice is widespread in some regions — particularly in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
- Data suggest that urban households are burning plastics as fire starters, as a secondary fuel source and due to no alternatives to waste disposal.
- The burning of plastics is linked to serious health risks as well as environmental pollution. The authors urge further studies, along with targeted solutions to support marginalized communities with better fuel alternatives for cook fires and for plastic disposal.

NOAA’s satellites capture extreme cold in striking detail
When an Arctic blast pushed deep into the southeastern United States last weekend, it left behind more than freeze warnings and broken records. Over the Atlantic, the cold air reorganized the lower atmosphere into long, parallel cloud bands—patterns that meteorologists recognize as a signature of intense cold moving over warmer water—captured in striking detail by […]
Thailand’s Hat Yai picks up the pieces in wake of devastating floods (analysis)
- Despite a history of flooding and forecasts of heavy La Niña rains, the Thai city of Hat Yai received little effective warning before floodwaters surged last November to devastating levels.
- Power, communications and access were cut, and rescue services struggled to reach flooded areas, leaving residents to survive by sheltering with neighbors under extreme conditions.
- Many lost everything, and government compensation is limited, while decades of poor urban planning raise doubts about Hat Yai’s ability to withstand future extreme weather events under a changing climate.
- This article is an analysis. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

A ‘new baseline’: Study captures accelerating sea-level rise in Africa
- Sea-level rise has accelerated across Africa in recent decades, thanks to global warming and, in particular, to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, according to a recent study.
- Sea levels across the continent have risen four times faster since 2010, on average, than they had in the 1990s. About 80% of the sea-level rise is due to added water mass from meltwater.
- The impacts include flooding, erosion of coastal land, intrusion of salty seawater into freshwater drinking sources and displacement of coastal communities.
- In many coastal areas, sea-level rise occurs even as the land itself is sinking due to groundwater extraction or other factors, exacerbating its impacts.

Seminarian-turned-fire-agent preaches new tactics to fight Amazon’s burn crisis
- Lacking trucks and gear, a civil servant once destined for the priesthood now uses WhatsApp groups to direct volunteers who must manually carry river water through dense forest to tackle record blazes deep in an Amazonian town five times the size of New York City.
- Once rare, record-breaking wildfires destroyed millions of hectares across the Brazilian Amazon in recent years, leaving surviving forests increasingly fragile and susceptible to recurring blazes.
- Only 16% of Amazonian municipalities in Brazil have operational military fire brigades, forcing rural towns to rely on underfunded local offices and unpaid volunteers to defend the rainforest.

Many Amazon climate disasters are missing from official records, study finds
More than 12,500 extreme climate events were registered in the Amazon biome between 2013 and 2023, according to a recent study. But many more events were never recorded, as some Amazonian countries provided no or limited information, Gonzalo Ortuño López reported for Mongabay Latam. The study aggregated available national data but found that the national […]
IUCN launches group to conserve at-risk microbes vital to life on Earth
- Microbial communities, though invisible to the naked eye, are vitally important to planetary health and to Earth’s ecosystems. But they are often neglected in conservation strategies.
- Like other branches of life, microbial communities are under threat due to climate change, pollution, land use change and a wide range of other human actions. Degraded microbial communities can have harmful consequences for human well-being, ecosystems health and wider planetary processes.
- A newly launched specialist group under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) aims to place microbes on the conservation agenda.
- The new IUCN group plans to develop conservation strategies aimed at identifying and protecting at-risk microbial species vital to planetary health and create a Red and Green List, similar to those that exist for threatened animals and plants.

2025 was third-warmest year on record, research shows
2025 was the third-warmest year on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The warmest year on record is still 2024, with 2023 coming in second. The global average surface temperature for 2025 was estimated to be 1.44° Celsius (2.59° Fahrenheit) higher than preindustrial levels. The last 11 years have been the warmest 11 years […]
Hidden heroes: Australian tree bark microbes consume greenhouse & toxic gases
- A new study carried out in Australia finds that the bark of common tree species holds diverse microbial communities, with trillions of microbes living on every tree.
- The research determined that many of these microbial species specialize in metabolizing methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
- Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, while hydrogen and carbon monoxide are considered indirect greenhouse gases. Carbon monoxide and VOCs are also both hazardous to human health.
- The study found that tree bark microbes play a significant, previously unknown role in atmospheric gas cycling, potentially boosting estimations of the climate benefits offered by global forests. Learning which tree species boast the best microbes for curbing climate change and pollution could better inform reforestation strategies.

Ocean set ‘alarming’ new temperature record in 2025
- Ocean temperatures set a record high in 2025, according to a new study.
- The authors found that the heat content of the ocean increased by about 23 zettajoules between 2024 and 2025. That’s roughly the equivalent of 210 times humanity’s annual electricity generation.
- The ocean has warmed significantly in recent decades largely because it absorbs roughly 90% of the excess heat trapped in the atmosphere by human-caused greenhouse gases. That makes the ocean a key indicator of global warming.
- Warming ocean temperatures contribute to sea-level rise and to extreme weather events, which were frequent in 2025.

Indonesia backs away from coal exit test case amid financial and political pushback
- Indonesia has abandoned plans to retire the Cirebon-1 coal plant early, citing technical and financial concerns, dealing a blow to what was meant to be a flagship test case for coal phaseout backed by international climate finance.
- Analysts say the decision reflects deeper structural resistance to moving away from coal, driven by long-term power contracts, coal subsidies, and policies that make early retirement costly while keeping coal artificially cheap.
- The reversal risks undermining Indonesia’s credibility with global partners and investors, particularly under initiatives like the JETP, and exposes inconsistencies between political pledges on renewables and binding policy action.
- Critics argue early coal retirement would benefit Indonesia overall if full costs were counted, including health and environmental impacts, but political ties between coal interests and policymakers, along with uncertainty in global climate finance, continue to stall progress.

Study tracks fishing boats to see how heat waves affect fish distribution
- A new study suggests an early way to detect ecological shifts during marine heat waves: Use fishing vessel tracking data.
- The study found that tracking data could provide early detection of extreme northward and inshore shifts in albacore tuna and Pacific bluefin tuna distribution in response to heat waves and showed when such shifts weren’t happening despite high sea surface temperatures.
- The authors position fishers as “apex predators” and build on research that finds that predators are good ecosystem sentinels.

Measuring biodiversity in a world of tree-planting pledges
- The Global Biodiversity Standard (TGBS) is a certification scheme for forest restoration projects that show positive outcomes for biodiversity.
- Each assessment includes a field visit by experts from regional hubs, who have been trained in TGBS methodology.
- The regional hubs also offer ongoing mentoring to projects, to promote internationally recognized best practices in restoration.
- One year on, TGBS has certified six sites, and 15 regional hubs offer mentoring.

Methane chasers: Hunting a climate-changing gas seeping from Earth’s seafloor
- Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that can pack more than 25 times the global warming punch of carbon dioxide, and atmospheric methane emissions have been growing significantly since 2007. So it’s vital that humanity knows how and where methane emissions are coming from, including the world’s oceans.
- Scientists first raised the alarm over methane releases from shallow waters in the Arctic Ocean between 2008 and 2010. But recently, they were surprised to discover new releases in shallow waters off Antarctica. Researchers continue spotting additional seafloor seeps there and elsewhere, as methane bubbles escape seafloor sediments.
- In shallow waters, methane bubbles that break the ocean’s surface add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, but to learn how much climate risk these bubbles pose, scientists first have to find them. The hunt for methane bubbles requires everything from underwater microphones and sonar maps to scuba divers and submersibles.
- Methane seeps are more than a potential climate change threat. They also form the basis of unique chemosynthetic ecosystems that influence the deep sea and may hold clues about the origin of life. Finding and studying those seeps present fascinating challenges, requiring ingenuity and creative thinking by researchers.

After Cyclone Senyar, Indonesia probes whether development amplified scale of disaster
- Cyclone Senyar triggered catastrophic floods and landslides in northern Sumatra in late 2025, but scientists and activists say decades of deforestation and landscape alteration in upland watersheds largely determined the scale of the destruction.
- The heavily hit Batang Toru landscape, home to the world’s only Tapanuli orangutan population, has become a national test case after the government ordered eight mining, energy and plantation companies to halt operations pending rare watershed-wide environmental audits.
- Investigations have raised concerns that forest clearing by a pulpwood producer, a hydropower project and a gold mine on steep terrain may have destabilized slopes and worsened runoff during extreme rainfall.
- Experts warn that once forest cover is lost in fragile tropical watersheds, disaster risks can persist for decades, making effective law enforcement — rather than weather alone — decisive for Batang Toru’s future.

In California’s redwoods, scientists rebuild lost ecosystems high up in the canopy
- Roughly 95% of California’s old-growth redwood forests have been logged at least once, leaving mostly young trees and making the overall ecosystem less diverse.
- Fern mats — spongy masses of leather-leaf ferns and decomposed plant matter that build up high in the canopy — are an important part of that system, providing critical habitat for plants and animals in California’s redwood forests.
- Now, a pilot project is trying to restore fern mats to the canopies of particularly robust redwood trees.
- Scientists are finding that manually planting fern mats is also an effective buffer in a warming climate: they mitigate forest temperatures for salmon, birds and a host of other animals.

Africa mulls gap in climate adaptation finance for agriculture
- Agricultural adaptation in Africa is underfunded and smallholder farmers remain highly vulnerable to climate shocks despite in international funding pledges, say African stakeholders.
- They call for increased adaptation funding for the agricultural sector, but are skeptical that other countries will fill the shortfall.
- Climate finance is concentrated in a few countries and largely excludes the most vulnerable nations, leaving farmers with limited access to funds for climate-smart practices.
- Stakeholders call for public financing, better early-warning systems, loss-and-damage support, and the implementation of climate-smart agriculture.

‘The bargain of the century’: An economist’s vision for expanding clean energy access in Africa
- The recent U.N. climate conference (COP30) in Brazil resulted in the Belém Action Mechanism (BAM) to bring about a just energy transition that embraces renewable energy and expands access to power.
- But details on how the transition will be accomplished remain elusive.
- Economist Fadhel Kaboub contends that the transition should not reinforce existing inequalities in Africa and other parts of the Global South.
- Kaboub sees an opportunity in the energy transition to remedy those power imbalances, which he calls “the bargain of the century.”

The top 10 most listened-to podcasts of 2025 from Mongabay
- Another year has come and gone on Mongabay’s flagship podcast with over 40 episodes added to the catalogue.
- The following are the top 10 interviews people listened to the most.
- This chronological list includes professors, authors, Mongabay staffers, conservationists, and advocates detailing investigations, research, advocacy philosophy, examining the existential and environmental threats humanity faces.
- The editorial team agrees with the audience: if you want to hear some of the best conversations from 2025, start here.

As Cyclone Ditwah battered land, Sri Lanka’s oceans absorbed a silent shock
- Following the tropical Cyclone Ditwah, unusual sea-foam appeared along parts of Sri Lanka’s northern coast, a natural phenomenon caused by storm-driven turbulence and organic compounds released by plankton, not marine pollution, scientists say.
- Extreme rainfall from Ditwah released an extraordinary volume of freshwater into the ocean, and researchers estimate that nearly 10% of Sri Lanka’s average annual rainfall was received in a single day and rapidly drained to sea through the island’s river network.
- Flood-driven sediments and sudden changes in salinity may stress coral reefs and coastal ecosystems, but Sri Lanka lacks systematic sediment monitoring at river mouths, leaving scientists with limited data on downstream impacts.
- The floods also swept plastics, debris and nutrients into coastal waters, potentially intensifying plankton blooms and fish aggregations while increasing the risk of algal blooms, oxygen depletion and long-term marine pollution.

Statewide survey aims to put California’s fungi on the conservation map
- A state-funded survey has sampled and collected fungi species from across California, identifying hundreds of new-to-science species.
- It’s part of a statewide effort to protect biodiversity, which has yielded thousands of specimens and is the first of its kind in North America.
- Fungi are often neglected compared to the attention given to plants and animals, yet they play an important role in maintaining ecological health by supporting plant growth and storing carbon.
- Understanding fungi’s role in nature has implications for conservation and for forest restoration as wildfires grow larger and more frequent. Other researchers in California are working on putting fungi to use cleaning up polluted areas.

As storms surge & the sea rises, Belgium builds dunes for protection
- Belgium is trialing “dune-by-dike” systems as a nature-based defense against storm surges and sea-level rise, using engineered sand dunes in front of existing dikes to create a double buffer along vulnerable stretches of coast.
- There are four dune-by-dike pilot sites in Belgium, including a 750-meter site in Raversijde, a neighborhood in the coastal city of Ostend, which Mongabay visited in late November.
- The Raversijde dune-by-dike project was established in 2021 with grids of vegetation that collected sand as the wind blew, helping build up the dunes.
- While experts said they believe dune-by-dike systems could protect large portions of the Belgian coast, they said building and maintaining the dunes relies on dredging sand from the sea to replenish adjacent beaches.

Tapanuli orangutan, devastated by cyclone, now faces habitat loss under zoning plans
- A proposed zoning overhaul in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province could strip legal protections from nearly a third of the Batang Toru ecosystem, threatening the last remaining habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
- The proposal came just before a powerful cyclone triggered floods and landslides that may have killed or displaced dozens of Tapanuli orangutans and severely damaged thousands of hectares of forest.
- The changes would weaken scrutiny of mining and plantation projects, including a planned expansion of a nearby gold mine, by removing the area’s “provincial strategic” designation.
- Conservationists say rolling back protections now would be a “nail in the coffin” for the species, calling for emergency protections and expanded conservation measures to prevent population collapse.

Top-down projects, exotic trees, weak tenure: Congo Basin restoration misses the mark
- Despite a panoply of projects — from tree-planting drives to agroforestry schemes — a new study finds that much of what’s happening in the name of “forest restoration” in the Congo Basin may not be restoring forests at all, but largely focused on growing nonnative, commodity species.
- The research found nearly two-thirds of projects favored planting exotic species over native ones, primarily because they grow more quickly, require less care, and their seeds are easier to source.
- It also noted a lack of ecological monitoring, with few initiatives tracking tree survival rates, soil recovery or carbon storage, and most lasting less than five years — far too short to measure real ecological impact.
- Beyond agroforestry and fuelwood plantations, the study calls for approaches that promote natural regeneration, restore native biodiversity and reconnect fragmented habitats.

Sumatran flood disaster may have wiped out a key Tapanuli orangutan population, scientists fear
- As many as 35 critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans — 4% of the species’ total population — may have been wiped out in the catastrophic floods and landslides that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra recently, scientists warn, after the discovery of a carcass.
- Satellite and field evidence show massive destruction of the western block of the Batang Toru ecosystem, with thousands of hectares of steep forest slopes destroyed — an “extinction-level disturbance” for the world’s rarest great ape.
- Conservationists have lost contact with monitored orangutans in the disaster zone, raising fears more individuals were killed or displaced as feeding areas and valleys were obliterated.
- The tragedy has renewed calls to safeguard the Batang Toru ecosystem by halting industrial projects and granting it stronger protection, as climate-driven disasters escalate across Sumatra.

African environment programs still try to fill funding gap since USAID freeze
- Close to a year after the suspension of USAID funding in Africa, the future of many environmental programs remains uncertain.
- Alternative funding is sought from the EU, World Bank and private sector initiatives, yet experts say a significant climate finance gap remains, especially as some of these sources curtail their funding as well.
- Africa receives just 3-4% of global climate finance, according to the African Development Bank Group; while the continent contributes just 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it remains especially vulnerable to climate disasters.

Boom in burning waste for fuel could put human health and environment at risk
- Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) — conglomerated waste often composed of up to 50% plastic — is being burned globally in waste-to-energy incinerators, cement kilns, paper mills, and by other industries.
- Proponents say RDF reduces fossil fuel use and produces cleaner energy, while diverting waste from landfills.
- Critics say a lack of monitoring often hides RDF’s true environmental and human health footprint, and that when burned alongside fossil fuels, the technology can significantly worsen pollution. Health issues potentially connected to RDF contaminants range from cancer to hormone disruption.
- That’s a major concern as RDF ramps up, with countries in the Global South especially starting to use and dispose of waste in this way. Burning RDF and the incineration of plastic waste has been linked to greenhouse gas emissions and also extremely toxic pollutants such as dioxins.

UN honors five climate ‘Champions of the Earth’
The United Nations Environment Programme on Dec. 10 announced its five “2025 Champions of the Earth,” the U.N.’s highest environmental honor. Since 2005, UNEP’s Champions of the Earth has recognized individuals, groups and organizations who have contributed significantly toward transforming the environment for the better. The award celebrates four categories of contribution: policy leadership, inspiration […]
Hope, solidarity & disappointment: A familiar mix for Indigenous delegates at COP30
- COP30, held in Brazil, was promoted as both the “Amazonian COP” and the “Indigenous COP,” where more than 900 Indigenous representatives from around the world formally took part in the negotiations.
- While Brazil announced the demarcation of new Indigenous territories and 11 signatories issued a joint commitment to strengthen land tenure for Indigenous peoples, wider frustrations overshadowed these measures.
- Indigenous delegates described a familiar pattern: They were invited into the venue but not into the center of decision-making; that divide was visible in the Global Mutirão, the main COP30 outcome, in which Indigenous peoples appear in the preamble but are absent from the operative paragraphs — the part of the text that directs how countries must act and report.

Can we create new inland seas to lower sea level rise? Interview with researcher Amir AghaKouchak
- A new research project is looking into the possibility of reflooding the Qattara Depression, a massive low-lying desert area in Egypt, to help counter sea level rise.
- Scientists forecast global sea levels will rise by at least 30 centimeters (12 inches) over present-day levels by the end of the century — and that’s a conservative prediction.
- Mongabay spoke with Amir AghaKouchak, the project’s leader, who says reflooding the Qattara Depression could also bring potential benefits to Egypt, including aquaculture, renewable energy and tourism.
- The idea remains in its infancy and would require the backing of the Egyptian government as well as a great deal of further study.

New financial tools boost traditional bioeconomy projects in the Amazon
- The Brazil Restoration and Bioeconomy Finance Coalition (BRB FC), an alliance of NGOs, funders and financial institutions, aims to mobilize $10 billion by 2030 to support Indigenous and traditional communities-led enterprises.
- By supporting these initiatives, BRB FC and other projects seek to help communities restore millions of hectares of degraded land in the Amazon rainforest, the Cerrado savanna, the semiarid Caatinga, and the Atlantic Forest.
- Existing conventional financial systems often exclude grassroots initiatives due to rigid, centralized requirements that clash with local governance and realities.
- With the shift championed by BRB FC, proponents say low-bureaucracy funding models can effectively reach and empower forest-based communities while supporting the bioeconomy.

Warmer climate triggers pest infestations in Bangladesh, India tea estates
- A warmer climate triggers pest infestations across tropical tea estates in Bangladesh and India.
- Since traditional pesticides fail in pest control, the producers experience significant losses in terms of production as well as earning.
- Experts recommend comprehensive solutions with integrated pest management and improvement of soil health.

Assessments argue carbon offsets are failing communities and climate goals (commentary)
- A new report from the Land Matrix documents 9 million hectares (more than 22 million acres) of land that are subject to carbon offset deals worldwide.
- The Land Matrix data does not include what it calls “community- or farmer-based projects” as it claims that these do not contribute to land concentration and inequality — but a similar analysis sees it very differently.
- “The takeaway is that we all have to build stronger analyses of what is going on with these carbon land grabs, and put an end to offsetting as a false solution to the climate crisis,” the authors of a new op-ed argue.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Scientists push for greater climate role for Latin America’s overlooked ecosystems
- Tropical forests are rightly regarded as important carbon sinks and crucial in the fight against climate change, but other tropical ecosystems have largely gone overlooked despite their carbon -sequestration potential.
- Peatlands, mangroves, coastal freshwater wetlands and seagrass meadows are just some of the ecosystems that have a potentially huge capacity to capture and store carbon, but don’t feature prominently enough — or at all — in the national climate plans of Latin American countries.
- Peatland soils can store between three and five times more carbon dioxide than other tropical ecosystems, with similar figures for mangroves and coastal freshwater wetlands.
- Seagrass meadows cover just 0.1% of the ocean floor, but can store up to 18% of global oceanic carbon.

In wake of Cyclone Ditwah, Sri Lanka faces continuing disaster risks
- The devastating Cyclone Ditwah has left a trail of destruction over 25 districts in Sri Lanka and killed 474 people; among the hardest-hit are those inhabiting low-lying coastal areas and the tea growing Central Highlands.
- Increasing vulnerability to extreme weather events among littoral populations is exacerbated by high population density, experts say.
- More than one-third of the Sri Lankan population, or more than 4.5 million people, live along the coastline and population density is projected to reach 134 people per square kilometer by 2050.
- Nearly 34% of the island population lives in high-risk landslide-prone areas of the country, making the island’s central hills highly susceptible to disaster impacts.

‘Silent epidemic of chemical pollution’ demands radical regulatory redo, say scientists
- An international team of 43 scientists has called for a “paradigm shift” in toxicology and chemical regulation globally after having found severe lapses in current regulatory systems for evaluating the safety of pesticides and plastics derived from petrochemical byproducts.
- The researchers note that the full commercial formulations of common petrochemical-based pesticides and plasticizers have never been subjected to long-term tests on mammals. Only the active ingredients declared by chemical companies have been assessed for human health risks, while other ingredients have not.
- The scientists found that synthesized pesticides and plasticizers contain petroleum-based waste and heavy metals such as arsenic that can make them “at least 1,000 times more toxic” than the active ingredients alone, posing chronic disease and health threats, especially to children — claims that the chemical industry denies.
- Researchers urge lowering the admissible daily intake, or toxicity threshold, for already approved chemical compounds; long-term testing on the full formulations of new pesticides and new plasticizers; and requiring all toxicological data and experimental protocols for approved commercial compounds be made public.

What was achieved for Indigenous peoples at COP30?
- The two-week COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, saw the largest global participation of Indigenous leaders in the conference’s history.
- With the adoption of measures like the Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment, a $1.8 billion funding pledge, and the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), the summit resulted in historic commitments to secure land tenure rights for Indigenous peoples, local communities and Afro-descendant people.
- Yet despite these advances, sources say frustrations grew as negotiators failed to establish pathways for rapid climate finance for adaptation, loss and damage, or to create road maps for reversing deforestation and phasing out fossil fuels.
- While some pledges appear ambitious, Indigenous delegates say effective implementation of the pledges will depend on government transparency and accountable use of funds.

Saving forests won’t be enough if fossil fuels beneath them are still extracted, experts warn
- A new analysis finds that tropical forests in 68 countries sit atop fossil fuel deposits that, if extracted, would emit 317 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases — more than the remaining 1.5°C (2.7°F) carbon budget — revealing a major blind spot in global climate policy.
- Because Brazil’s proposed Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) focuses only on stopping deforestation, researchers warn it risks missing far larger emissions from potential oil, gas and coal extraction under protected forests.
- India, China and Indonesia hold the largest fossil reserves beneath forests, with Indonesia facing acute trade-offs as most of its coal lies under forest areas where mining threatens biodiversity and Indigenous communities, including rhino habitats in Borneo.
- Experts say that compensating countries for leaving fossil fuels unextracted — through mechanisms like debt swaps or climate finance — could unlock massive climate benefits, but fossil fuel phaseout remains excluded from TFFF negotiations despite growing calls to include it.

It’s time to end the carbon offset era, COP30 scientists & communities say (commentary)
- The COP30 Science Council and Indigenous delegates, activists and local communities in Belém this week argued that forests are not offsets and that the world cannot simply trade its way out of the climate crisis.
- Carbon offsetting programs have been under intense scrutiny for years, and a broad coalition of COP30 attendees and advisors say that this is the moment to move forward on climate finance with greater effectiveness and equity.
- “This is the Amazon COP. If it ends with a decision that ignores Indigenous rights and props up offset markets that science says cannot work, it will squander the moral clarity of this moment,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Fighting for food sovereignty at COP30: Interview with GRAIN’s Ange-David Baïmey
- The NGO GRAIN defines climate justice as ensuring frontline African communities can control their land, seeds and food systems rather than being pushed toward export-oriented, corporate agriculture.
- Ange-David Baïmey, the group’s program coordinator for Africa, tells Mongabay that climate change is worsening farmers’ access to land, water and resilient seeds, while multinational seed and input companies deepen dependency and erode traditional seed systems.
- He says formal U.N. climate negotiations are ineffective, with GRAIN instead using the COP30 conference to engage with civil society at the People’s COP to advance food sovereignty and agroecology.
- For Baïmey, a COP30 “victory” would mean rejecting carbon markets, which he argues facilitate land grabbing and undermine food security across Africa.

EU touts climate leadership while undermining antideforestation rules, critics say
- European governments are pushing to delay and weaken the EU Deforestation Regulation, backing a one-year postponement to 2026 and major reductions in due-diligence requirements.
- The political shift is driven largely by Germany and supported by France, despite earlier European Commission rollbacks and opposition from only a few member states.
- Civil society groups warn that further delays would gut the law, punish early-compliant companies, and undermine the EU’s regulatory credibility.
- At COP30, the EU’s silence on deforestation has fueled accusations of hypocrisy as advocates say weakening the EUDR would have severe consequences for tropical forests.

Next year’s UN climate talks set for Turkey, as Australia backs out of bid in compromise
BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Turkey will host next year’s annual United Nations climate talks, as Australia late Wednesday bowed out of the race to host the conference after a protracted standoff. As Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke at the U.N. conference, this year being hosted by Brazil, Australia’s Climate and Energy Minister […]
‘The perfect ingredients’: WRI Africa deputy director shares vision for the continent’s energy transition
- Rebekah Shirley, the deputy director for Africa at the World Resources Institute (WRI), says that increasing energy access for Africans, 600 million of whom lack basic access to electricity, requires thinking about entire economies.
- In a conversation with Mongabay, Shirley notes that technological advances, especially for renewable energy, are no longer the hurdle they once were.
- Instead, bringing energy access to households, community services and industry will result from investment in manufacturing, commerce and industry that will support the expansion of universal household energy access, Shirley says.
- Mongabay spoke with Shirley in the lead-up to the 2025 U.N. climate conference, COP30, in Belém, Brazil.

Brazil releases draft text and letter to accelerate COP30 climate negotiations
BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Brazil is ramping up efforts at the U.N. climate conference with a direct letter to nations and a draft text released Tuesday. The letter, sent late Monday, comes during the final week of the first climate summit in the Amazon rainforest. COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago released a proposal with […]
Indonesia labeled ‘Fossil of the Day’ for echoing industry talking points at COP30
- Indonesia has been publicly rebuked at COP30 with a “Fossil of the Day” award after civil society groups accused its delegation of echoing fossil fuel and carbon industry lobbyists during negotiations on Article 6.4, the U.N.’s new carbon market mechanism.
- Observers say Indonesia’s position closely mirrors the talking points in an industry-backed letter calling for weaker safeguards under Article 6.4 — a move critics warn could undermine the integrity of global carbon markets and benefit groups with financial stakes in nature-based carbon projects.
- Indonesia denies being influenced by lobbyists, even though at least 46 representatives from fossil fuel and heavy-industry companies are accredited under its delegation — raising broader concerns about corporate access to negotiations amid a COP already flooded with a record proportion of fossil fuel lobbyists.
- Experts warn Indonesia’s push to loosen Article 6.4 rules risks weakening international oversight, aligning the mechanism with the far less transparent Article 6.2, and potentially undermining both Indonesia’s climate credibility and the robustness of the Paris Agreement’s carbon market safeguards.

As Indonesia turns COP30 into carbon market showcase, critics warn of ‘hot air’
- Indonesia is using the COP30 climate summit to aggressively market its carbon credits, launching daily “Sellers Meet Buyers” sessions and seeking international commitments 6 despite unresolved integrity issues in its carbon market.
- Experts warn Indonesia’s credits risk being “hot air,” since its climate targets are rated “critically insufficient,” meaning many claimed reductions may not be real, additional or permanent — especially in forest-based projects.
- Forest and land-use credits, Indonesia’s biggest selling point, are among the riskiest, with high risks of overcrediting, leakage and nonpermanence; ongoing fires and deforestation further undermine credibility.
- Environmental groups say the carbon push distracts Indonesia from securing real climate finance, enabling wealthy nations to offset rather than cut emissions, while leaving Indonesia vulnerable to climate impacts and dependent on a fragile market.

Strategic ignorance, climate change and Amazonia (commentary)
- With the support of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, essentially all of Brazil’s government outside of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is promoting actions that push us toward tipping points, both for the Amazon Rainforest and the global climate.
- Crossing any of these tipping points would result in global warming escaping from human control, with devastating consequences for Brazil that include mass mortalities.
- The question of whether Brazil’s leaders understand the consequences of their actions is relevant to how they will be judged by history, but the climatic consequences follow automatically, regardless of how these actions may be judged, a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Embrace ‘blue’ foods as a climate strategy at COP30, fisheries ministers say (commentary)
- The “blue” or aquatic foods sector is often overlooked as a climate strategy, despite its potential to help meet demand for protein with a smaller environmental footprint, fisheries ministers from Brazil and Portugal argue in a new op-ed at Mongabay.
- Many blue foods generate minimal carbon emissions and use modest amounts of feed, land and freshwater, and their increased consumption could cut annual global CO₂ emissions by a gigaton or more.
- “Brazil and Portugal stand ready to champion global efforts to harness and safeguard blue foods for climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, generating multiple benefits across sustainable development goals. We call on more countries to implement measures across the blue food sector that strengthen food security and climate strategies at COP30 and beyond,” the authors write.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

To fix the climate, simply empower Indigenous people (commentary)
- While nations search for complex climate solutions at this year’s COP30 climate meeting in Belém, a simple yet powerful answer is just waiting in the wings: empowering the world’s most powerful protectors of forests and nature – Indigenous people – and we must let them point the way, a new op-ed argues.
- Ending fossil fuel use and transforming global food systems are essential but expensive and take time, but nations like Indonesia can score an immediate climate win by enacting its long debated Indigenous Peoples Bill, for example.
- “Humanity seeks an answer, but the answer has always been here,” the Sira Declaration states. “The answer is us.”
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

‘Not good’: Ocean losing its greenness, threatening food webs
- The ocean is losing its greenness, a new study has found: Global chlorophyll concentration, a proxy for phytoplankton biomass, declined over the past two decades, especially in coastal areas.
- Phytoplankton are the base of the marine food web, supporting fisheries and broader ecosystems, so their decline could have far-reaching implications, experts say.
- The phytoplankton decline could hurt coastal communities that live off the sea, and affect the ocean’s ability to act as a carbon sink, the authors say.

What does the just energy transition mean for Africa?
- Around 600 million Africans lack even basic access to electricity.
- The challenges this deficit poses have led to a call for a “just” energy transition that brings access to energy from renewable sources without imposing undue costs on individuals, communities and countries.
- The rising concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are largely the result of fossil fuel burning in industrialized countries, and yet countries in Africa and elsewhere in the Global South are often on the frontlines of the impacts of climate change, including unbearable heat, droughts and flooding.
- The debate about how to facilitate a “just” transition includes questions around the continued use of fossil fuels, nations’ sovereignty, and mobilizing funding to finance the necessary changes.

Rise in Chinese off-grid coal plants in Indonesia belies pledge to end fossil fuel support
- Chinese president Xi Jinping has pledged to end the country’s financing of overseas coal projects — but a surge in Chinese-backed coal-fired power plants to supply electricity to nickel mining and processing undermines that pledge.
- Chinese investment has been flowing into Indonesia’s metal mining and smelting sector in a bid to supply raw materials to electric vehicle battery makers amid a transition to the zero-emission vehicles.
- By the end of the decade, about 44% of processed nickel for use in batteries and also for stainless steel will come from Indonesia.

Why Sweden’s forest policy matters to the world (commentary)
- Sweden is one of the world’s largest exporters of forest-based products: paper, timber, cardboard and biofuels travel across the globe, ending up in your packaging, your books, in your home.
- A recent government proposal encourages fertilization with nitrogen to speed up tree growth, which may work in the short term but eventually fails and is leached into waterways, altering ecosystems and being released back into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases.
- “If a country with some of the world’s largest intact boreal forests chooses to double down on short-term extraction, it will not only undermine the EU’s climate goals — it will send a dangerous signal to other forest nations, from Canada to Brazil, that soil and biodiversity can be sacrificed in the name of so-called green growth,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

New pledge, old problems as Indonesia’s latest Indigenous forest promise draws skepticism
- Indonesia has pledged to recognize 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) of Indigenous and customary forests by 2029, a move the government says will curb deforestation and advance Indigenous rights.
- Advocates call the pledge another empty promise, citing years of stalled reforms, including a long-delayed Indigenous Rights Bill and a slow, bureaucratic process that has recognized less than 2% of mapped customary forests.
- Rights groups say state-backed development continues to drive land grabs and forest loss, with a quarter of Indigenous territories overlapping extractive concessions and widespread conflicts linked to the government’s strategic national projects (PSN).
- Critics urge the government to enact legal reforms and recognize Indigenous land beyond the 1.4-million-hectare target, warning that without real action, the pledge will be symbolic rather than transformative.

Indigenous delegates prepare for COP30 with focus on justice, land and finance
- The 2025 U.N. climate conference, COP30, will run from Nov. 10-21 in Belém, Brazil, and is expected to host the largest participation of Indigenous peoples in the conference series’ history, with more than 3,000 Indigenous delegates registered.
- Mongabay spoke with some of the delegates from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific about their expectations for the conference and their objectives.
- They’re calling for recognition of Indigenous lands as a climate solution, a just energy transition, protection for forest defenders, and financial pledges that ensure at least 20% of forest conservation funds be directed to Indigenous and local communities.
- COP30 is expected to launch initiatives such as the Belém Action Mechanism for a just transition and the Tropical Forest Forever Facility. In the lead up to the conference, governments and donors also announced major commitments to recognize customary lands and provide funding support land rights.

No, Bill Gates, we don’t have to choose between people & planet (commentary)
- A new essay by billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, “Three Tough Truths About Climate,” marks a dangerous shift that could undermine his notable contributions to solving the climate crisis, the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, argues in a new op-ed.
- His suggestion that the world must choose between financing development or climate action falsely presents a zero-sum situation, she says, adding that Gates must publicly set the record straight before this idea is further used as a justification for backsliding on climate action.
- “The great challenge of our time is to build a future where every person can thrive on a healthy planet. That means rejecting the idea that we must choose between human progress and environmental protection,” Robinson writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Climate finance must reach Indigenous communities at COP30 & beyond (commentary)
- Indigenous and local communities protect 36% of the world’s intact tropical forests, yet receive less than 1% of international climate finance — a contradiction that threatens global climate goals and leaves the most effective forest guardians without the resources they need.
- As the COP30 climate summit in the Amazon draws near, pressure is mounting to get funding directly into the hands of Indigenous and local community organizations who are the frontline defenders of the world’s rainforests.
- “As billions of dollars in climate finance will be discussed or even decided upon at COP30 in Brazil, the priority must be to get resources directly to Indigenous and local communities who have safeguarded forests for generations,” a new op-ed argues.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Witch Hunt: Virulent fungal disease attacks South America’s cassava crop
- Witches’ Broom, a devastating fungal disease, has spread for the first time from Southeast Asia to Latin America, arriving in French Guiana in 2023 and has now infiltrated northern Brazil.
- Cassava is a vital crop for food security in South America and Africa, and a critical cash crop in Southeast Asia, where the fungal disease is spreading rapidly. More than 500 million people worldwide rely on cassava for their dietary needs.
- The pathogen has already caused massive cassava losses in Southeast Asia, with infection rates in some fields near 90%, and now it threatens food security in Latin America. Climate change is helping the fungus thrive and spread, as wetter conditions create an ideal environment for infection.
- Brazil has launched emergency measures, including funding research and farmer training, but scientists warn that without swift containment, cassava production across the tropics could face severe declines.

Report identifies 10 emerging tech solutions to enhance planetary health
- A recent report underlines 10 emerging technologies offering potential to accelerate climate action, restore ecosystems, and drive sustainable innovation within safe planetary boundaries. These technologies include AI-supported Earth observation, automated food waste upcycling, green concrete and more.
- Innovative AI improvements in Earth observations (EO) can better identify and track human-caused environmental impacts and offer improved early warning alerts for planetary boundary overshoot. Such systems use AI-powered analytics to synthesize satellite, drone and ground-based data for near-real-time results.
- Artificial intelligence and automation can also work in tandem to manage citywide food waste programs, ensuring that food scraps are diverted from landfills or incineration, decreasing carbon emissions and reducing waste.
- Another tech solution is green concrete which could not only reduce emissions from traditional cement production, but when incorporated into infrastructure construction, can offer a permanent storage place for captured CO2.

Indonesia pledges energy transition — but the country’s new NDC says otherwise
- Indonesia’s newly submitted second nationally determined contribution (SNDC), in accordance with the Paris Agreement, contains emission-reduction targets widely seen as insufficient to meet the goal of limiting warming to 1.5° Celsius.
- This contrasts with President Prabowo Subianto’s pledges to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2035 and to phase out coal within 15 years, raising hopes that Indonesia could embark on a genuine energy transition.
- Under the SNDC’s high-growth scenario of 8% annual economic growth, Indonesia’s emissions are projected to be roughly 30% higher in 2035 than in 2019; in contrast, a 1.5°C-compatible pathway would require a 21% reduction.
- Critics say this suggests deep climate action is still seen as incompatible with rapid economic growth.

Potential wind slowdown threatens renewable energy and fuels heat domes
Climate change may be causing long-term global wind speeds to slow down, a shift that will likely lead to a dangerous rise in local temperatures, worsening air pollution and disruption to renewable energy systems, Mongabay writer Sean Mowbray reported. A warming atmosphere is likely weakening the forces that govern wind speeds, leading to more frequent […]
Belém faces its social and natural demons as host to COP30
- Deforestation and the city’s historic shift from rivers to roads led to a massive influx of people into low-lying baixadas, where 57% of residents lack services, such as sewage, and are highly prone to flooding.
- The lack of trees in one of the Amazon’s most revered cities, especially in poor neighborhoods, contributes to projections that Belém will face 222 days of extreme heat by 2050.
- Experts argue that the infrastructure projects being implemented don’t offer sustainable solutions, reflecting a long-term failure to address Belém’s water and sewage crises.

Supercharged dust storms are exposing millions to deadly air pollution
More people are getting sick due to sand and dust storms that are now more intense and frequent, contributor Sean Mowbray reported for Mongabay. The intensifying storms have exposed many millions more people to dangerous levels of particulate pollution across the world. In some regions, it has also triggered outbreaks of respiratory and infectious diseases. […]
Indonesia’s most vulnerable push for nation’s first Climate Justice Bill
- Climate change is forcing migration and deepening inequality across Indonesia, displacing rural residents, Indigenous peoples and those with disabilities — groups least responsible for the crisis.
- Fishers and farmers say they’ve been driven abroad by collapsing livelihoods caused by erratic weather, only to face exploitation and unsafe working conditions overseas.
- Indigenous and disabled communities are also seeing their food security, mobility and safety undermined, yet they remain largely excluded from government responses and public discourse.
- Civil society and affected groups are pushing for Indonesia to pass a Climate Justice Bill, which would enshrine climate justice as a constitutional right and protect vulnerable communities through coordinate national policy.

Guava yields in South Asia shrink due to unpredictable heat & rainfall
- Changing rainfall patterns due to climate change are posing threats to guava farming in South Asia, the global hub of the tropical fruit.
- In recent years, rising temperatures and delayed monsoons have been affecting the flowering and fruiting of even the drought-tolerant guava varieties.
- Experts in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have identified links to climate change with vulnerabilities in guava farming and suggest solutions.

Drone surveys offer early warnings on whale health and survival
- Scientists have deployed drones and are using photogrammetry to determine how climate change is impacting the health of whale populations.
- By collecting the measurements of whales, scientists are able to track how environmental factors impact the growth and reproduction of right whales off the coast of New England and orcas in Alaska.
- Using the data, they found that a marine heat wave in 2013 reversed the revival of the population in Alaska that had plummeted after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989; they also noticed that the whales didn’t grow as much as they should have.
- The method also enabled scientists to detect pregnant whales well in advance, allowing them to monitor if the pregnancy was successful or not.

Feel the heat: New app maps heat stress anywhere on Earth, 1940 to now
- The new Thermal Trace app allows users to explore thermal stress and related data from 1940 until five days before present, for anywhere in the world. The app, free for users, was developed by the European Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
- Thermal Trace combines a range of metrics including ambient temperature, humidity, wind speed and more to come up with a “feels like” temperature that reflects the impact of heat and cold on the human body.
- Both heat and cold are physiologically stressful, and prolonged exposure can cause short- and long-term health impacts. Building up a greater awareness and understanding of heat stress and the harm it can do is especially important in our globally warmed world.
- Researchers warn that as climate change impacts accelerate, heat-related health impacts will become more serious and of especially grave concern to the parts of the world that reach the limits to human heat stress adaptation.

Uphill battle to save California’s endangered mountain yellow-legged frog
- Conservation organizations released 350 mountain yellow-legged frogs earlier this year, marking another step in an intensive, long-running reintroduction project for this highly endangered species in Southern California.
- Once abundant across its range, populations have declined drastically because of invasive fish species, climate change impacts, and the deadly chytrid fungus that is wiping out amphibians worldwide.
- Conservationists are testing out new ways to boost survival rates of released frogs. Though it’s hoped the species may one day recover, today they are locked in a fight against extinction.

One after another, Pakistan endures successive climate disasters
- Pakistan contributes less than 1% to global carbon emissions, yet it is among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
- In recent years, Pakistan has withstood multiple catastrophes, including floods and heat waves that have killed thousands and affected hundreds of millions of people.
- The country has faced both “compound” climate change effects, occurring simultaneously, and “sequential” climate change effects, in which one can intensify or trigger another.
- More research is needed on these phenomena in order for Pakistan — and other countries — to prepare for climate change effects.

Big Oil isn’t part of the clean energy push, despite its claims, study shows
A new study that mapped the portfolios of the world’s 250 biggest oil and gas companies found their deployment of renewable energy is paltry: they’re responsible for just 1.42% of the global renewable energy capacity in operation. Despite announcing ambitious plans to embrace renewables, a mere 0.1% of the primary energy they produce comes from […]
World’s top fossil fuel producers set to grow despite Paris targets
The world’s 20 largest fossil fuel producing countries are on track to produce more than twice the amount of coal, oil and gas in 2030 than would be consistent with the global goal to limit warming to 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit), according to the new Production Gap Report 2025. The 2025 report updates an earlier […]
As Singapore heats up, pests are seeking refuge indoors
- In the past few years, previously spotless air-conditioned icons of Singapore such as Changi Airport and the Apple Store have experienced infestations and diseases on indoor greenery.
- Experts say the rise in extreme temperatures as the city-state loses forest cover explains the migration of flies, bees, butterflies and rats into cooler indoor environments.
- Singapore’s pest control industry is booming as a result, with the country’s National Environment Agency mandating tougher rules to curb vector-borne diseases.
- Methods used to control pest species are being challenged by animal welfare groups concerned over the growing use of glue traps, which catch protected as well as target species.

Indigenous leaders gather at the IUCN Indigenous Peoples and Nature summit
More than 100 Indigenous leaders from across the world are gathering at the global Indigenous peoples’ summit at the IUCN World Conservation Congress that begins Oct. 8 in Abu Dhabi. The summit aims to set priorities and commitments for the broader conservation community, highlighting Indigenous peoples’ effective participation in environmental negotiations, leadership and action. IUCN […]
Fears of major locust swarms wane in the Sahel but agencies step up monitoring
- Fears of major desert locust swarms in the Sahel in 2025 are receding, as authorities in the region continue to monitor breeding sites.
- The FAO says control measures were carried out by teams in Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria in response to earlier alerts.
- While field reporting has been hampered by limited resources and insecurity in many key parts of the region, improved remote surveillance and information-sharing tools have been strengthened.

With red tape, canceled rebates, Indonesia risks missing Chinese renewables investment
- Chinese clean energy firms, including LONGi and Trina Solar, are investing in solar panel manufacturing in Indonesia as competition and policy changes squeeze their domestic market.
- Indonesia is an attractive but underdeveloped renewables market, with just 560 MW of total solar capacity installed, compared to 198 GW added in China in the first five months of 2025.
- Strict quotas set by Indonesia’s state-owned utility PLN limit rooftop solar installations, dampening investor enthusiasm despite the country’s vast potential.
- Since 2022, Chinese firms have pledged about $70 billion in Indonesian renewables, EV and battery ventures, presenting Indonesia with a rare opportunity to build a robust clean energy supply chain.

Climate change is messing with global wind speeds, impacting planetary health
- Climate change is affecting global wind patterns in multiple ways, many of which have direct implications for human health.
- Worsening sand and dust storms, wildfires intensified by record-setting winds, and increasingly severe hurricanes, derechos, short-lived convective storms, and other extreme weather events are impacting people’s lives, health and property around the world.
- Conversely, some studies suggest escalating climate change will contribute to global declines in average wind speed and intensify “wind droughts” in some locales, which could concentrate toxic atmospheric pollutants, intensify heat domes, and have implications for renewable energy systems.
- Alterations to Earth’s high-altitude jet stream is making it “wavier,” and more likely to stall in place, contributing to longer and more severe droughts and destructive storms. In polar regions, changes in wind and storm patterns are affecting ice melt, with potentially troubling consequences for global weather.

There’s far less land available for reforestation than we think, study finds
- In recent years, policymakers have made pledges for huge tree-planting projects a cornerstone for meeting national carbon reduction goals, while doing little to seriously cut fossil fuel emissions. But a new study shows the carbon sequestration estimates made for those forestation projects may be wildly optimistic.
- The new research determined that land found suitable for forestation in past studies — an area about the size of India — shrank by as much as two-thirds when adverse impacts on biodiversity, food security and water resources were taken into account.
- When the new study figured in environmental and social constraints, the potential for existing tree-planting pledges to store a promised 40 gigatons of carbon by 2050, was reduced to just 12.5 gigatons — a significant sum, but far from what’s needed to offset continued fossil fuel use.
- The new study urges policymakers to be more pragmatic in their planting strategies, and prioritize lands best slated for permanent reforestation. Other researchers urge decision-makers to put more effort and money into protecting already existing biodiverse forests, which hold high carbon storage potential.

Indigenous myths reveal Amazon’s past truths: Interview with Stéphen Rostain
- Recent archaeological findings, bolstered by laser-based lidar mapping and by archaeologist Stéphen Rostain, reveal that the Amazon supported vast and complex ancient urban societies.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Rostain says the ancient Upano Valley culture in Ecuador collapsed due to severe drought, offering a stark warning for the Amazon’s current climate vulnerability.
- Rostain says he’s hopeful that a new archaeological understanding of the Amazon will challenge centuries of prejudice against Indigenous people and offer answers for the future.

Ocean acidification threatens planetary health: Interview with Johan Rockström
- The newly published 2025 Planetary Health Check report confirms transgression of the ocean acidification planetary boundary — the seventh Earth system threshold crossed, putting a “safe operating space for humanity” at risk. Oceans act as a key climate stabilizer, resilience builder and Earth life-support system.
- Marking the launch of the 2025 Planetary Health Check, Mongabay speaks with report co-author and renowned Earth system scientist Johan Rockström about how the transgression of planetary boundaries is eroding environmental justice — the right of every human being to life on a stable, healthy planet.
- Rockström, who led the international team of scientists who originated the 2009 planetary boundary framework, also speaks about the failure to achieve a U.N. plastics treaty in August and the challenge of accomplishing planetwide sustainability in a time of widespread armed conflict and political instability.
- He likewise emphasizes the need to bring the U.S. back to the negotiating table at COP30, the U.N. climate summit scheduled for November, in Belém, Brazil, and addresses the importance of inserting the planetary boundaries framework into those talks.

Scientists weigh giant sea curtain to shield ‘Doomsday Glacier’ from melting
- Scientists have proposed using anchored seabed curtains to block warm ocean water from accelerating ice loss at Antarctica’s rapidly melting Thwaites Glacier — a possible climate fix that falls into the realm of geoengineering.
- Thwaites is losing 50 billion metric tons of ice annually and could raise sea levels by more than 60 cm (2 ft) if it collapses.
- Critics warn that a handful of proposed geoengineering projects in the world’s polar regions distract from decarbonization efforts, while supporters argue some geoengineering may be a necessary last-resort measure as governments fail to address rising greenhouse gas emissions.
- The curtain project could cost up to $80 billion, scientists estimate, but may prevent trillions in climate-related damages.

Global CO2 storage capacity may be drastically overstated, study finds
- The storage available for safe carbon storage could be far lower than current estimates, according to a new study.
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been touted as a viable method for drawing billions of tons of CO2 out of the air, typically securing it in rock formations deep underground.
- However, this new analysis suggests that many locations suitable for carbon storage may also pose risks, such as water contamination or earthquakes.
- That finding led the study authors to conclude that the “prudent” available storage is much less than has been estimated.

The mire of Brazil’s BR-319 highway: Deforestation, development, and the banality of evil (commentary)
- Brazil’s BR-319 highway project is moving inexorably forward toward approval and construction, with the individual actors in the different government agencies acting to fulfill their assigned duties despite the overall consequence being potentially disastrous for Brazil and for global climate.
- The bureaucratic system failure this represents was codified as the “banality of evil” by Hannah Arendt, a problem that applies to many bureaucracies around the world, resulting in major impacts for the environment.
- President Lula is in a position to act on behalf of the wider interests of Brazil, but so far, he has isolated himself in a “disinformation space” that excludes consideration of the overall impacts of BR-319 and other damaging proposals in the Amazon.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

No new record low for Arctic sea ice loss in 2025
- Arctic sea ice hit its 2025 summer minimum without setting a record low on Sept. 10, despite a historically low winter maximum earlier in the year.
- Scientists say sea ice loss has slowed over the past 20 years due to natural variability in atmospheric and ocean systems, counterbalancing the impacts from human-caused climate change.
- However, researchers warn that this slowdown likely offers only a temporary reprieve, and that the continued escalation of global warming could cause rapid sea ice loss before 2050.
- The U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center for the first time switched to using Japanese sea ice data after losing access to key U.S. military satellite data, which had allowed for a continuous Arctic sea ice record since 1979.

More deforestation leads to a drier dry season, Amazon study finds
- Between 2002 and 2015, forest loss in Brazil’s southern Amazon reduced the amount of rainfall during the dry season by more than 5%, a recent study found.
- Researchers studying how deforestation in the states of Rondônia and Mato Grosso affected the atmospheric water cycle between 2002 and 2015 found that a reduction in forest cover reduced evapotranspiration and disrupted regional atmospheric systems.
- Lower rainfall during the dry season can compromise crops, boost wildfires, and reduce water supplies and river levels, sometimes leaving communities isolated.

Indonesia’s giant Java seawall plan sparks criticism & calls for alternatives
- Indonesia has launched a massive new project on Java’s northern coast, framed as protection for millions of residents from worsening environmental threats.
- The plan has drawn sharp criticism from experts and activists who question its methods, costs and potential impact on vulnerable communities.
- Calls are growing for deeper public consultation and long-term solutions that go beyond quick fixes.

Brazil’s market-based forest fund gets new endorsers ahead of COP30 debut
- The Tropical Forest Finance Facility (TFFF) initiative is expected to be launched at Brazil’s COP30, in November, and has received attention due to potential financial support from China.
- In July and August this year, BRICS leaders and Amazonian cooperating countries endorsed a Brazil-led initiative that seeks to reward states and investors in exchange for tropical forest preservation.
- Despite bringing a new formula for a much-awaited solution to climate financing, the TFFF was criticized in a recent report as being a market-based approach that could monetize ecosystem services, ignoring the intrinsic value of forests and biodiversity.

Indonesia prioritizes gas over renewables to meet power demand surge
- Indonesia’s state electricity company PLN is betting big on natural gas as a “bridging fuel” ahead of a big buildup of renewables.
- But it is at least half again more expensive than coal, and domestic supplies are running low.
- Critics say gas is costly, existing plants are underused, and the policy risks locking Indonesia into fossil fuels while diverting funds from clean energy.
- Domestic gas supply is also declining as wells age, raising fears of shortages by the mid-2030s unless new reserves are tapped.

Post-Blob, California’s kelp crisis isn’t going away
- Kelp forests function as major habitat for marine biodiversity, but are in rapid decline worldwide, largely because of climate impacts on the oceans.
- A 2013 marine heat wave known as “the Blob,” combined with the mass die-off of sea stars, caused a 95% loss of Northern California’s kelp forests.
- The loss of sea stars allowed the purple urchins that they thrive on to spread rapidly, converting lush kelp forests into “urchin barrens” in parts of California. There’s been very little recovery since.
- Restoration of kelp forests is extremely difficult and requires far more resources than are currently being committed.

New study pinpoints tree-planting hotspots for climate and biodiversity gains
- Reforestation is gaining global momentum as a climate solution, but its success depends on how and where it’s done.
- A new study mapped locations where tree planting and forest regrowth are most likely to deliver climate, biodiversity and community benefits, while avoiding negative trade-offs. It identified 195 million hectares (482 million acres) of reforestation hotspots, a figure significantly smaller than previous estimates.
- Previous studies have been criticized for including grasslands and drylands, where planting trees may harm biodiversity and compromise ecosystem services. Some experts, however, argue that restrictive approaches risk excluding important ecosystems from restoration agendas.
- Scientists caution that tree planting alone won’t solve climate change, and that protecting existing forests while cutting emissions would provide greater climate benefits.

To save humanity and nature we must tackle wealth inequality, says Cambridge researcher
Wealth inequality is a primary culprit behind the ecological and environmental collapse of societies over the past 12,000 years, which have come to be dominated by a small circle of elites hoarding resources like land, research shows. Today, instead of an isolated collapse, we face a global one, says Luke Kemp, a researcher at the […]
Why is rainfall declining in the Amazon? New research says deforestation is the leading driver
- Deforestation in the Amazon has been identified as the main driver of declining rainfall, responsible for nearly three-quarters of the drop in dry-season precipitation since the mid-1980s.
- Between 1985 and 2020, dry-season rainfall fell by about 21mm annually, with 15.8mm linked to forest loss, while maximum daily temperatures rose by 2°C, about one-sixth of which was caused by deforestation.
- Amazonian trees generate more than 40% of the region’s rainfall through transpiration, and their removal disrupts local and regional weather, influencing monsoons and increasing drought risk far beyond the basin.
- If current deforestation trends persist, by 2035 the region could lose another 7mm of rainfall in the dry season and heat up by 0.6°C, pushing the Amazon toward a drier climate like the Cerrado or Caatinga.

Carbon offset markets are unfair to communities in Borneo & beyond (commentary)
- Recent investigations have found that many carbon offset projects overstate their impact, ignore Indigenous rights, and fail to deliver on promised benefits.
- In tropical forest regions like Malaysian Borneo, only 1% of climate finance reaches Indigenous communities, despite the latter’s proven role in preventing deforestation: in many cases these communities’ stewardship is what makes carbon offset programs possible.
- “The communities who have fought tooth and nail to keep these forests standing are not being rewarded with handsome sums for their efforts. The carbon credits (and the cash) flow primarily to the license holders, not to the Indigenous people who protect these lands,” a new op-ed states.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Climate change is driving fish stocks from countries’ waters to the high seas: Study
- A new study found that more than half of the world’s straddling stocks will shift across the maritime borders between exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and the high seas by 2050.
- Most of these shifts will be into the high seas, where fisheries management is much more challenging and stocks are more likely to be overexploited.
- Among the most serious potential consequences is a loss of fisheries resources for many tropical countries that did little to create the climate crisis, including small island developing states in the Pacific Ocean.

Climate change intensified wildfire weather in Greece, Türkiye and Cyprus: Study
Hundreds of wildfires across Europe have burned at least 1 million hectares, or around 2.5 million acres, since the start of the year. That’s made 2025 the worst year for the continent since official wildfire records began in 2006. In Türkiye, Greece and Cyprus, which saw deadly fires peaking since June, weather conditions that drove […]
Climate negotiations must begin to prioritize conservation of wetlands like Brazil’s Pantanal (commentary)
- Last year in the heart of the world’s largest tropical wetland, Brazil’s Pantanal, a jaguar beloved among conservationists and nicknamed Gaia was found lifeless, charred by flames that have been ravaging this landscape that ought to be immune to fire.
- Her death was more than a symbolic loss, though, amid increasingly undeniable data about the unfolding climate catastrophe that even begins to threaten massive wetlands like the Pantanal, which is home to thousands of species and provides critical ecosystem services like water filtration, carbon storage and climate regulation.
- Despite this, the authors of a new op-ed point out that as Brazil prepares to host the annual United Nations climate summit, wetland-specific solutions are still absent from most countries’ emissions reduction pledges, while freshwater ecosystems rarely feature in high-level negotiations.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Global South bears growing burden of health threats from plastic burning
Many communities, especially those in the Global South, are increasingly burning plastic as a fuel for stoves or simply to get rid of waste. In the process, they’re releasing toxic chemicals into the environment and raising public health concerns, reports Mongabay contributor Sean Mowbray. Roughly 2 billion people globally lack waste collection services, leaving many […]
How science links extreme weather disasters to climate change: Interview with WWA’s Clair Barnes
- Scientifically attributing extreme weather events like floods or drought to climate change versus other natural processes or human activities is tricky.
- But since 2014, the World Weather Attribution, an international network of researchers, has pioneered methods that allow them to understand the role of human-induced climate change in current extreme weather events, if at all.
- Mongabay’s Kristine Sabillo recently spoke with WWA researcher and environmental statistician Clair Barnes to learn more about how WWA conducts its rapid analyses.

Escalation in tourism, climate change leaves Nepal’s Mustang in fragile state
- The completion of an all-weather road has transformed ‘lower’ Mustang, shifting from a remote trekking hub to a mass tourism destination. Visitor numbers has surged nearly 50% in one year, fueled largely by domestic and Indian Hindu pilgrims.
- Hotels and lodges have mushroomed along fragile riverbanks with weak zoning enforcement. Tourism water demands and usage have led to untreated sewage entering the Kali Gandaki River.
- Once arid, Mustang is now facing monsoon rains as Arabian Sea warming has started to push rain clouds farther north. The August 2023 flood devastated Kagbeni village, highlighting rising risks of flash floods and landslides.
- While tourism provides livelihoods and the energy is largely renewable, locals remain in the flux of economic opportunity and growing climate risks. Researchers call for urgent data, early warning systems and relocation from high-risk zones.

Sustainable biomass certification scheme is flawed, degrades forests, report finds
- The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) is a private certification scheme developed by the bioenergy industry to assure the sustainability of biomass for fuel. A new report alleges that SBP is certifying biomass whose production has caused forest degradation.
- The NGO-commissioned report raises questions about SBP’s certification process, especially methods for verifying wood pellet producer and supply chain sustainability claims to safeguard against deforestation and forest degradation. SBP certification is used to justify green subsidies to the industry, mostly by European nations, but increasingly in Asia.
- SBP acknowledges the concerns raised by the report and said it is open to dialogue. The organization emphasized that its standards are designed to assess “the sustainability and legality of biomass sourcing at the level of the Biomass Producer, not at the forest management unit level” and that it does not “make overarching climate impact claims.”
- The nonprofit environmental groups that commissioned the report question how SBP can assure sustainability without assessing forest management and climate impacts.

Ethiopian initiatives try to mainstream traditional and resilient enset crop in diets
- Enset, a drought-tolerant crop native to Ethiopia and known as the “tree against hunger,” feeds more than 25 million people and is seen as a key to building climate-resilient food systems.
- Despite its importance, enset has long been neglected by both local agricultural policies and international partners, limiting its potential to improve food security on a broader scale.
- Efforts are underway to revive the cultivation and use of enset through innovation and national development programs — turning it into marketable products like flour used for porridge or cookies, which can be consumed in urban areas and across the country.
- However, challenges such as crop disease, limited investment and lack of international support remain key obstacles to its expansion as a sustainable food solution.

Brazil’s new licensing accord is a gateway to forest destruction via the BR-319 highway (commentary)
- Brazil’s planned reconstruction of the BR-319 federal highway is linked to plans for five state highways and a huge oil and gas project that would open a vast area of Amazon Rainforest to deforestation.
- A new “accord” between the environment and transportation ministries would contract the drafting of a plan for governance in a strip extending 50 kilometers (31 miles) on either side of BR-319.
- The two ministries expect the accord’s “Sustainable BR-319” plan to allow environmental approval of the BR-319 reconstruction project. In doing so, it can be expected to serve as a gateway to destruction, a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Respite, for now, for bird migration hotspot at heart of Sri Lanka’s wind power dispute
- Amid mounting protests from locals and environmentalists, Sri Lanka’s president has suspended a proposed wind farm in Mannar, in the island’s north for a month, pending a review of ecological concerns.
- Scientists warn additional wind farms in the area could further fragment habitats of the fragile Mannar Island ecosystem, an important stopover point for migratory birds on the Central Asian Flyway.
- The country’s energy minister has referred to Mannar as “stale land,” dismissing its biodiversity value, but environmentalists have countered this with research that shows more than 500 plant and animal species recorded there, including dozens found nowhere else on Earth.
- Activists urge the government to pursue sustainable development that protects Mannar’s globally important ecosystems while expanding clean energy following a balanced development pathway.

Belize project seeks out heat-resilient corals to protect its reefs
- An initiative called the Super Reefs program is setting out to identify the corals in Belize’s waters that have the highest chance of surviving warming waters amid climate change.
- Researchers with the program have discovered that corals that grow in the hottest areas are naturally more heat-resistant.
- Massive starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea) tends to be tolerant of warm water, whereas symmetrical brain coral (Pseudodiploria strigosa) is more sensitive.
- The team plans to use its findings, which are to be published by 2026, to inform the Belize government which coral communities in the country are best suited for protection and restoration.

How Indonesian companies dodge fines for forest & peatland fires
- While Indonesia’s courts have fined plantation companies more than $21 trillion rupiah ($1.3 billion) for forest and peatland fires, almost none of that money has been collected.
- This fuels a cycle of impunity where fires continue to flare up in concessions already found guilty by court.
- In a common pattern, companies found guilty of burning forests either shield their assets, declare bankruptcy or exploit loopholes to avoid paying.
- Indonesia’s enforcement gaps also allow repeat offenders to continue operating unchecked, profiting from the very land they were banned from using.

Deadly Nordic heat wave made 10 times worse by climate change: Study
A deadly heat wave in July that left people and wildlife struggling in Norway, Sweden and Finland was made at least 10 times more likely because of human-induced climate change, a rapid analysis has found. Scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global research network analyzing extreme weather events, said in their latest analysis […]
Don’t quit: A podcaster’s charge to listeners & fellow humans (commentary)
- When Mongabay’s podcast receives feedback, most of it is positive, but sometimes it despairs about what can be done about the state of the natural world and human societies.
- Podcast host Mike DiGirolamo has struggled with the same questions of futility in the face of huge challenges in the past, but in a new op-ed he shares how he has overcome these through a strategy of engagement and action.
- “I do what I do because I’m trying to give listeners information to inform their decisions, and suggest actions. I don’t interview leading scientists, human rights experts, activists, or authors simply because I enjoy speaking with them. I interview them because I want our audience to hear what they have to say, and use their valuable insights,” he writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Microbiomes may be corals’ secret weapon against climate change: Study
- Researchers compared how genetically similar populations of Pocillopora corals cope with heat stress in Panama’s Gulf of Panama and Gulf of Chiriquí, both on the Pacific coast.
- The team looked at the entire holobiont — the coral’s symbionts, microbiome and physiology — in addition to its genome and environment, finding that the holobiont may play an outsized role in boosting the corals’ ability to cope with heat extremes.
- The team found that corals exposed to upwelling in the Gulf of Panama were better able to withstand higher temperatures, thanks in part to their microbiomes.
- The work points to the importance of better understanding how symbiotic relationships and microbiomes interact with corals to increase their resilience.

Global wetlands conference results in resolutions for protection & restoration
- In July, scientists, government officials and community leaders gathered in Zimbabwe for the 2025 international conference on wetlands to agree on global commitments for the sustainable conservation and restoration of these ecosystems.
- The conference adopted a series of resolutions and agreements, including one on the protection of migratory birds and wetland-dependent species, as well as the Fifth Strategic Plan, which aims to halt and reverse wetland loss by 2034.
- The strategic plan highlighted the importance of including youth, Indigenous peoples, women and local communities in successful wetland conservation efforts.
- Conserving and restoring 550 million hectares (roughly 1.3 billion acres) of wetlands is essential to meeting global biodiversity and climate targets, according to the Global Wetland Outlook, but funding for wetland conservation remains low, accounting for only 0.25% of global GDP.

High temperatures threaten to reignite blaze after France’s largest wildfire in decades
VILLEROUGE LA CREMADE, France (AP) — Firefighters and local authorities remained on high alert Friday after France’s largest wildfire in decades was contained in the south of the country, amid forecasts of very high temperatures which could reignite the blaze. Over three days, the fire spread across more than 160 square kilometers (62 square miles) in the […]
Deadly monsoon rains in Pakistan made worse by climate change: Study
Unusually heavy monsoon rains that killed more than 300 people across Pakistan since late June were made 15% more intense by human-caused climate change, according to a new analysis. The study, by the international initiative World Weather Attribution (WWA), analyzed rainfall from June 24 to July 3 using observational data and climate models. It found […]
Power poop saves the day (cartoon)
The infamous stench of a penguin’s projectile poop isn’t its only superpower. New research suggests that the nitrogen in the droppings of Adélie penguins can react with atmospheric compounds to form thermoregulating clouds, which could potentially regulate the impacts of climate change!
Study links long-term exposure to air pollution with increased dementia risk
More than a year of exposure to certain air pollutants is associated with an increased risk of dementia, according to a recently published study. Dementia, a group of diseases including Alzheimer’s, results in the loss of memory and a decline in cognitive abilities like thinking, reasoning and language skills. In 2019, dementia was estimated to […]
Empathy and spiritual ecology are a conservation solution and ‘radical cure’
The Nature Of is a new podcast series from the nonprofit nature and culture magazine Atmos that speaks with prominent figures in conservation and culture about how humans relate to the natural world, and how they might heal and strengthen that relationship. On this episode of Mongabay’s podcast, its host and Atmos editor-in-chief Willow Defebaugh […]
Batang coal plant’s seawater permit imperils marine life, fishing communities
- The Batang coal-fired power plant in Central Java, now legally permitted to use vast amounts of seawater for cooling, has raised alarms among experts over its impact on marine ecosystems and traditional fisheries.
- Since operations began, the plant has displaced fishing communities, polluted coastal waters with heated discharge and caused up to a 50% decline in shrimp catches, particularly affecting traditional fishers in Roban Barat.
- Community resistance was met with intimidation and arrests, while some residents accepted compensation from the operator, PT Bhimasena Power Indonesia, further dividing the local population.
- Critics, including Greenpeace and KIARA, say the project reflects Indonesia’s coal-centered energy policy, undermining both environmental justice and climate goals, as the country continues to expand fossil fuel use despite international pressure to shift toward renewables.

Oil ‘does not guarantee stability’: Colombia’s environment minister on energy transition
- Colombia, a major oil-producing country that banned new oil and gas projects, has a goal to progressively move away from oil and gas while strengthening local renewable energy and storage capacity.
- Lena Yanina Estrada, the new environment minister and first Indigenous person to hold the position, argues that it’s a model that helps bring long-term stability for the country and its ecosystems in a turbulent world.
- The current global and energy landscape is full of twists and turns, with countries diving into or pulling out of fossil fuel commitments in reaction to inflation, wars, politics, energy sovereignty and more.
- Mongabay interviewed Minister Estrada to get her take on fossil fuels, renewable energy, infrastructure and how Indigenous rights fit in.

Historic court ruling says countries legally bound to prevent climate harm
The world’s top court has issued a landmark advisory opinion saying that countries are legally obligated to protect the environment and present and future generations from the impacts of climate change. This obligation, the U.N.’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on July 23, is grounded in existing environmental and human rights treaties. It also […]
Indonesian palm oil company sues experts who helped secure $18m pollution ruling
- Two top Indonesian environmental experts, Bambang Hero Saharjo and Basuki Wasis, are being sued by palm oil firm PT Kalimantan Lestari Mandiri for their court testimony that helped convict the company for massive fires in Borneo.
- The lawsuit is widely condemned as a SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) — a legal tactic to silence critics — and raises concerns about the chilling effect on scientists who testify in environmental cases.
- Despite existing anti-SLAPP regulations in Indonesia, poor enforcement has allowed such lawsuits to proceed, with activists calling the case a form of judicial harassment and an attempt to evade responsibility for ecological damage.
- The case highlights broader issues of corporate impunity and weak enforcement of environmental rulings, as the company continues to operate and burn peatland, even after a binding court order to pay fines and restore the land.

Blue carbon ecosystems are key for protecting the Philippines from climate shocks (commentary)
- In the wake of historic typhoon activity in 2024, members of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and others are calling for scaled-up coordination and action to safeguard blue carbon ecosystems that increase local capacity to recover from climactic shocks.
- Community-led projects that offer opportunities to increase investment and bring security back to local communities like mangrove forest restoration are one key example of a blue carbon initiative that the National Blue Carbon Action Partnership (NBCAP) is implementing with the support of ZSL.
- “Coordinated action by NBCAP will enable these ecosystems to come to life, delivering both protection and income for coastal communities,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Commercial space race comes with multiple planetary health risks
- Space may be the final frontier, but the modern race to launch rockets and satellites at an unsurpassed rate has generated a large and rapidly growing environmental footprint, the full effects of which are poorly understood.
- Multiple companies and countries are rapidly increasing their launch capacity, with plans in the works to deploy tens of thousands of satellites within a few years. Experts warn this exponential increase brings with it major environmental concerns, from the ground to the upper atmosphere and into Earth orbit.
- Pollutants resulting from many thousands of rocket launches and from satellites burning up in the atmosphere could adversely impact the ozone layer and are already adding to climate change, but research is greatly lacking.
- Some experts warn of the Kessler Syndrome, a cascade of colliding and fragmenting space debris that may one day render key Earth orbits unusable. Analysts say proactive national and international regulations are needed to address multifaceted environmental impacts of a rapidly evolving space industry.

Deadly landslide and flooding in Colombia and Venezuela linked to rapid urbanization
Heavy rainfall in Colombia and Venezuela caused deadly landslides and widespread flooding in June. A new analysis now points to rapid urbanization, deforestation, mining and overgrazing as having reduced the region’s climate resilience. “The rapid growth of population and informal settlements in areas prone to landslides, particularly in Colombia, puts people and infrastructure at risk,” […]
Small island nations provide big environmental solutions but need finance partners (commentary)
- Small island nations offer the world powerful environmental solutions — from “blue” climate finance innovations to marine conservation — but they need the international community to match their ambition with fairness and support.
- Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne argues that for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like his, navigating uncertainty is nothing new, but these days that must be increasingly tempered with fairness, as sea levels rise and marine ecosystems struggle due to a climate crisis that they did little to abet.
- “We face growing inequities, particularly around access to ocean resources and climate finance. Between 2000 and 2023, SIDS suffered more than $30 billion in losses from climate-related disasters, yet we are locked out of concessional financing due to narrow economic metrics. This is not just unsustainable — it is unjust,” he writes.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Tropical forest roots show strain as changes aboveground filter below
- Tropical forest plant roots have not received as much research attention as aboveground vegetation. This knowledge gap affects our understanding of how rainforests adapt to change, including their ability to capture and store atmospheric carbon.
- An emerging field of research is looking at how root systems respond to global change. New evidence dramatically underlines the outsized importance of tropical forests in the global carbon cycle. Tropical forests represent one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, largely thanks to plant roots, which add carbon to soils.
- Despite the challenge of studying tiny roots hidden underground, researchers are uncovering important insights. Some tropical forests send roots deeper into the soil under dry conditions, possibly seeking moisture, which may aid in drought tolerance. Others seem unable to do this, making them more vulnerable to climate change.
- Recent plant root studies are confirming the immense stress tropical rainforests are under, with conditions changing faster than roots belowground can adapt. Knowing more precisely which forests can, and can’t, tolerate escalating climate change and other stressors could better inform management and conservation decisions.

The world’s children suffer brunt of wildfire smoke health impacts
- Around 270,000 children under the age of 5 die every year from breathing wildfire smoke, with 99% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to scientists.
- Despite a lack of extensive research on how wildfire smoke affects children’s health, recent studies have found a range of physical and mental impacts, starting in utero and continuing through adolescence. This research offers valuable evidence of a worsening global public health crisis driven by climate change-intensified wildfires.
- Researchers emphasize that children are especially susceptible to harm from wildfire smoke due to their physiology and tendency to spend more time outdoors. Also, not all smoke is the same. Combustion of different materials, ranging from plants to plastics, creates a complex mix of pollutants whose health impacts vary.
- Health experts stress that while smoke crosses borders, protections often don’t. More global research, better monitoring and action are urgently needed to protect children and other vulnerable populations from wildfire smoke.

Extreme heat kills at least 2,300 in European cities, study estimates
Around 2,300 people died in 12 European cities due to an extreme heat wave that hit the region from June 23 to July 2, a rapid scientific analysis has found. Researchers also estimated that roughly 1,500 of those deaths, or 65%, were attributable to anthropogenic climate change. “Climate change has made it significantly hotter than […]
Study links surge in lightning disasters in Bangladesh to transboundary air pollution
- Air pollution — especially from transboundary dust and sulfate particles — is intensifying lightning activity in Bangladesh, particularly during the pre-monsoon season. Studies show that these pollutants, mostly coming in from northern and western India, alter cloud dynamics and increase lightning frequency.
- Bangladesh records the highest lightning-related death density in South Asia, with over 4,000 deaths since 2010. Vulnerable rural populations with limited infrastructure and outdoor labor during harvest seasons are victims of these fatalities.
- Experts urge Bangladesh to strengthen early warning systems, improve air quality monitoring, and reduce both domestic and cross-border pollution through coordinated policies targeting traffic emissions, industrial sources and open burning.

Indonesian civil society urges probe after payout for mine recovery that never happened
- The former head of the East Kalimantan provincial mining agency is facing corruption charges, after he allegedly disbursed a guarantee payment used for environmental restoration to a company in East Kalimantan province.
- Muhammad Muhdar, an environmental lawyer at Mulawarman University in Samarinda, the provincial capital, told Mongabay that gaps in land rehabilitation of closed mining pits are so extensive that there’s potential for further unlawful activity to come to light.
- Data from the Mining Advocacy Network, a civil society organization known as Jatam, showed more than 1,700 former coal mine sites in East Kalimantan province, and that around 39 people had died in the excavations, most of them children.

Youth and women find success in taking climate cases to court
Citizens from around the world are increasingly holding governments and businesses accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions by filing lawsuits that frame climate change impacts as human rights violations, according to a recent episode of Mongabay’s Against All Odds video series. César Rodríguez-Garavito, chair of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New […]
Restoration, protection aim to save Belize’s coral reef from extreme heat and disease
- Charles Darwin described the Belize Barrier Reef, a complex system of coral reefs, atolls and cayes spanning 300 kilometers (186 miles) and cradling the nation’s coast, as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies.”
- Today, unprecedented coral bleaching, a relatively new illness called stony coral tissue loss disease and other threats to corals are negatively impacting reef health across Belize, according to local organizations and a recent reef health assessment.
- The government is looking to identify 20% of the reef for full protection, part of an effort to roughly triple coral reef protection from 7% to 20%.
- Meanwhile nonprofit and scientific groups are doubling down on restoration and monitoring efforts.

Why is Lula still silent on Brazil’s ‘Bill of devastation?’ (commentary)
- A bill that would essentially eliminate Brazil’s environmental licensing system is moving rapidly toward approval by a large anti-environmental majority in Congress.
- An amendment has been added to the bill allowing “strategic” projects, such as the mouth-of-the-Amazon oilfields and the BR-319 highway, to get accelerated licensing with a deadline for approval, after which approval would be automatic.
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has not supported his environment minister in opposing the bill, and has not mobilized his supporters in Congress to push against it.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Will temperate seas act as refuge for coral reefs? Not in time, study says
- Some scientists have held out hope that, given the threats tropical corals face from climate change, they could improve their viability by expanding their range — by finding refuge in more temperate seas.
- However, a new study found that coral reef decline will far outpace expansion into temperate waters. Most of the damage to corals will be done in the next 40 to 80 years, but expansion will take centuries.
- The severity of coral loss will depend on levels of greenhouse gas emissions in coming decades.

UN rapporteur calls for ban on fossil fuel ads and criminalizing of disinformation
A United Nations expert is calling for an urgent shift away from fossil fuels by the global economy, including a ban on advertisements or promotions, and the criminalization of misinformation from the industry. Elisa Morgera, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and climate change, who presented her 23-page report at the U.N. Human Rights […]
Agencies race to prevent new food crisis as locusts return to northern Africa
- Swarms of desert locusts are moving across parts of North Africa following ideal breeding conditions in late 2024 and early 2025, raising fears of major locust infestations moving south into the Sahel later this year.
- The Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region (CLCPRO) has conducted joint surveys and provided equipment and vehicles to strengthen ground response in countries like Libya and Tunisia.
- Mobile apps are helping to integrate Indigenous knowledge and local observations with enhanced satellite and remote monitoring of areas where desert locusts breed.
- These and other efforts are working to keep up with climate change, which has enhanced conditions that spur desert locust outbreaks, and regional insecurity which undermines already patchy monitoring of outbreaks on the ground.

Catholic bishops from Global South call for ambitious climate action ahead of COP30
Catholic bishops representing more than 800 million people across the Global South, for the first time in history, issued a joint statement demanding an “ambitious implementation” of the Paris Agreement. “Ten years since the publication of Laudato Si’ and the signing of the Paris Agreement, the countries of the world have not responded with the […]
A Kenya marine biodiversity credit program restores mangroves — and livelihoods
- The decline of mangroves significantly weakens Kenya’s coastal protection, leaving shorelines susceptible to erosion, storm surges and rising sea levels, disrupting marine ecosystems, depleting fish stocks, leading to reduced biodiversity — and lost livelihoods for locals.
- A U.S.-based organization called Seatrees is working with the local Community Based Environmental Conservation (COBEC) and residents of Marereni to restore and protect coastal and marine ecosystems as a natural solution to climate change.
- Since 2024, Seatrees has offered donors the option of buying $3 “biodiversity blocks,” each of which represents a single tangible conservation action: planting one mangrove tree on site in Marereni.
- The work goes beyond just planting trees, as community members turn mangrove restoration into a livelihood by establishing and maintaining nurseries — and, in some cases, starting side businesses with the income.

Nigeria’s proposed ban on solar panel imports raises concerns
Nigeria recently proposed a ban on importing solar panels to boost local manufacturing, but some climate and renewable energy experts worry this move may impede the country’s transition to cleaner energy sources. In announcing the proposed ban on March 26, Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology Uche Nnaji said the country has sufficient capacity to […]
First congress of forest basin leaders results in call for direct financing
- Participants at the world’s first global congress of Indigenous and local communities from forest basins seek to increase direct financing to community forest conservation.
- Community-led organizations are scaling up and creating their own funding mechanisms to directly access financing for climate, biodiversity and environmental protection.
- Little funding goes directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities, for reasons that span lack of community capacity and donor trust to financial requirements.
- In the run-up to the U.N. climate conference, COP30, in November 2025, organizations are calling for funding pledges to include community forest conservation.

Vatican-backed report calls for global debt relief amid climate crisis
A commission appointed by the late Pope Francis has released a new report highlighting the urgent need to address global debt, which has hindered sustainable development and climate action. The report was authored by the Jubilee Commission, which includes a group of 30 experts including Nobel laureate and U.S. economist Joseph Stiglitz, and Martín Guzmán, […]
When heat waves hit, clownfish shrink to survive, study finds
- Clown anemonefish (Amphiprion percula) have a surprising survival strategy: they shrink in length — not just lose weight — to survive marine heat waves and avoid social conflicts, boosting their heat wave survival odds by up to 78%, a new study finds.
- Researchers tracked 67 breeding pairs of clownfish in Papua New Guinea through a severe marine heat wave, measuring fish size repeatedly and finding that synchronized shrinking between mates helps maintain social hierarchies and improves survival chances.
- The study raises bigger questions about whether this shrink-to-survive mechanism is widespread among fish, potentially explaining global trends of shrinking fish sizes amid climate change, and calls for controlled lab experiments to uncover the physiological causes.

At COP30 & beyond, the fight for climate justice must end corporate impunity (commentary)
- As climate treaty delegates gather in Bonn this week ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, later this year, the world needs to confront a truth usually omitted from such negotiations: the climate crisis is not just a political failure, but the result of unchecked corporate power.
- In this commentary, Ecuadorian lawyer, activist and Goldman Environmental Prize winner Pablo Fajardo — who led one of the world’s largest legal battles against Chevron for its toxic legacy in the Amazon — argues that the climate crisis cannot be solved without confronting the corporate power structures driving it.
- Despite a $9.5 billion ruling against Chevron, the company has used international arbitration as a weapon to evade responsibility, highlighting how international commercial courts and legal loopholes protect companies like them: “At COP30 and beyond, if we are serious about climate justice, we must confront the machinery of impunity and fight united for system change and a future where justice is not the privilege of the powerful, but the right of all.”
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Indonesian utility PLN ‘kneecaps renewables’ with embrace of fossil fuels
- Indonesia’s state-owned power utility, PLN, plans to expand fossil fuel generation by more than 20% by the mid-2030s, prioritizing gas and coal plants while delaying large-scale renewable rollouts until the early 2030s.
- PLN’s latest supply blueprint signals a fossil-fuel-heavy strategy, with strict rooftop solar caps, no mention of early coal plant retirements, and ambitious plans for gas expansion despite financing challenges.
- The utility aims to add 69.5 GW of new capacity over the next decade, more than 60% of which will come from renewables, but faces skepticism after consistently underdelivering on past clean energy promises.
- Analysts warn PLN’s plan risks stalling Indonesia’s energy transition, as fossil fuel demand rises and regulatory barriers slow renewables despite their falling costs and investor interest.

Paris goal of 1.5°C warming is still too hot for polar ice sheets, study warns
At the landmark Paris climate agreement, nearly every country in the world pledged to a goal to limit warming to well below 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels by 2100, and work toward a more ambitious goal to limit warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F). The hope is that such a limit will help Earth avoid […]
It’s time to pay the true value of tropical forest conservation (commentary)
- Conserving the world’s tropical forests requires large-scale and predictable finance, a new op-ed by Brazilian officials argue in making their case for the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a finance regime that will be discussed at this year’s U.N. climate summit (COP30) in their nation.
- The TFFF would pay a fixed price per hectare of tropical forest conserved or restored, providing positive incentives aligned with national fiscal planning via a funding model that blends public investment and private market borrowing.
- “The time to act boldly for our forests is now. The TFFF is not only possible — it is essential. We are calling on the world to join us,” they write.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Climate futures: What’s ahead for our world beyond 1.5°C of warming?
- This two-part Mongabay mini-series examines the current status of the climate emergency, how the global community is likely to respond and what lies ahead for Earth systems and humanity as the planet almost inevitably warms beyond the crucial 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) goal established in the Paris Agreement 10 years ago.
- For global average temperatures to stabilize at less than 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, humanity likely needs to achieve 43% greenhouse gas emissions cuts by 2030. But progress on climate action has stagnated in recent years, global GHG emissions are yet to peak and our remaining carbon budget is dwindling.
- Above 1.5°C of warming, we risk passing critical tipping points in natural Earth systems, triggering self-perpetuating changes that could shift the planet out of the habitable zone for humanity and life as we know it. Even with rapid, large-scale action on climate change, crossing some tipping points may now be unavoidable.
- However, analysts have identified positive social, technological and economic tipping points we can nurture to decarbonize far more rapidly. These include the decreasing cost of renewable energy, the rise of circular economy principles to reduce waste in industry and a societal shift to more plant-based diets.

Record-breaking heat wave due to climate change hits Iceland & Greenland: Scientists
In May, both Iceland and Greenland experienced record-breaking heat. A new rapid analysis has found that the heat wave in both regions was made worse and more likely in today’s warmer climate. The analysis was conducted by World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers that evaluates the role of climate change in extreme […]
Climate futures: World leaders’ failure to act is pushing Earth past 1.5°C
- This two-part Mongabay mini-series examines the current status of the climate emergency; how world leaders, scientists and the global community are responding; and what may lie ahead as the world warms beyond the crucial 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) limit established in the Paris Agreement 10 years ago.
- The unprecedented warming that began in 2023, continued through 2024 and extended into 2025 has caused surprise and alarm. Scientists still don’t fully understand the cause, but some fear it signals the global climate is transitioning into a new state of accelerated warming.
- 2024 was the first full calendar year to exceed 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. A recent projection finds it likely Earth will see a 20-year average warming of 1.5°C by as early as 2029, exceeding a key Paris accord goal and which could trigger self-perpetuating changes pushing Earth’s climate into a less habitable state.
- In January, President Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement, signaling that the U.S. will not lead on climate action. To date, nearly all the world’s nations have fallen far short of what is needed to stay within 1.5°C. As countries submit new U.N. carbon commitments, some fear the U.S. reversal will ripple around the world.

One-two punch for mangroves as seas rise and cyclones intensify
- More than half of mangroves worldwide may face high or severe risk by 2100 due to increased tropical cyclones and sea level rise, with experts predicting Southeast Asia to be hardest hit under all emissions scenarios.
- A new risk index combines multiple climate stressors — cyclones and sea level rise — with ecosystem service value, providing a novel, globally scalable tool for risk assessment and conservation planning.
- Mangrove loss has major human and economic costs, jeopardizing flood protection worth $65 billion annually and threatening 775 million people dependent on coastal ecosystems.
- Urgent, dynamic conservation and emissions cuts are essential; restoring degraded areas, enabling inland migration, and reducing emissions could significantly reduce risk and buy adaptation time.

Heavy rains inundate northeast India
Dozens of people are reported dead amid torrential rains over the past week in India’s northeastern region, local media reported. The most heavily affected states are Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In Assam, more than 640,000 people have been affected as the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries overflowed beyond danger levels, flooding many areas. Around 40,000 […]
Methods to recognize the Amazon’s isolated peoples: Interview with Antenor Vaz
- Mongabay interviewed Antenor Vaz, an international expert on recognition methodologies and protection policies for Indigenous peoples in isolation and initial contact (PIACI), about the importance of confirming and recognizing the existence of isolated peoples.
- Vaz is a regional adviser for GTI-PIACI, an international working group committed to the protection, defense and promotion of the rights of PIACI, which recently launched a report to help governments, Indigenous organizations and NGOs prove the existence of Indigenous peoples living in isolation.
- In this interview, Vaz highlights strategies states can use to confirm and recognize the existence of isolated peoples while maintaining the no-contact principle.

Hundreds die after flash floods tear through Nigerian market town
At least 200 people have been confirmed dead and 500 more remain missing after flash floods devastated a Nigerian market town, media reported. Torrential rain started early on May 29, and within just a few hours caused intense flooding in the town of Mokwa, Niger state, a major trading hub for northern farmers selling beans, […]
Is rising CO2 really bad for the world’s drylands? Mongabay podcast probes
Increased carbon dioxide emissions since industrialization have accelerated climate change, and its widespread negative impacts have been reported worldwide. But the rising concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are also making some parts of our planet greener in what’s called the CO2 fertilization effect. Some politicians claim this effect means more atmospheric CO2 is doing […]
Carbon capture projects promise a climate fix — and a fossil fuel lifeline
- Governments across Southeast Asia are looking at carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as a way to meet climate targets.
- Projects have been proposed in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, with Japanese companies involved in all three countries.
- Critics say CCS costs too much to be commercially viable, underperforms at capturing carbon, and serves as a diversion from actually reducing emissions.

Fungi are our climate allies | Against All Odds
In recent years, we’re learning more about how fungi work, what they can do, and how they can help mitigate the climate crisis. They play a crucial role in balancing ecosystems, and keeping carbon out of the atmosphere. Innovative researchers are also investigating ways fungi can replace plastic, keep toxins out of our soils, and […]
Kim Stanley Robinson on how his novel ‘Ministry for the Future’ holds lessons for the present
Roughly five years since Kim Stanley Robinson’s groundbreaking climate fiction novel, The Ministry for the Future, hit shelves and The New York Times bestseller list, there’s little he says he’d change about the book, were it to be published again, he tells Mongabay’s podcast. The utopian novel set in a not-so-distant future depicts how humans […]
Environmental defenders targeted in 3 out of 4 human rights attacks: Report
More than 6,400 attacks against human rights defenders were reported between 2015 to 2024, according to a new report from nonprofit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC). “That’s close to two attacks every day over the past 10 years against defenders who are raising concerns about business-related risks and harms,” said Christen Dobson, co-head […]
On Amazon destruction, will Brazil President Lula’s ‘disinformation space’ be penetrated? (commentary)
- Brazil’s President Lula apparently lives in a “disinformation space” surrounded by ministers promoting projects that destroy the Amazon Rainforest and lock in petroleum extraction for decades to come, a new opinion piece argues.
- Among these projects are the BR-319 highway and its associated side roads; the distribution of government land to known deforesters; and opening new oilfields at the mouth of the Amazon River.
- Lula’s support for these proposals is leading Brazil to a climate catastrophe that would devastate the country, the author writes, and the two key ministers who should be the ones to explain to the president the consequences of these projects are apparently not penetrating Lula’s disinformation space.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.

Tropical forest loss hit new heights in 2024; fire a major driver in Latin America
- A new dataset and analysis released by World Resources Institute finds global tropical forest loss jumped to a record high in 2024, with 6.7 million hectares (16.6 million acres) worldwide.
- In total, the area of forest lost in 2024 is nearly the size of Panama.
- For the first time, fire, not agriculture, was the primary driver of primary tropical forest loss, with Latin America badly hit.
- Non-fire related tropical forest loss also increased, by 14%.

Extreme heat, violent storms: How Rio de Janeiro is facing its new climate reality
- Extreme weather in Rio de Janeiro is getting worse: recent years have brought record-breaking heat and rainfall to Brazil’s second-largest city, intensifying the risk of floods and landslides, particularly in vulnerable urban areas.
- Experts warn of “climate gentrification,” where urban development and inequality amplify disaster risk; more than 20% of Rio’s homes are in high-risk areas, many in precariously built communities on hill slopes or low-lying flood zones.
- Disaster prevention measures exist but fall short; while sirens provide some early warnings, experts stress the need for comprehensive urban reform, nature-based solutions like the “sponge city” design, and greater community involvement to truly mitigate risks.

Heavy rainfall in Vietnam & China causes flash floods, landslides
Several people have died following landslides in northern Vietnam caused by heavy rainfall and flash floods over the weekend, media reported. A local government official was quoted saying that an explosion-like noise was first heard on May 19 from the top of a mountain in rural Ba Bể district in Bắc Kạn, a province north […]
Kenyan soil carbon project suspended for a second time
The carbon credit certifier Verra has placed the Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project under review for a second time, it confirmed to Mongabay in an emailed statement. Until the review is completed, the project will not be permitted to sell any credits it generates through its model of managing livestock grazing routes. The decision is […]
Flawed energy road map may block Indonesia’s coal exit, critics warn
- Indonesia’s first energy transition road map has been criticized for prioritizing financial considerations over emissions cuts, potentially stalling efforts to retire its coal fleet in favor of renewables.
- The road map’s scoring method gives excessive weight to funding availability and economic impact, while undervaluing emissions, effectively blocking the early retirement of many high-emission plants, critics say.
- The road map also lacks a binding retirement timeline and a specific list of coal plants targeted for closure, despite a pledge to phase out coal by 2040, delaying peak emissions in the power sector until 2037 — seven years later than international guidelines.
- Critics warn that the roadmap’s reliance on “false solutions” like carbon capture and cofiring with alternative fuels could prolong coal’s lifespan, while failing to address key social and economic impacts needed for a fair transition away from coal.

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