Climate change is disrupting China’s tea industry. The country is the world’s leading producer of tea leaves, but this year, spring harvests fell by 20%, according to official figures. What’s more, the taste of the national beverage is also changing – the consequences of last summer’s drought. Lou Kisiela, Antoine Morel, Yan Chen and Yena Lee bring us...
In a world facing environmental challenges unprecedented in human history, it’s no surprise that eco-anxiety – a pervasive worry about the current and future state of our planet – has become an increasingly prevalent mental health issue. As people witness the devastating impacts of climate change, deforestation and loss of biodiversity, it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed and disheartened. I happen to live in Phoenix,...
The fate of Liberia and its forests are entwined. Yet a new climate change deal, set to be announced at the UN climate change talks in Dubai this November, would drive a wedge between our communities and their woodlands. Currently, forests make up more than two-thirds of Liberia’s land area, and are crucial for people’s livelihoods. They were illegally...
The United Arab Emirates’ efforts to bolster its reputation ahead of the annual UN climate negotiations it’s hosting in December haven’t gone particularly well this year. They’ve been playing the long game, Cartie Werthman uncovered for DeSmog yesterday,as lobbying disclosures document how the head of the UAE’s national oil company, Sultan Ahmed “Al Jaber’s ascent to the...
The world’s top diplomat, António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, has lately been unusually blunt in his broadsides against fossil fuel producers. He has accused them of “profiting from destruction.” He has urged governments to stop funding coal and to put the brakes on new oil and gas projects. “History is coming for the...
With governments worldwide pouring billions of dollars into the transition to a low-carbon future, banks are the linchpins for financing wind, solar and other clean energy projects. But their financing tools have drawbacks that can detract from sustainability goals. Investors have been pumping money into renewable energy funding. In the first six months of 2023,...
LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Climate change and conflict are hitting efforts to tackle three of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, the head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has warned. International initiatives to fight the diseases have largely recovered after being badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the...
Ahead of U.N. meetings this week, thousands gathered in Midtown to demand that President Biden and other world leaders stop new oil and gas drilling. Tens of thousands of people, young and old, filled the streets of Midtown Manhattan under blazing sunshine on Sunday to demand that world leaders quickly pivot away from fossil fuels...
September started with a typhoon that ripped through Hong Kong, uprooting trees and flooding the city. It was the first of a slew of extreme weather events that have hit ten countries and territories in just 12 days – the most catastrophic being the floods in Libya, which have killed more than 11,000 people according to the...
The US state of California sued five of the world’s largest oil companies on Friday, alleging the firms caused billions of dollars in damages and misled the public by minimizing the risks from fossil fuels, according to a court filing. It follows numerous other cases brought by US cities, counties and states against fossil fuel interests over...