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We finally have a deal from the Biodiversity COP16 – yes, you read that right.
In this ThinkLandscape round-up, find out what policymakers have agreed in Rome, along with the latest on the Gulf Stream, crypto, USAID and other headlines.
More than four months after the talks in Cali, the 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) has wrapped up in Rome. Here’s what was agreed.
Will AI destroy the planet? Data centers could double their power consumption in the next two years.
Colombia and Brazil are the two most dangerous countries for environmental defenders. We met some of these brave activists to learn about the threats they face.
In the Philippines, too, Indigenous activists and forest rangers are risking their lives to protect their land and culture.
With so much fake news on the internet, how do we tell what’s real? Here’s a four-step guide to help you spot climate misinformation.
Over 84 percent of humanity follows a religion – which is why it’s so important for faith groups to get involved in conservation.
Another ‘mystery illness’ is spreading in the northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo. How worried should we be?
In the Brazilian Amazon, Indigenous communities are developing their own AI tools to protect their cultural heritage.
It goes without saying: war takes a horrendous toll on the environment. Here’s how it’s been playing out in Gaza and Ukraine.
An Aboriginal group is suing the state of Western Australia for USD 1.1 billion for approving a mining project on its land without consent.
Is rewilding actually bad for biodiversity? It could be, depending on where that land is being restored.
Mother Nature never forgets: some of the sand at your local beach could in fact be debris particles from World War II.
We talk a lot about peatlands, and for good reason: they could supercharge the climate crisis if nothing is done to protect them.
More than 100,000 seeds from 177 species across Africa have been added to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault – hand-delivered by our CEO.
And so it continues: after the hottest year on record, this January was the warmest ever – even despite the cooling effect of La Niña.
Sea ice is at a record low, which could have a worrying knock-on effect on the world’s strongest ocean current.
So, does that mean the Gulf Stream will shut down soon? Not quite, but scientists are working on a USD 103 million early warning system that will tell us when that happens.
Extreme weather has claimed nearly 800,000 lives around the world since 1993. Last year’s marine heatwave exacerbated this and caused billions in damage.
Facing blackouts in a Global South country? Crypto mining might be to blame.
Greenpeace could face bankruptcy if it loses a USD 300 million lawsuit filed by the company that owns the Dakota Access Pipeline.
So much for the green transition: global coal output is at a record high, and demand is still growing, especially in Asia.
Meanwhile, BP is turning its back on renewables in favor of more oil and gas.
Whether mining can ever be sustainable, one thing’s for sure: we still need metals and minerals, and AI is helping us find them.
Most countries are ignoring their biodiversity pledges to protect 30 percent of their lands and waters by 2030.
Similarly, almost every country has missed a UN deadline to submit new climate NDCs under the Paris Agreement.
The Trump administration is shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The agency will cut more than 90 percent of its contracts and USD 60 billion in U.S. development aid worldwide.
The impacts are already being felt. An Oxford malaria vaccine trial has been paused, the World Food Programme is shuttering its southern Africa office, and nearly 15,000 people have already died after their HIV treatments were stopped.
Since our last update, the Trump administration has, among other things:
The U.K. has followed the U.S. in cutting foreign aid to fund an increase in military spending, while the EU is heavily scaling back its European Green Deal to appease farmers.
Brazil is aiming to start exploring for oil at the mouth of the Amazon River before hosting COP30 in November. It has also joined the OPEC+ bloc of oil-exporting countries.
Let’s finish on a positive note: the Democratic Republic of the Congo is creating the world’s largest tropical forest reserve, which will cover an area the size of France.
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