Land

UN nature pact nears its ‘Copenhagen or Paris’ moment

22 November 2022

Cop15 biodiversity negotiations in Montreal next month will determine how the world halts and reverses nature loss

Lula da Silva with a hand raised to greet onlookers

Lula charms UN climate summit, bringing hope for rainforests

16 November 2022

Brazil’s president-elect got a hero’s welcome at Cop27, where he met with climate envoys from the US and China

As Glasgow forest pledge turns to action, most signatories drop out

7 November 2022

Russia, Indonesia and DRC are among the tree-rich nations not signed up to a Cop27 partnership for delivering forest protection

Brazil election: Lula victory raises hope for Amazon rainforest

31 October 2022

Lula has vowed to halt deforestation but analysts warn that a right-wing dominated Congress and political inertia will make it challenging

Africa’s broken food markets must be fixed to tackle hunger

27 October 2022

A handful of large companies make big profits by controlling the food trade in Africa, while doing nothing to increase its climate resilience

Eucalyptus plantation borders natural forest

Loggers can now restore cut-down forests for FSC green branding

14 October 2022

Loggers can now gain the FSC green certification, as long as they restore the same amount of forests they have destroyed between 1994 and 2020

Lula will update Brazil’s ‘insufficient’ climate plans if elected: advisor

7 October 2022

The former president will prioritise tackling deforestation if he wins the runoff against Jair Bolsonaro, says environment chief Izabella Teixeira

World leaders not invited to attend critical UN biodiversity summit

5 October 2022

Tense relations between the Chinese presidency and host nation Canada put a “Paris Agreement for nature” further out of reach

Hali Hewa episode 5: Female farmers

4 October 2022

Sofanit Mesfin talks about her work helping female farmers in different African countries adapt to a changing climate

As Brazil’s Congress swings further right, environmentalists pin hopes on Lula

3 October 2022

Challenger Lula came out on top in Sunday’s election but it wasn’t enough to avoid a runoff with Jair Bolsonaro, who did better than expected

Land

Agriculture

Africa food crisis: Bill Gates and smallholders see different solutions

Fertiliser prices have risen by 300% since Russia invaded Ukraine, beyond the reach of smallholders, yet philanthropists see them as key to increasing yields

Sri Lanka food crisis has its roots in the globalisation of the 1970s

The Rajapaksa regime deserved to be banished, but today’s hunger stems from decades of choosing global markets over self-sufficiency

War in Ukraine is triggering a food crisis – and climate change has more in store

Governments must fund humanitarian relief and prioritise cropland for feeding people, not livestock or cars, to guard against future shocks

Australian carbon traders defend troubled offset market against whistleblower claims

Policy upheaval and stark criticism of the quality of carbon offsets from a former official have thrown Australia’s ability to deliver on carbon targets into doubt

War in Ukraine is compounding a hunger crisis in East Africa, charities warn

Up to 28 million people are facing severe food insecurity as soaring wheat prices follow failed rains, Covid and desert locusts

Hackers throw Indonesian palm oil seminar into chaos, fuelling blame game

As experts debated a controversial proposal to classify palm oil plantations as forest, their event in Jakarta was disrupted by swearing and pornography

EU’s reformed agricultural policy fails its climate goals, say green groups

Lawmakers have approved a reform to the Common Agricultural Policy, which critics say fails to deliver on the bloc’s Green Deal and climate goals

Why I am calling on EU lawmakers to put climate at the heart of agricultural policy

The proposed reform to the EU’s farming subsidy programme continues a business-as-usual approach to farming that we cannot afford in a climate emergency

Agriculture

Biodiversity

‘We are not ready’: Divisions deepen over rush to finalise deep sea mining rules

A growing number of countries are backing calls for a moratorium on mining the oceans’ floor but the UN body responsible is pushing to greenlight the industry in 2023

Between a wolf and its food: as one deep sea miner flops, others eye the prize

The Metals Company is running out of money, but the regulator is still fast-tracking rules to mine the ocean while other prospectors wait in the wings

Campaigners call on António Guterres to rescue ‘imperilled’ biodiversity deal

With five months to the critical summit, a “Paris Agreement for nature” is floundering as finance and political leadership fall short

Tanzanian authorities seen opening fire on Maasai people in game reserve dispute

Rights NGO Survival International has accused the government of “shocking violence” and evicting Maasai people from their land to make way for trophy hunting

Modi’s ‘gamechanger’ palm oil push raises concerns for Indian forests and women

Prime minister Narendra Modi has big plans for palm oil cultivation. But the experience of farmers in Mizoram does not bode well

Conservationists set out ‘nature positive’ vision for global biodiversity deal

The IUCN Congress has come up with a blueprint for a “transformative” deal to protect plants and wildlife, which members hope governments will embrace in Kunming

Conservationists back indigenous peoples’ call to protect 80% of the Amazon by 2025

Members of the IUCN Congress overwhelmingly backed the motion but Brazilian experts warn the verdict will likely be ignored by Bolsonaro’s government

After 20 years, talks on scrapping fishing subsidies enter final stretch

The World Trade Organization is nearing a deal to end harmful fishing subsidies, but exemptions for developing countries could give China a pass

Biodiversity

Forests

The fate of the Amazon rests on the outcome of Brazil’s election

Jair Bolsonaro dismantled social and environmental protections. Brazil’s next president must combat illegal activity and restore safeguards

Oil not charcoal the biggest threat to Congo rainforest, top researcher warns

Stop blaming poor communities for deforestation, urges author of upcoming FAO report, warning oil exploration could set off a “giant carbon bomb”

My people have lived in the Amazon for 6,000 years: You need to listen to us

As the planet warms and biodiversity collapses, those encouraging and profiting from the destruction of the Earth must be charged with ecocide

It’s time to put Indigenous Peoples first at the UN biodiversity talks

As talks on a global deal to protect nature begin in Nairobi, Kenya, countries need to create a new conservation designation for Indigenous Peoples’ land

DR Congo approves auction of oil blocks in one of the world’s largest carbon sinks

At least three of 16 oil blocks earmarked for drilling overlap with the world’s largest tropical peatland complex, posing a double threat to the climate

As 1.5C overshoot looms, a high-level commission will ask: what next?

Fifteen former leaders and ministers are set to address sensitive questions on the role of CO2 removal and geoengineering in climate action

Pakistan’s tree-planting ambition in doubt after Imran Khan’s exit

Climate experts are urging Shehbaz Sharif’s government to continue Khan’s flagship forest restoration initiative

DR Congo audit exposes ‘lawless’ logging sector, implicating six former ministers

As Norway, UK and Germany commit millions to protect the Congo rainforest, a damning report shows governance in chaos

Forests

Cities