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World still split over money as clock ticks on COP29

A fresh draft deal published Thursday at the deadlocked COP29 climate talks shows rich and poor countries still divided as time runs out to strike a finance agreement for developing nations.

Brazil will not 'shy away' from fossil fuels as COP30 host: envoy

Brazil will not "shy away" from championing a phaseout of fossil fuels as host of COP30 next year, even if it is a major oil producer, the country's climate envoy said Wednesday.

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Summit to save nature enters final day with disagreement on funding

The world's biggest nature conservation conference enters its final day in Colombia Friday with negotiators at odds over how best to fund plans to "halt and reverse" species loss.

Deadly Spain floods held up as warning at nature protection summit

European officials pointed Thursday to deadly flooding in Spain as a reminder of the harm that comes from humans' destruction of nature, urging delegates at a deadlocked UN biodiversity conference in Colombia to "act."

Rescuers race to find those washed away by Spain's floods

Divers plunged into the river while high-mountain police hot-footed through the rubble in a rush to find five residents of the hamlet of Letur missing after Spain's apocalyptic floods.

Spain flooding 'catastrophe' should serve as a warning, EU says at nature summit

European officials pointed Thursday to devastating flooding in Spain as a reminder of the self-harming effects of humans' destruction of nature, urging delegates at a deadlocked UN biodiversity conference in Colombia to "act."

Mud and misery grip epicentre of Spain floods

A quiet town in one of Spain's wealthiest regions was a mud-covered hellscape of destroyed buildings, upturned vehicles and bewildered citizens trying to piece back together their lives on Thursday.

EU greenhouse gas emissions saw 'huge' drop in 2023

Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU fell by eight percent in 2023 -- among the biggest drops in decades -- new data showed Thursday, though the bloc remains in a race against time to meet its ambitious climate goals.

Nepal's day of the dog as part of Hindu celebrations

With marigold garlands around their necks, dogs took centre-stage in Nepal on Thursday on a day dedicated to humankind's loyal friend as part of a Hindu festival.

Not enough time in universe for monkeys to pen Shakespeare: study

If a monkey types randomly at a keyboard for long enough, it will eventually write the complete works of Shakespeare.

New doubt over production cuts in plastic pollution treaty

A global treaty to end plastic pollution may be in jeopardy, negotiators and environmentalists said Thursday, with new signs that countries may not be able to agree on production cuts.

Germany to bury nuclear waste but toxic dispute unresolved

An elevator rattles down about a kilometre (3,000 feet) below ground in five minutes to reach Germany's nuclear necropolis, a future repository set to to entomb much of its radioactive waste.

Papua New Guinea to boycott 'waste of time' UN climate summit

Papua New Guinea on Thursday declared a boycott of next month's UN climate summit, branding the global warming negotiations a "waste of time" full of empty promises from big polluters.

Funding hurdle at world's biggest nature protection summit

With two just days to go to the closure of UN talks in Colombia on ways to halt and reverse nature loss, delegates were at odds Wednesday on how best to finance the endeavor.

Spain’s warning system under scrutiny as flood toll rises

Spain's heavy flood death toll raises questions about how one of the world's most developed nations failed to respond adequately to extreme storms likely to intensify as climate change accelerates.

Smog-beset Pakistan megacity curbs rickshaws, restaurants

Pollution puffing rickshaws and barbeque restaurants were banned from operating in parts of Pakistan's second-largest city of Lahore on Wednesday, as public health officials battle choking smog.

'Peace among ourselves' crucial to save nature: UN chief

UN chief Antonio Guterres called Wednesday for "peace among ourselves" in order to save the planet, as devastating wars rage in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan.

How harmful are microplastics to human health?

Microplastics have been found throughout the human body -- including inside lungs, blood and brains -- and while it is not yet clear how harmful they are to our health, some researchers are sounding the alarm.

Who should get paid for nature's sequenced genes?

Much of the vanilla that flavors our ice cream today is artificial, derived from the genetic signature of a plant that hundreds of years ago was known only to an Indigenous Mexican tribe.

Nature destruction an 'existential crisis' for humans, says UN chief

Humanity faces an "existential crisis" caused by its rapacious destruction of life-sustaining nature, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned delegates Tuesday at a biodiversity summit in Colombia.

Nature destruction an 'existential crisis' says UN chief

Humanity faces an "existential crisis" caused by its rapacious destruction of life-sustaining nature, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned delegates Tuesday at a major biodiversity summit in Colombia.

World's first green energy island sails into cost storm

At a shipyard on the North Sea, workers in luminiscent vests are building dozens of massive, hollow concrete boulders, each the size of an apartment block.

The growing scourge of plastic pollution: in numbers

Nations could agree in December on a world-first treaty to reduce the amount of plastic leaking into the environment which, if nothing is done, is forecast to triple by 2060.

Big guns descend on Cali for final push in UN biodiversity talks

Heads of state, ministers and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrive in Cali Tuesday hoping to add impetus to grinding talks on ways to save nature from human destruction.

COP16 chair hails biodiversity attaining 'equal footing' with climate crisis

The world's biggest nature protection conference, under way in Cali, has placed biodiversity loss "on an equal footing" with the climate emergency, the meeting's Colombian president told AFP in an interview Monday.

Mowed down by cars, European hedgehog numbers shrinking

The Western European hedgehog -- the prickly, nocturnal critter people love to encounter in the garden -- is in decline, mowed down by cars as its shrinking habitat forces it to move ever closer to humans.

One in three tree species at risk of extinction: report

More than one in three species of trees are at risk of extinction worldwide, threatening life as we know it on Earth, according to a report published Monday.

Ship with suspected toxic waste returns to Albania

A ship carrying hundreds of tonnes of possibly toxic industrial waste returned to Albania's largest seaport of Durres on Monday, months after setting sail to dispose of the material in Thailand.

Cali's love motels adapt to host UN summit delegates

Aggrey Rwetsiba, a Ugandan delegate to the UN's biodiversity summit in Colombia, finds himself in unusual accommodations: a motel normally destined for trysts, with rooms featuring sex swings and stripper poles.

UN biodiversity summit making 'very good progress': officials

Crunch UN talks on ways to "halt and reverse" species loss by 2030 have made "very good progress," officials said Friday, as the summit in Colombia marked its halfway point.

G20 affirms commitment to transition from fossil fuels

G20 leaders affirmed their commitment to shifting away from fossil fuels after talks this week in Washington, according to a ministerial statement released Friday.

Covid lessons learned? UN summit mulls plan for healthy planet, and humans

The Covid-19 and Ebola outbreaks brought into stark relief the harms that can come to humans if we interfere too much with nature, placing ourselves in contact with animals carrying unknown pathogens.

UK climate strategy ruled lawful in landmark court case

A man whose home had to be demolished because of coastal erosion lost a landmark legal claim on Friday against the UK government that accused it of failing to meet obligations to protect citizens from the effects of climate change.

Smog in Pakistan megacity ends outdoor play for schoolkids

Schoolchildren in Pakistan's second-largest city of Lahore have been banned from outdoor exercise until January because of hazardous smog levels, officials said Friday.

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