Environment

Sri Lankan Monsoon Comes for the Poor

By Amantha Perera
By now, the tale has become almost mundane: first the rains remain elusive, refusing to quench the parched earth. Then, without warning, they fall in such torrents that they leave scores dead, hundreds injured, and thousands homeless, plus a heavy bill in accrued damages.

When Nature Gets a Price Tag

By Kanya D'Almeida
How much does a forest cost? What’s the true economic value of an ocean? Can you pay for an alpine forest or a glacial meadow? And – more importantly – will such calculus save the planet, or subordinate a rapidly collapsing natural world to market forces?

Kiribati President Purchases ‘Worthless’ Resettlement Land as Precaution Against Rising Sea

By Christopher Pala
You can count the inhabitants of this isolated, tidy village of multi-coloured houses and flower bushes among global warming’s first victims – but not in the usual sense.

Nature Is Talking And Africa’s Legislators Are Listening

By Miriam Gathigah
Africa's climate change legislative frameworks, though a step in the right direction, have come under fire for not being ambitious enough to meet the challenge of a changing climate.

Q&A: Developing World Leads in Advancement of Climate Change Laws

By Miriam Gathigah
Developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are increasingly leading the way in providing a legal framework for climate security and are being hailed for their continued advancement in formulating climate change laws and policies.

Time for Nigeria to Curb its Own Emissions

By Sam Olukoya
Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases. A significant percentage of this pollution takes place in the Niger Delta region thanks to the existence of multination oil companies and the activities of hundreds of illegal refineries where local people process stolen crude oil. For a country that is at the receiving end of the environmental impact of climate change, there is a growing sense that this West African country should curb its emission of greenhouse gases. Private initiatives and effective legislation are likely to play crucial roles in Nigeria’s drive to curbing its emissions.

Time for Nigeria to Curb its Own Emissions from IPS News on Vimeo.

Carbon Emissions May Become Taxing for Big South African Polluters

By Brendon Bosworth
Carbon Emissions Soon to Become Taxing for Big South African Polluters from IPS News on Vimeo.

International Cooperation on Key Issues Fell in 2013

By Jim Lobe
International cooperation on key global challenges declined in 2013, according to a new “report card” released here Friday by the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Small Islands, Beacons for the Rest of the World

By Stephen Leahy
Facing potential extinction under rising sea levels, many small island nations are embracing renewable energy and trying to green their economies. Although the least responsible for carbon emissions, small countries like Barbados are on the front lines of climate impacts.

Indian Legislators Wake Up to Climate Change

By Sujoy Dhar
Ramanjareyulu, a 55-year-old farmer from the southern India state of Andhra Pradesh, has been struggling to find his feet ever since inadequate rainfall dealt a blow to his harvest of groundnut and red gram (a pulse crop that grows primarily in India).

Mexico’s Biodiversity Under Siege

By Emilio Godoy
The Las Cruces hydroelectric project in the northwestern state of Nayarit is one of the threats to biodiversity in Mexico, according to activists.

Carbon Neutral Tourism Falters in Tobago

By Jewel Fraser
An initiative to reduce the carbon footprint of Tobago’s tourism sector may be stymied by “bread-and-butter issues” and the failure of government authorities to vigorously pursue the initiative.

Triple Summit in Singapore Puts Urban Planning on the Map

By Kalinga Seneviratne
With over 20,000 international participants, a triple summit wrapping up today in Singapore is generating an abundance of ideas on sustainable cities.

How Climate Legislation Can Help to Enable a Global Climate Deal in 2015

By Terry Townshend
With leading politicians meeting next month for the World Summit of Legislators in Mexico City, it is clear that a new global climate deal is needed.  Each year, the world is seeing signs of climate change's accelerating impacts, from longer, more intense droughts to stronger storms and rising seas.  

Kenya’s Climate Change Legislation Takes Shape To Save Struggling Farmers

By Miriam Gathigah
Daniel Njau, a small-scale farmer from Nyeri County, central Kenya, is torn. He just may have to give up his six-hectare tea plantation in favour of farming climate-resilient food crops.

Venezuelans Thirsty in a Land of Abundant Water

By Humberto Márquez
Although Venezuela has 520 long rivers, taps often run dry, many poor neighbourhoods depend on tanker trucks, water rationing remains a reality, and in some areas water quality is very poor.

World Applauds Ambitious U.S. Carbon Cuts

By Stephen Leahy
New efforts by the U.S. to reduce its carbon emissions are being welcomed around the world. On Monday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants 25 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

OP-ED: Climate Change Threatens the Wild Beauty of Small Islands

By Bradnee Chambers
It’s beginning to sink in that our climate is changing more rapidly than at any time in recorded history and it will have profound and irreversible effects on the planet. On World Environment Day on Jun. 5, let’s stop for a moment to consider in particular the devastating impact that climate change is having on small island states and their wildlife. 

The South African Water Utility That Uses Shipping Containers and Sewer Water to Provide Water for All

By Brendon Bosworth
South Africa’s eThekwini municipality may have come under fire from residents from proposing to purify wastewater so it can be used for drinking, but this municipality’s pragmatic approach to water management has made it one of the most progressive in Africa. 

U.S. Proposes “Revolutionary” Carbon Emissions Rule

By Carey L. Biron
U.S. power plants would be required to reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions by almost a third in coming decades, under a landmark proposal that constitutes President Barack Obama’s most significant attempt to counter climate change.

World Cup Rolls Out the Green Carpet for ‘Ball Armadillo’

By Fabiana Frayssinet
The FIFA World Cup 2014 mascot was inspired by the three-banded armadillo, which is unique in its ability to roll up in a tight ball. The species is endangered in Brazil, which is hosting the upcoming global sporting event.
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