The BBC

939 articles from The BBC.

For the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5C across an entire year, according to the EU's climate service. World leaders promised in 2015 to try to limit the long-term temperature rise to 1.5C, which is seen as crucial to help avoid the most damaging impacts. This first y...

A team of scientists and engineers have landed in Antarctica to test a drone that will help experts forecast the impacts of climate change. The autonomous plane will map areas of the continent that have been out of bounds to researchers. It has been put to the test in extreme wea...

Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has defended climate activists facing prosecution in court, saying "we must remember who the real enemy is". The 21-year-old was arrested during a demonstration near the InterContinental Hotel in Mayfair on 17 October. Oil executives had been mee...

One of our planet's most vital defences against global warming is itself being ravaged by climate change. It was the main driver of the Amazon rainforest's worst drought in at least half a century, according to a new study. Often described as the "lungs of the planet", the Amazon...

Climate change targets as well as cost pressures are behind a major overhaul of the UK's largest steelworks. Tata's Port Talbot plant is also the UK's biggest single emitter of planet-warming carbon dioxide. The company's plans to shut its blast furnaces could cut Wales' carbon e...

Scotland's climate is changing faster than expected, scientists have warned. A study by the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen says February in some areas is already 2.5C warmer while rainfall is at levels forecast for 2050. They are concerned that the changes could affect food p...

Once the gavel came down in Dubai, the warm words flowed - but will it really have an impact on climate change? The agreement reached in this glitzy metropolis for the first time nails the role of fossil fuel emissions in driving up temperatures and outlines a future decline for ...

We are about to pass a civilisational milestone, say forecasters. In the next few years we will pass 'peak' fossil fuels - it may have already happened. It will mean the world has reached its maximum use of coal, oil and gas and demand will begin to decline. It is an incredible a...

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by bad news about climate change. Even for those of us used to covering it every day as journalists, it can sometimes seem relentless. Of course we are right to worry. This year will be the warmest twelve months in 125,000 years, scientists say, as i...

It's not all doom and gloom at the COP28 climate summit. The Earth's climate is changing rapidly and urgent action is needed to avoid the most damaging consequences for people and nature. But there is hope, and delegates in Dubai are discussing several very concrete ways to limit...

Discussion of climate change usually focuses on the danger to people, but wildlife is equally affected, if not more so. The crisis is contributing to the risk of extinction of 12,260 threatened species, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently calcul...

Sarah Ott spent years believing climate change was a hoax, influenced by friends at church in the US south and a popular right-wing radio host. Here she shares her journey from being a climate sceptic to becoming an advocate for clean energy, with a passion for teaching teenage s...

Climate records have tumbled in 2023. There have been historically high sea temperatures, worrying lows in Antarctic sea-ice, and extreme weather events hitting every continent - the latest being an "unbearable" heatwave in Brazil . It's now "virtually certain" that 2023 will be ...

The US and China have agreed on measures to tackle climate change but stopped short of committing to end fossil fuels, a joint statement said. The world's biggest carbon emitters will step up co-operation on methane and support global efforts to triple renewable energy by 2030. B...

The climate crisis has "become too visible to be ignored", the Prince of Wales said as he revealed the five winners of his annual Earthshot Prize. Prince William said he believed this was the decade for collective action to protect the planet. He announced the winners of the 1m (...

Full Article Source

Global warming is changing the quality and taste of beer, scientists have warned. A new study reveals that the quantity of European hops, which gives beer its distinctive bitter taste, is declining. Hotter, longer and drier summers are predicted to worsen the situation, and could...

The world is breaching a key warming threshold at a rate that has scientists concerned, a BBC analysis has found. On about a third of days in 2023, the average global temperature was at least 1.5C higher than pre-industrial levels. Staying below that marker long-term is widely co...

Full Article Source

Pope Francis has warned the world is "collapsing" due to climate change and may be "nearing breaking point". The pope criticised global decision-making bodies for being ineffective, as well as calling out climate deniers. His strongly-worded intervention has been published in a m...

"What I felt was fear," says Claudia Duarte Agostinho as she remembers the extreme heatwave and fires that ripped through Portugal in 2017 and killed more than 100 people. "The wildfires made me really anxious about what sort of future I would have." Claudia, 24, her brother Mart...

Tackling climate change needs a rapid transformation of the way our world works, travels, eats and uses energy, according to an important UN review. This is the first "global stocktake" to examine the efforts of countries to reduce planet-warming emissions since the Paris agreeme...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came to power last year promising the country would leave the climate "naughty corner". Long considered a laggard, Australia would now cut emissions, become a renewable energy powerhouse and force the biggest polluters to clean up their ...

African leaders have proposed a global carbon tax regime in a joint declaration. The Nairobi Declaration capped the three-day Africa Climate Summit in Kenya's capital. The document, released on Wednesday, demanded that major polluters commit more resources to help poorer nations....

A record-breaking cyclist has completed a 3,000-mile ride around the circumference of mainland Britain on a handmade bamboo bike. Kate Strong, 44, holds three cycling world records and a triathlon championship. Ms Strong embarked on her 90-day challenge to raise awareness of the ...

Forget gluing yourself to the road in protest. On Saturday Berliners demonstrated for the climate by blocking a main road with a giant rave. Smoke machines, glitter balls and drinks stands were set up amid the road signs and traffic lights, as thousands of clubbers, climate activ...

A Rathlin Island project has been granted 4.625 million over the next two years to innovate on waste management and other environmental challenges. The funding comes from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project, called Future Island-Island, will be one of the UK's f...

Heat. Wildfires. Torrential rain. Typhoons and hurricanes. Much of the northern hemisphere has been battered by extreme weather this summer. Not all these events can be immediately linked to climate change. It can take a while for scientists to untangle what exactly is going on -...

Claire Coutinho has been appointed the new secretary for energy security and net zero, replacing Grant Shapps. It is a massive promotion for the East Surrey MP who was only elected to Parliament in December 2019. In her previous job as parliamentary under-secretary of state with ...

Environmental protesters have occupied the proposed site of the UK's first new major coal mine in decades. The group, called Earth First, arrived in Whitehaven, Cumbria, on Tuesday and said it planned to stay for a week. Plans for the mine were approved in December despite concer...

Scotland's summer of 2023 was a tale of two extremes. It started on an uncomfortably familiar path - with climate records being smashed. But July and August became a disappointing affair for Scotland, especially for those seeking summer warmth. A stuck jet stream pattern deprived...

A colony of a species of dormouse which is facing extinction has been found breeding in Hove, conservationists say. The colony of hazel dormice has been found in dense woodland in the Benfield Hill nature reserve. Volunteers check nesting boxes in the woods every month with any d...

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has been holding talks with Chinese officials in Beijing, the first such visit in five years. In a meeting with China's vice president, Mr Cleverly stressed that face-to-face exchanges would help the countries avoid misunderstandings. But ahead of...

This video can not be played Designer Rosie has developed some of the equipment used in the trials A crop which was once a staple of Scottish farming is being revived as the fashion industry looks for ways to cut its carbon footprint. Flax was widely grown 100 years ago to make l...

Plans to introduce a zero-emission zone (Zez) in central London from 2025 have been shelved by City Hall. The scheme, which was detailed in the London mayor's 2018 transport strategy , proposed a charge be introduced for all petrol and diesel vehicles. The existing Ultra Low Emis...

Scotland's economy is showing just one of the consequences of climate change - when the wind drops, so does Gross Domestic Product. That vital sign of economic health - some would say it's a virility symbol - has taken a knock with the latest GDP estimate from the Scottish govern...

Herefordshire Council has said it will join forces with three English and Welsh councils to work on major projects together. The authority would partner with Shropshire, Monmouthshire and Powys councils to apply for government funding for schemes including transport, housing and ...

A scheme to help improve water quality and habitats for fish will see 220 tonnes of gravel used to restore a riverbed. The work will be carried out this week by the Trent Rivers Trust as part of efforts to try and "climate-proof" the River Mease in Staffordshire. The gravel will ...

The numbers of seabird species living on St Kilda has fallen by 61%, the National Trust for Scotland has said. A census carried out by the charity found the numbers of fulmars, guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes on the remote archipelago has fallen dramatically. The survey fou...

Children have the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and governments must urgently act to ensure this, the United Nations says. In a new report, the UN Child Rights Committee says that climate change is affecting children's rights to life, survival and develop...

China's summer this year has seen both extreme heat and devastating floods. And the flooding this time around has struck areas where such weather has been unheard of, with scientists - blaming climate change - warning that the worst is yet to come. "I've never seen a flood here i...

Joanna Kelly is a lawyer in Kelowna, and this week she's been given permission to appear in legal cases by video-link partly because she has very few formal clothes to wear. They, and most of her other possessions, went up in flames last week. On her mobile phone, Joanna watches ...

"Our land is drying up and our water is polluted," says Nati Machaca, one of the protesters manning a roadblock in the village of Purmamarca, high in the Andes mountains. Ms Machaca is a spokeswoman for the indigenous groups living in Jujuy, a province in northern Argentina. Juju...

Campaigners say tonnes of fish could be sucked into Hinkley Point C's cooling system if an acoustic fish deterrent is not installed. The Environment Agency (EA) has removed a requirement for EDF to install the deterrent , which the company said could be dangerous to maintain. Env...

It's dark, dirty and more like an I'm A Celebrity Bushtucker Trial - but the World Bog Snorkelling Championships inspired one woman to walk again. Yes, you heard me. It's a real event and gave Julia Galvin a goal to go from hospital bed to bog trench in a year. People from around...

A major wildfire on the Spanish island of Tenerife has led to the evacuation of five villages. The fire has spread some 8 sq km (800 hectares) since it started in a nature reserve on the north-east coast of the island late on Tuesday evening. Local authorities have cut off access...

The water temperature in Lough Neagh is rising "alarmingly fast" researchers have said. The temperature in the largest freshwater body of water in the UK and Ireland is 1C higher than in 1995. A report also said more than twice as much carbon was stored in ground around the lough...

A 72-year-old woman said she is refusing to pay council tax as a form of climate protest. Dr Jane McCarthy wants Buckinghamshire County Council to stop banking with Barclays due to its support of fossil fuels and switch its pension fund to low-carbon investments. Barclays said it...

Young people called for improvements to climate education in the first-ever Mock Education Ministers Summit. Over the weekend, hundreds of youth leaders attended a two-day virtual summit to discuss, negotiate and hear from environmental activists. The delegates created the first ...

Varsha Sharma has been through some turbulent years on her small farm in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh, in northern India. For more than a century her family have been rice farmers, but erratic rainfall and water being diverted for industry have made cultivating rice ...

A Montana judge has sided with 16 young activists finding that the state violated their right to a "clean and healthful environment", which the state constitution guarantees. The plaintiffs, between ages five and 22, alleged the state's pro-fossil fuel policies contributed to cli...

Plans for a new solar farm have raised concerns a beauty spot will be spoilt. Campaigners say Craig y Perchyll, which extends above Glais, in Swansea county, is home to a host of rare bird species including skylarks, swifts, tree pipits and curlews. But firms Canadian Solar and W...

In grainy photographs shot from a plane circling overhead, four people adrift in a small, metal boat in an expanse of the Mediterranean Sea wave their arms in distress. It later emerges that the group - a 13-year-old boy, two men and a woman - are the only survivors of a shipwrec...

Fake pollution warning signs have been erected in Brighton and Hove by a climate campaign group. The signs, which are displayed on lampposts in the city centre, have been placed in "high pollution areas" by Clean Air for Brighton and Hove. The climate campaign group is calling fo...

'Stop the Boats Week' was an attempt to dominate the news cycle with the UK government's determination to tackle those arriving on England's south coast in small boats. If there was a plan, things didn't go to it. While the policy of sending such unwelcome new arrivals to Rwanda ...

A university lecturer plans to live stream from a mountain ditch for 24 hours to highlight soil issues and raise climate change awareness. Miranda Whall will be in a self-dug ditch about 600m (1,960ft) up in the Cambrian Mountains in Ceredigion from Saturday afternoon. The Aberys...

This video can not be played Watch: how do you sign 'carbon footprint' in BSL? For deaf children, teachers and scientists, talking about things like "greenhouse gases" or "carbon footprint" used to mean spelling out long, complex scientific terms, letter by letter. Now they are a...

More wind and solar farms would industrialise the Welsh countryside and affect about 50,000 acres of land, according to a rural charity. Offshore wind and rooftop solar should be the preferred way to cut carbon emissions, says the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW)...

The Guardian are leading on Greenpeace stating that Rishi Sunak's government will go down in history for failing the UK over the climate crisis. It also has a story on how dozens have been killed in wildfires in Hawaii. Race against time to save Morocco quake survivors US denies ...

Rishi Sunak has used RAF jets and helicopters for domestic flights more frequently than the UK's previous three prime ministers, the BBC can reveal. Ministry of Defence data show he took almost one such flight a week during his first seven months in office. The prime minister has...

Striking doctors are "harming patients" are the words emblazoned across the front of The Daily Mail. It says Health Secretary Steve Barclay has used an article in the paper to issue "his strongest rebuke yet", as junior doctors in England prepare to strike for a fifth time in a d...

A cement works has plans to pipe 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year out to sea to fight climate change. Cement giant Hanson claims capturing carbon could play a vital role in the UK reaching its net-zero targets. The company is planning a 400m facility at its Padeswood plant...

As extreme weather events multiply, home insurance providers in the US are rapidly raising rates - or quitting the business altogether - forcing many into severe financial distress. Gretchen Bradford decided this year not to pay for home insurance. The 59-year-old has lived her w...

The eight countries that share the Amazon basin have fallen short of an agreed goal to end deforestation. Delegates from the countries are meeting in the Brazilian city of Belem for a two-day summit on the issue. A joint declaration on Tuesday created an alliance to combat defore...

The boss of TUI has said heatwaves and climate change could prompt people to take their holidays in spring or autumn and choose cooler destinations. Sebastian Ebel, chief executive of the tour firm, said holidaymakers might choose to travel to Greece in November, benefiting the t...

Proposals for designs for new buildings and extensions to meet low-carbon heating system criteria have been "pushed back", the government has said. The move, which will withhold approvals for fossil fuel boilers in new builds, had been due to be rolled out in August but will now ...

This week, delegates arriving in Belem's international airport are being welcomed with a lively "Boi de mascara" folkloric dance routine. In fact, the whole city is celebrating being in the spotlight, playing host to the Amazon Summit. It also feels like a bit of a warm-up for 20...

Thousands of scouts at an international event in South Korea are being evacuated from a campsite due to an incoming tropical storm. Several countries including the UK had already left, blaming high temperatures and poor sanitary conditions at the camp. UK Scouts chief executive M...

Rain or shine, Mohammad Shukkur Ali, a rickshaw puller in his 50s, shows up for work on the streets of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. The work is already punishing as it requires massive physical effort. But this year, the heat has made things even worse. Temperatures in the city ...

Government departments should cut ties with Greenpeace in the wake of last week's protest at Rishi Sunak's house, No 10 has said. Activists from the group scaled the prime minister's home in his North Yorkshire constituency last Thursday during an anti-oil demonstration. Five peo...

A redeveloped parkland on the banks of the River Mersey will be an "eco-haven" and "benefit coastal bio-diversity for decades to come", Liverpool City Council has said. Southern Grasslands, on Riverside Drive, has been created using recycled soil to prepare part of the Festival G...

A Guernsey charity has appealed for sites where native trees and hedges can be planted. Guernsey Trees for Life is looking for places to plant at least 30 trees or 50m (160ft) of hedging. The group said it had planted 1,514 trees and 19,977 hedge plants in the last two seasons. I...

A policy on energy: it's been one of the most elusive concepts in British government, and for decades. But we might be about to get one. Whether it's the right one, that's another question. But at least it would be a plan. Since the 1970s, while continuing to burn a lot of coal f...

Storms bearing unusually torrential rain and ferocious winds this early in the north Pacific typhoon season have flooded large swathes of East Asia, with China among the countries worst hit . In the capital of Beijing alone, the amount of rain over the past week has broken a 140-...

The Isle of Man must prioritise improving coastal defences as sea levels continue to rise, a veteran weather forecaster has said. Adrian Cowin, who recently retired after a 40-year career, said weather events will become "more extreme, more often" due to climate change. Mr Cowin ...

At least 10 people have died and 18 are missing after torrential rains battered Hebei province in northern China. Officials evacuated more than half its 11.5 million people by noon (04:00 GMT) on Saturday from areas thought to be at high risk of landslides and floods. Storm Doksu...

The oceans have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature as they soak up warmth from climate change, with dire implications for our planet's health. The average daily global sea surface temperature beat a 2016 record this week, according to the EU's climate change service Cope...

Travel disruption will be worsened by climate change unless more money is spent on the UK's transport networks, a government advisor has warned. Intense rainfall and heatwaves have hit road and rail travel with flash floods, landslips and equipment failures. Sir John Armitt said ...

A new stock phrase is being deployed by Rishi Sunak when talking about his government's efforts to curb planet-warming carbon emissions. Net zero will be met, the prime minister has said, in "a proportionate and pragmatic way". This has become his mantra on the 2050 target since ...

Farming can be a rewarding life, but it can also be hard. And young farmers today say they face more challenges than ever. The biggest one right now is rain. Parts of England had the wettest July on record, leaving some farmers struggling to sustain their cattle. For Izzi Rainey,...

A future pandemic and extreme weather caused by climate change are among the key risks facing the UK, according to a new government register. It has been published to help the UK prepare for "worst-case scenarios" of some of the most serious threats. Officials say the list, first...

Climate change is seeing a species of migratory butterfly stay in the UK over the winter instead of returning to Europe and Africa, experts say. A charity's butterfly count in July recorded a four-fold increase in sightings of the majestic red admiral - continuing a long-term tre...

Rishi Sunak has insisted he cares about reaching net zero but that the 2050 target needs to be achieved in "a proportionate and pragmatic way". The prime minister has faced criticism from environmental groups and some of his own MPs that he is not committed to tackling climate ch...

Naturalist Chris Packham said the "inconvenience" of traffic jam disruption needed to be put in perspective after two Just Stop Oil activists lost their High Court appeal. Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 34, were convicted of causing a public nuisance for scaling the Quee...

Residents of Phoenix, Arizona have received some brief respite as a 31-day streak of temperatures over 110F (43C) came to an end after monsoon rains. The heat streak ended on Monday when the temperatures maxed out at 108F. Temperatures are expected to rise again later in the week...

The way we heat our homes is changing. As the world moves away from fossil fuels, we will be saying goodbye to our gas fires and boilers - and instead electrifying the heating systems in our homes. Extinguishing the fires in our homes is a big change, human beings evolved around ...

Venice should be added to a list of world heritage sites in danger, the UN's cultural agency has said. The iconic Italian city is at risk of "irreversible" damage from overwhelming tourism, overdevelopment and rising sea levels due to climate change, according to a report from Un...

This video can not be played Watch: Thousands evacuate as wildfires spread across Rhodes For decades holidaymakers have poured into resorts and islands in southern Europe for a relaxing break in the summer sun. But the scenes of tourists fleeing wildfires in Greece, or trapped in...

This video can not be played Rishi Sunak says the Acorn project will strengthen the UK's energy security strategy Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the decision to grant 100 new North Sea oil and gas licences. The UK government has also said it will support a carbon capture pro...

A project to increase tree cover and "help slow climate change" has achieved a milestone of planting more than 600,000 trees, its leaders say. The Forest for Cornwall, which was launched in 2019, said it was equivalent to one tree for every resident in the county. The project, su...

Herefordshire councillors unanimously agreed there was a need for climate action At a glance Following a vote, every Herefordshire Council decision will now consider the impact on the environment and climate change Every decision made by Herefordshire Council will now take into a...

The prime minister will emphasise the need to strengthen Britain's energy security when he meets industry leaders this week. Rishi Sunak is to set out details of the government's plans for the UK's fossil fuel and green industries. The Sunday Times says he will announce multimill...

A century-and-a-half after the Marquess of Bute planted the UK's first commercial vineyard, drinkers are raising a glass to Welsh wine once again. The Castell Coch venture on Cardiff's outskirts had mixed success, finally becoming unviable due to World War One. Averaging about 3,...

Sometimes it can feel like the world is on fire. Europe has been baking in a heatwave nicknamed the settimana infernale - "week of hell" - in Italy. Temperatures above 50C have been recorded in China and the US, where body bags filled with ice are being used to cool hospital pati...

It is a summer of extremes. Burning temperatures followed by raging fires. Wild storms and torrential rain. And a run of broken climate records. The impact on millions has been clear. People forced to seek shelter indoors from the blazing sun. Drought and water supplies running l...

This video can not be played Watch: The 'world's hottest month' explained... in 60 seconds Amid blistering heatwaves, July is "virtually certain" to be the world's warmest month on record, say scientists. So hot has the month been to date that researchers are confident the 2019 r...

This weekend, more than half of people in the US will be under severe weather alerts as a heat wave battering the south expands into large parts of the central and eastern US. It will be a busy time for the country's three chief heat officers, who experts say they are quickly bec...

The Gulf Stream system of warm ocean currents could collapse as early as 2025, a scientific study has warned. The end of the system, which drives the Atlantic's currents and determines western Europe's weather, would likely lead to lower temperatures and catastrophic climate impa...

A Scottish scientist has been chosen to lead one of the world's most influential climate change bodies. Prof Jim Skea, from Dundee, has been elected as chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Last year its work was described as a "code red for humanity" by ...

The record-breaking UK heat experienced in 2022 will be regarded as a cool year by the end of this century, the Met Office says. Its report shows that last year was "extraordinary", with a heatwave pushing the UK record over 40C for the first time. Hot years like 2022 will be the...

The heatwaves battering Europe and the US in July would have been "virtually impossible" without human-induced climate change, a scientific study says. Global warming from burning fossil fuels also made the heatwave affecting parts of China 50 times more likely. Climate change me...

This video can not be played Deborah Meaden: 'I woke up, climate change is happening in the here and now' The wildfires in the southern Mediterranean have brought climate change to the top of the news agenda and have also whipped up a storm on social media. People calling for cli...

The government remains committed to banning the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, cabinet minister Michael Gove has said. Some senior Tories are calling on Rishi Sunak to scrap the deadline and row back on other green policies. Mr Gove said some plans to tackle the ...

This video can not be played Watch: Heatwave hits homeless people: I cry all the time' A prolonged heatwave in the US has led to an uptick in severely burned patients who were injured after touching hot surfaces or objects. Medics in Arizona said some patients were hurt after fal...

The future is electric for the cars on our roads, but is the UK ready for such a major change? At the risk of infuriating all you petrolheads out there, let's just get it out there - electric cars are the future. They are clean, quiet, fun to drive and help us tackle the biggest ...

A heatwave baking the US Southwest for weeks is set to expand into central and eastern regions. Beginning in the Midwest, the hot weather will extend east as far as the southern tip of Florida by Wednesday, say meteorologists. Temperature records were surpassed in several major c...

Seventy years after a great flood hit the coast of eastern England , a new climate adaptation scheme is launching. Fens 2100+ is designed to protect the low-lying area that is home to over 50% of England's top agricultural land. The Environment Agency says it will enable the Fens...

Naturalists Chris Packham and Hamza Yassin have urged young people to engage with the climate crisis "before it is too late". The TV presenters said climate change was "the most important issue facing all of humanity". They encouraged young people watching them speak at The Latit...

Plans for a major overhaul of farm subsidy payments in Wales have been thrown into crisis after union leaders announced they would not take part in the scheme over tree planting rules. NFU Cymru said the proposals were too complicated and "did not make business sense". The plans ...

Corfu has become the latest Greek island to issue an evacuation order, as the country grapples with wildfires. Photos uploaded to social media show flames engulfing Corfu. A fire broke out on the northern part of the island which is popular with British tourists. It comes after s...

This video can not be played Watch: Thousands evacuate as wildfires spread across Rhodes Thousands of people have been evacuated from homes and hotels on the Greek island of Rhodes after wildfires engulfed large parts of the island. Greece's fire service told the BBC it apologise...

Four people in Canada, including two children, have been reported missing in flooding caused by torrential rains in Nova Scotia, police have said. Officials say the heaviest rains to hit the Atlantic region in 50 years have triggered floods that have left thousands of homes witho...

Greece is bracing for more intense heat this weekend, with meteorologists warning that temperatures could climb as high as 45C (113F). People have been advised to stay home, and tourist sites - including Athens' ancient Acropolis - will be shut during the hottest parts of the nex...

Bill Oddie visited the black-winged stilt in Spain 20 years ago One of the UK's rarest birds is raising a family in Kent after escaping record temperatures further south, nature experts say. Four black-winged stilt chicks have recently fledged in Worth Marshes, near Sandwich, aft...

A series of climate records on temperature, ocean heat, and Antarctic sea ice have alarmed some scientists who say their speed and timing is unprecedented. Dangerous heatwaves in Europe could break further records, the UN says. It is hard to immediately link these events to clima...

Climate protesters have drawn a giant postcard to Rishi Sunak on Skegness beach. Messages including "down let us drown" and "ban single use plastic" were written into a 150-metre stretch of sand on Tuesday. Rights Community Action (RCA) claimed the Lincolnshire town was at "risk ...

Having big UK meat-eaters cut some of it out of their diet would be like taking 8 million cars off the road. That's just one of the findings of new research that scientists say gives the most reliable calculation yet of how what we eat impacts our planet. The Oxford University st...

A leading British climate scientist has told the BBC he believes the target to limit global warming to 1.5C will be missed. Professor Sir Bob Watson, former head of the UN climate body, told the BBC's Today programme he was "pessimistic". His warning comes amidst a summer of extr...

Red alerts for extreme heat are in place in most of Italy's main cities as a heatwave intensifies in Europe. Temperatures are expected to peak on Wednesday, with 23 cities on high alert - from Trieste in the north-east to Messina in the south-west. The warnings mean the heat pose...

Emma Sangalli's heart still stops every time she sees a police car. "It's a feeling in your gut like panic. Total panic. "It's hard not to believe that you're a criminal, that you're deserving of this," the Australian climate activist says. Last month, the 25-year-old had her hom...

Projects to curb climate change in North Yorkshire are expected to get approval from councillors later. Agriculture produces a third of the county's CO2 emissions and households account for 19%, council data showed. Work has already begun to install LED street lights and trial el...

Large swathes of southern Europe continue to swelter in record heat as wildfires rage across the continent. Temperatures hit a high of 46.3C in Sicily on Tuesday, and crews battled fires in Greece and the Swiss Alps. Most of Italy's major cities are on red alert, meaning the extr...

A graduate representing young people at this year's COP28 climate summit said she had faith in change happening. Rachel Ojo, 21, from Essex, is one of four UK youth delegates who will speak to decision-makers at the UN Climate Change Conference in the Middle East. Her role is to ...

Europe and the US are sweltering with temperatures reaching highs of 49C (120F) in some places. As Italy, Spain and Greece are facing many more days of extreme heat, here's what you need to know if you're booked on a holiday in a heatwave. If you're worried, you should check Fore...

This video can not be played Watch: Tourists flock to Death Valley for heat record Millions of people in several parts of the world have been experiencing intense heat. Such periods occur within natural weather patterns, but globally they are becoming more frequent, more intense ...

The UK is still not treating climate change as a national priority, warn the experts who advise the government. They criticised the latest government climate change adaptation plan for not containing any substantial new money or new legislation. The five-year programme, released ...

This video can not be played Watch: Chris Fawkes tells us how high temperatures in the northern hemisphere are The extreme temperatures sweeping the globe this week are the new normal in a world warmed by climate change, the UN weather agency says. Temperatures went over 50C (122...

Going into the next general election, Labour's plan to pour billions of pounds into clean energy will be one of the clear dividing lines between it and the Conservatives. A pledge to invest 28bn a year in green industries is one of Labour's five national missions, and a key plank...

Southern Europe will continue to swelter next week as an intense heatwave shows no sign of abating. Italy, Spain and Greece have been experiencing high temperatures for several days already. The Italian health ministry issued a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and ...

As John Kerry touches down in China, the main question will be whether the world's biggest superpowers - and polluters - can dispel diplomatic tensions to focus on key climate goals. Mr Kerry, the US special envoy on climate, is the latest top official to be dispatched from Washi...

Tropical fish are a colourful addition to many households, but they may not be as innocent as they appear. They could contribute up to 12.4% of the UK's annual average household CO2 emissions and up to 30% of household water usage. The findings are part of a new Cardiff Universit...

This video can not be played Watch: The heat index explained in 90 seconds Parts of the US are expected to see record temperatures on Sunday, with warnings of "dangerous" heat levels into next week across the south-west. Nearly a third of Americans - about 113 million people - ar...

The US says it will not "under any circumstances" pay reparations to developing countries hit by climate change-fuelled disasters. Climate envoy John Kerry made the remarks at a Congress hearing before flying to China to discuss the issue. Some countries want major economies - wh...

A heatwave continues to sweep across parts of Europe, with potential record-breaking temperatures in the next few days. Temperatures are expected to surpass 40C (104F) in parts of Spain, France, Greece, Croatia and Turkey. They could reach 48C in parts of Italy, becoming "potenti...

This video can not be played Watch: 'It's like an oven' - extreme heat in southern US An unrelenting heatwave is scorching south-western parts of the US with Arizona projected to see a record stretch of extreme hot weather. More than 115 million people are under some form of heat...

Scientists are asking Scots to count butterflies this summer to understand what extreme weather is doing to them. Researchers are trying to work out what impact climate change is having on the insects. Last year's record temperatures, heatwaves and droughts are believed to have c...

Governments must face up to their failures to tackle climate change at the next UN climate summit, the president of COP28 has told governments. The meeting in November should agree to triple renewable energy by 2030, Sultan al-Jaber told leaders in Brussels. Green groups welcomed...

A heatwave is sweeping across parts of southern Europe, with potential record-breaking temperatures in the coming days. Temperatures are expected to surpass 40C (104F) in parts of Spain, France, Greece, Croatia and Turkey. In Italy, temperatures could reach as high as 48.8C (119....

Crawford Lake, a small body of water in Ontario, Canada, is being put forward as the location that best records humanity's impacts on Earth. Scientists are trying to define a new geological time period to recognise the changes we've made to the planet, and Crawford is their model...

This video can not be played Watch: The heat index explained in 90 seconds The world's average daily temperature reached a new record in the first week of July - and southern Europe, the south-western US and parts of China are continuing to bake in extreme heat. Heat can affect a...

Three people were killed and three others are missing in flooding in southwest Japan caused by the region's "heaviest" rain ever. Rivers overflowed and hillsides collapsed as record amounts of rain were dumped on parts of Kyushu island. The national weather agency logged 402.5mm ...

The US climate envoy has criticised big oil firms who are now maintaining fossil fuel investments after promising cuts to meet climate change targets. President Biden's net zero chief, John Kerry, was speaking after Shell's chief executive told the BBC last week about the need fo...

It is hot. Very hot. And temperatures show no signs of easing. Nearly a third of Americans - over 113 million people - are under some form of heat advisory, the US National Weather Service said. Across the US, temperatures are shattering decades-long record highs. In El Paso, Tex...

Daffodils have long been seen as a symbol of Wales - but could they also be used to save the climate? Researchers are testing a new method of using Wales' national flower to cut the level of methane produced by livestock. Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas after CO2...

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called on China to work with Washington to fight the "existential threat" of climate change. Speaking on Saturday, she said the two countries - the largest greenhouse gas emitters - had a joint responsibility to lead the way on climate actio...

The world's average temperature has reached a new high for the third time in a week, unofficial records show. Data analysed by a group of US scientists shows the global average temperature on Thursday was 17.23C. It breaks the 17.01C record set on Monday, surpassed just a day lat...

The global shipping industry has agreed to reduce planet warming gases to net-zero "by or around 2050", but critics say the deal is fatally flawed. Ships produce around 3% of global CO2 but countries will now have to reduce this as close as possible to zero by the middle of the c...

A rocky platform at Bream Cove near Falmouth, visited as part of the research At a glance A study of fossilised Cornwall beaches has provided "clues on the future of rising sea levels" The research, by the University of Plymouth, involved scientists from the USA and Canada Other ...

Climate activist Greta Thunberg will appear in court in July charged with "disobeying the police" during a protest, Swedish prosecutors have said. Ms Thunberg, 20, joined a group of young protesters blockading oil tankers at a port in Malmo in June. Police said she refused to lea...

This video can not be played Wael Sawan says the world "continues to desperately need oil and gas" Cutting oil and gas production would be "dangerous and irresponsible", the boss of energy giant Shell has told the BBC. Wael Sawan insisted that the world still "desperately needs o...

The government looks set to break its flagship 11.6bn climate and nature funding pledge for developing countries, an internal government document seen by the BBC says. The document details how the government has consistently underspent and would now struggle to meet its 2026 targ...

Conservative MP and ex-climate adviser Chris Skidmore has warned of a "vacuum and silence" in government on climate change. The ex-minister said a lack of vision from ministers could allow "climate detractors" to set the agenda. His comments come as internal documents suggest the...

The world's average temperature reached a new high on Monday 3 July, topping 17 degrees Celsius for the first time. Scientists say the reading was the highest in any instrumental record dating back to the end of the 19th century. The high heat is due to a combination of the El Ni...

The UK had the hottest June on record, the Met Office has confirmed. The average monthly temperature of 15.8C (60.4F) exceeded the previous highest average June temperature, recorded in 1940 and 1976, by 0.9C. Climate change made the chance of surpassing the previous joint record...

It has been the second warmest June since records began in 1894 Jersey had its warmest June since 1976, according to meteorologists Temperatures averaged 18.4C (65F), only 0.3C (0.55F) less than they were 47 years ago when there was a long period of hot weather. It has been the s...

The UK's hottest June on record caused unprecedented deaths of fish in rivers and disturbed insects and plants, environment groups have warned. Nature is being "pounded by extreme weather without a chance to recover", the Wildlife Trusts said. The Met Office will say later on Mon...

Ships crisscrossing our oceans give off as much planet-warming carbon through their smokestacks in a year as the whole of Germany. The massive shipping industry is responsible for transporting nine-tenths of our goods around the world. But it doesn't yet have a goal for cutting e...

A Romantic notion has led to a Borders abbey leading the way in tackling the biodiversity crisis. Managers and gardeners at Dryburgh wanted to recreate an early 19th Century landscape when they published their plans six years ago. Now the flowering meadows are acting as a bluepri...

Energy prices could spike this winter forcing governments to step in and subsidise bills again, the head of the International Energy Agency has said. If the Chinese economy strengthens quickly and there is a harsh winter, gas prices could rise, putting pressure on consumers, Fati...

The brightly coloured coral reefs of the Red Sea are an underwater paradise, home to dazzlingly beautiful fish and a fascinating array of other marine life. Despite the impact of climate change, these reefs have shown a remarkable resilience to warming sea temperatures. But now t...

Global sea surface temperatures for April and May were the highest on record for those calendar months in a series stretching back to 1850, according to the Met Office. When you look at regional examples, the picture becomes even more stark. The temperature rise in the North Atla...

Earlier this year, TikTok vowed to clamp down on climate change denial. But a BBC investigation tracked one video that has been viewed millions of times - and found the company is struggling to stop false climate information from spreading across the platform. If you searched for...

More than 200 people in Hereford have taken part in a relay that aims to inspire action to be taken to tackle climate change. The 32-day Running out of Time relay from Ben Nevis in Scotland to Westminster started on 10 June. The baton arrived to a welcome party at Hereford creati...

June 2023 is poised to be the hottest June on record in the United Kingdom, provisional figures show. Maximum temperatures were not exceptionally high - the hottest day reached 32.2C. But the long-lasting, moderate heat put it into record-breaking territory, surpassing the Junes ...

More than 170 million Americans are under either heat or air quality alerts as wildfire smoke and scorching temperatures continue to plague the US. Air quality across a large part of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic has been deemed "unhealthy" by health officials. Meanwhile, in the w...

Wind and solar power are booming in China and may help limit global carbon emissions far faster than expected, according to a new study. Solar panel installations alone are growing at a pace that would increase global capacity by 85% by 2025. The report says the country's green e...

At least a dozen people have died of heat-related causes in Texas and Louisiana as extreme temperatures continue to plague the country. Eleven of the deaths took place in Texas' Webb County on the Mexican border, according to local officials. Hundreds of other Texas residents hav...

Wales could become a world leader in large-scale seagrass restoration science following successful trials using robots. Seagrass is known for its ability to store carbon and provide nurseries for fish. Up to 92% of UK seagrass has been lost, but Wales could lead on restoration, c...

Government backing for new oil and coal, airport expansion plans and slow progress on heat pumps show that the UK has lost its leadership on climate issues, a government watchdog warns. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) described government efforts to scale up climate action as ...

An area of tropical forest the size of Switzerland was lost last year as tree losses surged, according to new research . It means that a political pledge to end deforestation made at COP26 by world leaders is well off track. Some 11 football pitches of forest were lost every minu...

A total of 16 food outlets at the University of Kent will be affected by the vote At a glance Students at the University of Kent voted in favour of plant-based catering More than 450 students voted in favour of the plan Kents Student Union president said it was an extremely impor...

A wildlife trust and charity have received 1.49m to train young people from diverse backgrounds to help them get environmental sector jobs. UpRising and Shropshire Wildlife Trust received National Lottery funding to launch the free programme. The aim is to engage people aged 18-2...

The UK is at risk of being "starved" of North Sea energy leaving it reliant on imports, a major oil and gas producer has told the BBC. Ithaca Energy said Labour's pledge to ban new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea and current taxation policy was "spooking" investors. Itha...

This video can not be played Watch: Are you in a parallel universe on economy and NHS? - PM asked The UK Prime Minister has urged homeowners and borrowers to "hold their nerve" over rising interest rates aimed at bringing down stubborn inflation. Rishi Sunak told Sunday with Laur...

Householders will not have to pay more on their energy bills to fund hydrogen production, Grant Shapps has indicated. An annual levy was expected to be introduced in 2025 to cover the cost gap between producing low-carbon hydrogen and polluting fossil fuels. But, signalling a U-t...

A woman says plans for a electricity substation and cable work near her home is proving a blight on the community and has hit house prices. National Grid, which is behind the plans for the substation , says it is needed to bring off-shore wind power energy from the East Anglian c...

The sea water temperature in Plymouth Sound is some 3-4C higher than it should be at this time of year. It can be great if you want a swim or to surf, but what does it mean for the marine ecosystem and us? The sea around the UK and Ireland is now in a category 4 extreme heatwave,...

Exploratory works for drilling for natural gas in Manx waters will not take place this year, the firm behind the project has said. Crogga, which was granted a licence to search for gas in the island's territorial seas, had planned to start drilling an appraisal well in October. T...

World leaders meeting in Paris on Thursday could give poorer countries access to hundreds of billions of dollars to tackle climate change. Mia Mottley, Barbados' first female PM, is leading the global fight for this money and tells BBC News that her tiny country urgently needs he...

Beijing has recorded its hottest June day in more than 60 years with the mercury touching 41.1C (105.9F), Chinese weather authorities say. The city is experiencing a prolonged heatwave with extreme temperatures to persist until the end of June. On Thursday, officials said it was ...

The artwork highlighting a climate change warning was illuminated on to the White Cliffs of Dover on Tuesday At a glance A climate change warning was illuminated on to the White Cliffs of Dover on Tuesday It displayed blue and red stripes to show the rise of average global temper...

The public are being invited to have their say on Northern Ireland's carbon emission aims. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has launched a consultation with public events expected to start in August. It is asking for people's feedback on the pr...

Nikki Yoxall isn't your conventional farmer. She describes herself as an agro-ecological grazier. She doesn't own a tractor, has no barns or sheds, and she grows no crops. Instead, her herd of beef cattle is kept continually on the move across a range of pastures at Glass in Aber...

The latest step in a woman's legal fight over a Surrey oil drilling permit has concluded. Sarah Finch's lawyers told the Supreme Court that planning authorities should have considered the climate impacts of burning the oil, not just extracting it. Surrey County Council said it fo...

Scotland's target for cutting planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions has been missed after a bounce back following the pandemic. Total emissions were 49.9% lower in 2021 than in 1990 but the target for the year was a 51.1% cut. It is the eighth time in 12 years that the legally ...

Greenhouse gas emissions in Northern Ireland have increased, a new Stormont report has said. Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) showed a 5% rise in emissions in 2021 from the year before. However longer-term trends continued to show ...

Some of the most intense marine heat increases on Earth have developed in seas around the UK and Ireland, the European Space Agency (Esa) says. Water temperatures are as much as 3 to 4C above the average for this time of year in some areas, according to analysis by Esa and the Me...

Voters in Switzerland have backed a new climate bill designed to cut fossil fuel use and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The government says the country needs to protect its energy security and the environment, as glaciers melt rapidly in the Swiss Alps. The law will req...

This video can not be played Sir Keir Starmer outlines plans for a 'British jobs bonus' to create new jobs in the UK Labour will end new North Sea oil and gas exploration, but help communities profit from clean power projects, Sir Keir Starmer has pledged. Speaking in Edinburgh, ...

Residents are concerned the coastal erosion will lead to the area disappearing completely At a glance A beach in Anglesey is eroding causing residents to worry One resident said he though the sea defence work carried out by the council has sped up the coastal damage Lleiniog beac...

"Guilty party", says the front page of the Daily Mirror , alongside a still image from what it calls the "sickening" footage of the Conservative lockdown party. It quotes a relative of a Covid victim, who accuses the staffers of "dancing on the graves of those who died". The Guar...

An invasive species of insect is putting ash trees in Northern Ireland under threat, ecologists have warned. If you have visited areas around the tree-lined towpath which leads from central Belfast to Lisburn recently, you may have noticed some trees are all but bare of their sum...

Breweries in Wales have claimed plans for a refundable bottles and cans fee will harm their industry. Climate Change Minister Julie James has indicated she will go ahead with proposals to introduce a deposit return scheme in Wales, including glass. It aims to increase recycling r...

This video can not be played Watch: Tomasz Schafernaker takes a look at the thunderstorms forecast for the weekend Thunderstorms, winds and hail are sweeping across the UK and could cause flash flooding, the Met Office has warned. Warm, humid air this week has caused the storms t...

A protracted drought in Spain's renowned southern wetlands has forced flamingos to hatch chicks elsewhere. The Fuente de Piedra wetlands in the Malaga province were declared a natural reserve in 1984. But on Saturday, only a few dozen adult birds could be seen in the saltwater la...

Oil, gas and coal representatives will have to disclose their industry ties at future climate meetings, the UN says. For years, fossil fuel employees have been able to attend without having to be clear about their relationship with their companies. Last year, over 600 industry pa...

What is BBC Future? Future Planet Lost Index Immune Response Future Now Health Gap The Next Giant Leap Towards Net Zero Best of BBC Future Latest More Somewhere between the ancient peaks of the Appalachian Mountains and the frosted caps of the Canadian Rockies is "tornado alley" ...

The northern UK tends to be much wetter than the south, but this summer that pattern is being flipped on its head. Water levels in much of Scotland are very low with some rivers breaking records, while southern England is mostly healthy after a very wet spring. The UK Centre for ...

A new onshore wind farm could help Wales move towards its net zero target by 2050, say developers. But some local people called the Y Bryn plan between Port Talbot and Maesteg a "blight on the landscape". The plan, first proposed in 2021, now includes 18 turbines up to 250m (820f...

Who better to explain hayfever than Derek Brockway At a glance BBC Wales weather presenter Derek Brockway looks at how the pollen count affects people with hayfever Pets as well as humans can get hayfever, so a vet suggests cleaning their paws when they come inside Climate change...

The West country aims to "lead the way" in developing hydrogen technology, to help achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Bristol MP Chris Skidmore said he hoped investment in green technology will reach the region. "If we do not take action now, that investment will go elsew...

DUP MP Sammy Wilson has tweeted : "The UK has had to start coal fired generators during this heatwave because the sun is too strong and solar panels have had to be taken offline." This isn't true. While it's correct that solar panels are less efficient at hot temperatures, this r...

Thousands of people attended a festival held in a small town to raise awareness of the climate crisis. The Earth Festival, in Manningtree, Essex, aimed to inspire people to live a more sustainable life, through speeches, music, games and workshops. It was organised by the local e...

Flight turbulence has increased as climate change has warmed the planet, researchers say. Scientists at Reading University in the UK studied clear-air turbulence, which is harder for pilots to avoid. They found that severe turbulence had increased 55% between 1979 and 2020 on a t...

A 19th Century garden belonging to a Grade I-listed 15th Century manor house is to be adapted to help it cope with the effects of climate change. Changes to the Parterre Garden at Oxburgh Estate, Norfolk, include removing the box hedging. Senior gardener Dea Fischer said its repl...

What do you do when the ingredients you need to cook food from your culture cost both you and the planet? This was one woman's dilemma who found herself feeling "like a bit of a fraud" for worrying about climate change but regularly driving about 50 miles (80km) for imported vege...

A multi-million pound scheme to reinforce sea defences in Bangor is starting this month. It's intended to protect more than 190 properties in the lower Hirael part of the city. The work, expected to take about 10 months, has been hailed as good news. The once thriving fishing com...

Concerns have been raised over water levels on Loch Ness and the River Ness. The loch dropped to its lowest level in 32 years last month amid dry conditions, according to Scottish Environment Protection Agency figures. Ness fishery board said levels remained concerningly low and ...

Firefighters will deploy new techniques learnt in the world's worst wildfire hotspots as climate change raises the risk level in the UK this summer. Last year's heatwaves saw thousands of fires break out, with one destroying homes at Wennington, east London. This year has already...

Greta Thunberg has said she has taken part in her final Friday climate "school strike" after graduating, but vowed to keep protesting. "Today, I graduate from school, which means I'll no longer be able to school strike for the climate," Thunberg, 20, said on Twitter. Swedish stud...

Heat-health alerts have been issued across all of England, as temperatures are expected to rise towards 32C (89.6F). The alert service warns the public when high temperatures could damage their health. Run by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office, the heat-heal...

The promise was clear. And it was prominent. At Labour's 2021 conference , shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her ambition to be the UK's first "green" chancellor. To stress her bona fides, she pledged to invest 28bn a year, every year to 2030 to "green" the economy. Labou...

What is BBC Future? Future Planet Lost Index Immune Response Future Now Health Gap The Next Giant Leap Towards Net Zero Best of BBC Future Latest More In the 1500s, the artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder produced a painting about people's indifference to distant suffering. Called La...

A natural weather event known as El Nino has begun in the Pacific Ocean, likely adding heat to a planet already warming under climate change. US scientists confirmed that El Nino had started. Experts say it will likely make 2024 the world's hottest year. They fear it will help pu...

This video can not be played Watch: Wildfire smoke fills skies across North America Intense wildfires are blazing across Canada with thousands evacuated and smoke blown as far south as the US state of Georgia, creating hazardous air quality for millions. Canada is projected to se...

Until two years ago Jennifer Newall was working at the forefront of climate change research. Her PhD on melting ice sheets and changing sea levels had taken her to Antarctica, Scandinavia and the USA but it was while leading a workshop for primary school children in Glasgow that ...

Wales is falling behind on actions needed to fight climate change, according to a major report. It accused the Welsh government of making "insufficient" effort from installing electric vehicle charge points to planting trees. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said work to cut em...

Northern Ireland's tourism industry should prepare for a future in which climate change mitigation has made air travel more expensive, a report says. The research paper from the Department for the Economy considers challenges over the next decade . It says rising air travel costs...

Nearly a dozen cars have been damaged by environmental protestors, who have spray-painted phrases like "climate criminal" on them. Avon and Somerset Police said it was investigating 11 reports of criminal damage to SUVs in Clifton, Bristol. It's the second time climate protestors...

The boss of one of Labour's biggest union donors has branded the party's plan to ban new oil and gas production in the North Sea "a huge mistake". Gary Smith, the GMB union's general secretary, said energy plans should be built around "decent jobs", not bans. Labour has pledged t...

A record-breaking cyclist is poised to embark on a 3,000-mile challenge on a handmade bamboo bike. Kate Strong, 44, plans to cover the circumference of the UK to raise awareness of the climate crisis. Ms Strong already holds three cycling world records and a triathlon championshi...

Canada has surpassed its record for the largest area burned by wildfires in a single year. The blazes have burned more than 8.1m hectares (20m acres) across the country - 21 times above the average over the last decade. There are currently 483 wildfires across Canada. More than 2...

Every year countries pledge to cut their greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to curb the impacts of climate change. But still global temperatures keep rising. In May, scientists announced that average global temperatures would probably pass the 1.5C threshold for the first time...

Eight leading conservation organisations have joined forces to help reverse the decline of vulnerable coastal species in Scotland. The Species on the Edge programme will focus on the conservation of 37 priority species such as bumblebees. It aims to secure the future for coastal ...

While they are being promoted around the world as a crucial weapon in reducing carbon emissions, solar panels degrade and become gradually less efficient. After about 25-30 years it's typically more cost effective to replace them with new ones. Experts say billions of panels will...

Rob Morgan has invested in a giant water pump to ensure crops like July's sunflowers and Halloween's pumpkins will be ready in time A Christmas tree farmer has had to invest 22,000 in a new irrigation system, saying he has had to adapt his business to cope with continued dry spel...

One mural is painted on the side of the Indian restaurant on Bevan Street At a glance Lowestoft, Suffolk, is celebrating the inauguration of large murals that aim to raise awareness of the climate emergency The designs were created with the help of local people The town hopes the...

Water scarcity across Scotland is expected to escalate quickly, the nation's environment agency has warned. With little rain forecast in the next few weeks, most of the country has been put on early warning. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said the issue was mos...

Baked, boiled, roasted or chipped, the humble spud is a dinner staple. But producers have warned that changing weather conditions are hitting growth. A dry February allowed farmers to plant their early crops but then the rain came. And now there is not enough of it. William Gilmo...

Great Thunberg will take part in this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival. The climate activist will speak at an event called It's Not Too Late To Change The World at Edinburgh Playhouse. It will begin with a speech by Thunberg, 20, before a conversation with broadcaster...

This video can not be played Pupils 'want to try harder' after climate course A new climate change qualification is inspiring action among the first group of pupils in Northern Ireland to study it. A number of secondary schools offered the new GCSE-equivalent course in the last a...

Livestock farms need support to adapt to climate change targets or risk big job losses, government advisers have warned. Agriculture accounted for 14% of Welsh emissions in 2019 - two-thirds of which was methane from livestock and manure. A new report said livestock farms needed ...

A new alert system will warn the public when high temperatures could damage their health this summer in England. Run by the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office, it is aimed at reducing illness and deaths among the most vulnerable. Climate change is likely to make heatwav...

The fat of dead pigs, cattle and chickens is being used to make greener jet fuel, but a new study warns it will end up being worse for the planet. Animal fats are considered waste, so aviation fuel made from the material has a much lower carbon footprint. Demand for fuel made fro...

Beneath a St Helier car park, a giant feat of engineering is increasingly at the forefront of Jersey's response to climate change. Carved out of granite in the mid-1990s, the cavern stores overflows of sewage and rainwater during storms, stopping pollution spilling into St Aubin'...

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to Washington next week for talks with US President Joe Biden. The leaders are expected to discuss trade as well as the war in Ukraine. The White House said the pair would also discuss the situation in Northern Ireland. The prospect of a ful...

The head of the Broads Authority has welcomed the introduction of electric day boats as part of a wider vision to help protect the environment. Norfolk Broads boat hire company Broads Tours has launched two electric day boats as part of its fleet. Broads Authority chief executive...

This video can not be played Watch: Apocalyptic wildfire video captures driver's near miss Wildfires in the Atlantic Canadian province of Nova Scotia have destroyed homes and caused thousands of people to evacuate. As of Monday, around 16,400 people have been forced to leave thei...

Last June, Nepal's tourism ministry announced plans to move Everest base camp lower down the famous mountain because global warming and human activity were making it unsafe. The camp sits on the Khumbu glacier which is thinning rapidly, creating risks for the hundreds of climbers...

Comedians Steve Coogan and Lee Mack joined a protest against the discharge of sewage in the Lake District. Campaigners gathered at Windermere in Cumbria, claiming the lake had already been damaged by pollution. Mr Coogan, best known for playing Alan Partridge, said the water comp...

"The landlady's been chasing me since 2018, she says she needs the flat - now there's an eviction notice." Georgina Simoes is a carer at a nursing home in the Portuguese capital Lisbon. She earns just above the minimum wage. Her rent, at 300 (262) a month, is low by the city's cu...

Venetians woke up on Sunday morning to an unusual sight, as a patch of water in the city's central waterway appeared to have turned fluorescent green. Local authorities have collected water samples and opened an urgent investigation. Speculation is rife as to what might have caus...

Lesley Lokko has spent the last two years planning the world's biggest and most celebrated architecture festival - the Venice Biennale. "This has been a whirlwind," says the Dundee-born architect, writer and academic who is the director of the event. "The last six months have bee...

This video can not be played Watch: Rescue efforts continue after Pakistan avalanche deaths At least 11 people from a nomadic tribe, including a four-year-old boy, have been killed in an avalanche in northern Pakistan. The snow struck as the group crossed a mountainous area in th...

Most homes in Northern Ireland need to be upgraded to be more energy efficient if 2030 net zero targets are to be met, a report has found. It found, on average, the properties do not retain heat as well as those in the rest of the UK and Ireland. The Ulster University study is pa...

Northern Ireland experienced its hottest year on record in 2022, according to a Stormont report. The data is included in a publication by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. It provides information on environmental indicators in areas including public at...

The UK government has defended the United Arab Emirates' appointment of oil executive Sultan al-Jaber as head of this year's UN COP28 climate summit. It comes after more than 130 lawmakers from the US and EU wrote to the UN calling for his removal. The UN has long been criticised...

German police have carried out raids in seven states in a probe into climate campaigners suspected of forming or backing a criminal group because of their controversial activities. Among those raided was Last Generation spokeswoman Carla Hinrichs, whose door was broken down by ar...

France has banned domestic short-haul flights where train alternatives exist, in a bid to cut carbon emissions. The law came into force two years after lawmakers had voted to end routes where the same journey could be made by train in under two-and-a-half hours. The ban all but r...

Almost half of the earth's animal species are currently declining, according to research led by Queen's University Belfast (QUB). The study examined population densities of more than 70,000 animals and researchers say it is the most comprehensive record to date. It found 48% of s...

This video can not be played Summer weather: will there be a heatwave? At long last the weather seems to be settling down. Meteorological summer starts on 1 June, high pressure is taking control, and that means lots of dry weather and some warm sunshine for most of us. But any re...

Extreme weather has caused trillions of dollars of economic damage in the last half century, but the human death toll has fallen dramatically. The economic cost of floods, storms and wildfires has accelerated since 1970, according to a World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) repo...

Hosepipe bans and drought warnings are not being contemplated in Wales this year, water bosses have said. Reservoir and river levels have recovered after the driest spring and summer for more than 150 years in 2022. But with Wales forecast to stay dry until the end of May, the pu...

Three western US states have agreed to draw less water from the drought-depleted Colorado River in exchange for $1.2bn (960m) in federal funding. Arizona, California and Nevada said the deal would conserve at least 3 million acre-feet of water to the end of 2026. The dwindling ri...

In a quarry surrounded by the din of heavy machinery Jim Mann crouches down and picks up a handful of tiny black rocks. "This is my magic dust," he says with a smile, gently rubbing them between his fingers. He's holding pieces of basalt. It's a hard volcanic rock that is neither...

There's not much retired fisherman Kenny Chaney doesn't know about the Norfolk village of Hemsby. Despite working from Hemsby's beach for 52 years, the rate of coastal erosion has surprised even him. An avid photographer and collector of postcards, Mr Chaney has built up a person...

"I myself am a boomer! I'm, like, horrible!" There's something a bit unexpected about one of the most famous people on the planet using what's become a term of abuse about themselves instead of choreographed gushing about their latest project. But Arnold Schwarzenegger's path in ...

Welsh ministers have been accused of lacking urgency on flood risks due to climate change, after postponing planning rule changes twice. The policy, based on the latest advice, was due to come into force next month, but the minister said that was no longer "achievable". Oppositio...

A council has defended its decision to fell 250 trees, saying they were "dead, dying or a health and safety risk". Environment campaigners in St Albans, Hertfordshire, have disputed the number and said as many trees as possible should be preserved. Green councillor Simon Grover s...

Climate change raised temperatures by at least 2C in many parts of Asia last month as it suffered a crippling heatwave, a new study says. The research also found that climate change had made the heatwave 30 times likelier. India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Laos all saw record temp...

Beyonce-fever gripped Cardiff on Wednesday where the singer kicked off the UK leg of her world tour. But the extravaganza has left some mulling over the damage the event and others like it have on the environment. Beyonce's Formation tour in 2016 took seven air freighters and 70 ...

This video can not be played Watch the moment an elderly couple were rescued after being spotted hanging out of their roof skylight More than 20 rivers have burst their banks in Italy, leaving 13 people dead and forcing thousands from their homes after six months' rainfall fell i...

Our overheating world is likely to break a key temperature limit for the first time over the next few years, scientists predict. Researchers say there's now a 66% chance we will pass the 1.5C global warming threshold between now and 2027. The chances are rising due to emissions f...

Adrienne Alher and Okan Aslan have spent almost 11 years growing their east London business. But it's more than that for them. Their vision was to create a shop that was sustainable and green, selling products sourced from suppliers who paid their staff a decent wage, and offerin...

A man has embarked on a 3,000km (1,864 miles) kayak voyage in icy waters as part of a "poo-centric expedition". Mike Keen, from Suffolk, is almost a month into his three-month paddle from Qaqortoq in the south of Greenland - to Qaanaaq in the north. Along the way, he is collectin...

Cumbria is set to be the location for the UK's first major coal mine in more than 40 years. Will the return of a traditional industry to an economically-deprived area a chance for regeneration - or is it a backward move, out of step with the times, that its critics say will fail ...

This video can not be played Watch: The aftermath of Cyclone Mocha at world's largest refugee camp Myanmar's military leaders have declared Rakhine state a natural disaster area after Cyclone Mocha hit on Sunday, killing at least six people. The cyclone was one of the strongest t...

In the dusty cornfields of West Kentucky, an area which had long ago been abandoned as an industrial site is once again coming to life. US manufacturer Ascend Elements has chosen the site to build a factory for electric car batteries made from recycled ones - an industry previous...

About half a million people are being evacuated to safer areas in south-eastern Bangladesh, ahead of a cyclone that could be extremely dangerous. Mocha is predicted to make landfall at midday, with 170kph (106mph) winds and storm surges of up to 3.6m (12ft). There are concerns th...

In our series of letters from African journalists, Ismail Einashe reflects on how Kenya's changing climate is bringing animals and humans into greater conflict. On a sweltering afternoon in the small Kenyan village of Njoro Mata, a farmer is desperately inspecting the damage caus...

Residents of a tiny Swiss village have all been evacuated because of the risk of an imminent rockslide. Brienz's fewer than 100 villagers were given just 48 hours to pack what they could and abandon their homes. Even the dairy cows were loaded up for departure after geologists wa...

This video can not be played Summer weather: will there be a heatwave? With its longer days - and bank holidays - the advance of May might have you dreaming of the summer ahead. You'd be forgiven for thinking things have taken their time to warm up this year. While overall temper...

The Australian government has approved a new coal mine for the first time since it was elected - on a climate action platform - last year. The government was bound by national environment laws when considering Central Queensland's Isaac River coal mine, a spokeswoman said. Only o...

Wind turbines have generated more electricity than gas for the first time in the UK. In the first three months of this year a third of the country's electricity came from wind farms, research from Imperial College London has shown. National Grid has also confirmed that April saw ...

If you are a marathon runner in search of a personal best, your body shape could be just as important as your training, analysis suggests. A study of 170 Ironman contestants found tall, leggy runners performed better in warm climates, while shorter, stockier people had the upper ...

Next week's council elections are not "do or die" for the Green Party in Northern Ireland in spite of its wipeout in last year's Stormont poll, according to its leader. Mal O'Hara was speaking as he launched the party's manifesto in south Belfast. He said the party had "a new ene...

Environmental campaigners said schemes like the A47 would have an impact on the UK's ability to hit its carbon net zero targets by 2050 At a glance Upgrade plans for the A47 around Norwich is being challenged in the High Court An environmental campaigner is bringing the legal act...

To help tackle climate change, the UK has pledged to reach "net zero" - where no further planet-warming greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere - by 2050. To achieve this, much less energy needs to be generated by fossil fuels and much more needs to come from renewable sourc...

Billions of pounds' worth of green energy projects are on hold because they cannot plug into the UK's electricity system, BBC research shows. Some new solar and wind sites are waiting up to 10 to 15 years to be connected because of a lack of capacity in the system - known as the ...

Cornwall residents are being invited to take part in an active travel study. The study will look at what influences travel behaviours and aims to "encourage healthier, greener ways of travelling" in the county. It is being carried out by Cornwall Council, the University of Bath a...

Trees, shrubs and soil will be sampled for carbon storage as part of a project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Wansbeck Restoration for Climate Change initiative is receiving 600,000 for the work, to assess how woodlands, grasslands and wetlands store carbon. It will focu...

This video can not be played Watch: Alberta residents flee wildfires with newborn The province of Alberta has requested military assistance from Canada's federal government as it battles "unprecedented" wildfires. As of Tuesday morning, 88 wildfires were burning across Alberta, i...

The world's biggest storms, which whip the high seas into a frenzy or flatten buildings on land, have long daunted wind farm developers. But that is changing. Operators are increasingly adopting turbines designed to withstand tropical cyclones. One of the latest examples is a "ty...

Vietnam has recorded its highest ever temperature, just over 44C (111F) - with experts predicting it would soon be surpassed because of climate change. The record was set in the northern province of Thanh Hoa, where officials warned people to stay indoors during the hottest times...

Alberta has declared a state of emergency after wildfires spread across the western Canadian province, driving nearly 25,000 people from their homes. Faced with more than 100 wildfires, Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith called the situation "unprecedented". Residents of Edson, a t...

More than 400 people have died following floods and landslides that hit two villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last week. The authorities had previously said 200 people had died following torrential rainfall on Thursday. In several villages close to the shore of Lak...

Businesses are having to move while flood defences are installed on Wales' coastline over the next 18 months. A seafood stall is among those relocating when the work in Mumbles, Swansea, starts this month. Gower Seafood Hut owner Chris Price called the timing "a concern" as the c...

Job creation in the US remained robust last month, despite turmoil in the banking sector and the impact of higher borrowing costs. Employers added 253,000 jobs, which was better than many analysts had expected. The unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, returning to a multi-decade low. ...

Garden swimming pools are to be banned from sale in a part of southern France over worsening water shortages. France's Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Bechu said that Pyrenees-Orientales, which borders Spanish Catalonia, will be officially declared at drought "crisis" l...

HSBC has fought off an attempt by its biggest shareholder to break up the bank during a frequently tense annual general meeting. Chinese insurer Ping An has been trying for more than a year to split the bank. On Friday it failed to gain the backing of any other major shareholder ...

School dinners could be linked to deforestation, pupils will tell the Welsh government. Campaigners want ministers to ban schools and hospitals serving dishes containing products linked to deforestation and exploitation. A primary school in Monmouth is the first to sign up to a p...

At least 130 people have died after floods and landslides hit Rwanda's northern and western provinces, authorities say. The rains hit at night when many people were asleep - an official told the BBC this is one reason why so many died. The five-year-old daughter of Claudette Nyir...

This video can not be played Watch: Sir Richard Branson on "painful" media coverage during pandemic Sir Richard Branson has said he feared he was going to lose his entire business empire during the pandemic. The British businessman said he found a media backlash "painful" after t...

Morocco has big ambitions to export electricity produced by solar and wind farms to Europe, but should it be prioritising such renewable energy for its home market? "The resources we have here could be one of the big, big answers to European demand," says Moroccan energy entrepre...

Water shortages could be possible this summer in parts of Scotland after a drier than average winter. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has issued the first water scarcity report of 2023. It shows parts of central, western and northern Scotland have reached the ea...

Wales has reached its "last chance to save nature", wildlife groups have warned. More than 40 organisations have written to the Welsh government saying Wales has become "one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world". The Senedd is set to pass a new agricultural bill thi...

Former Mastercard boss Ajay Banga has been elected to lead the World Bank as it strives to help low-income countries overcome debt and combat climate change. Mr Banga, nominated by President Joe Biden for the post, is the first-ever Indian American to head the bank. He will repla...

Residents, landowners and volunteers in Derbyshire are being urged to join a new push to get more trees planted across the county. The Million Trees project aims to hit its target of new plantings by 2030. Any new trees established since June 2021 can be added to an online map, w...

The Scottish government has scrapped its controversial plans for Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs). The proposals to restrict fishing and other human activities in some coastal areas were designed to protect wildlife and the environment. But members of the fishing industry, H...

Campaigners against a plan to construct gas caverns under Larne Lough are at the High Court in Belfast for a judicial review. Seven gas caverns are set to be constructed by carving out salt layers under the lough to store half a billion cubic metres of natural gas. A marine licen...

Climate change could dramatically reduce life in the deepest parts of our oceans that are reached by sunlight, scientists warn. Global warming could curtail life in the so-called twilight zone by as much as 40% by the end of the century, according to new research. The twilight zo...

Australia's flagship airline Qantas has announced its Chief Financial Officer Vanessa Hudson will replace current CEO Alan Joyce. She will become Qantas' first female boss when she takes over in November. The airline has suffered turbulence in recent times, with record losses dur...

Protesters have been gathering near the site of an oil spill in Dorset, calling for the oil field operator to be stripped of its licence. About 200 barrels of oily water escaped from a pipeline at Wytch Farm oil field into Poole Harbour on 26 March. About 100 people joined the pr...

India's population has reached 1,425,775,850 people, surpassing the number of people in mainland China, according to the UN's estimates. India's decennial census - scheduled to be held in 2021 - has been delayed, so there's no official population data. China's most recent - and s...

The government has launched a month-long cycling challenge to encourage islanders to cycle to work. The Bike Month Challenge will run throughout May and local prizes will be given to those logging their rides and referring friends. The campaign is part of the government's sustain...

This video can not be played Watch: Khartoum branch of Sudan Central Bank in flames With temperatures soaring to more than 40C at this time of the year, I normally sleep outside in my garden, but I am too scared to do that now, as fighter jets roar over my home in Sudan's Omdurma...

A beach on Skye has been cleared of large amounts of plastic pollution, including fragments of rope and fishing net. Scottish Coastal Clean Up said it took three days to collect as much waste as possible from the site near Heaste, before removing it by boat. Some of the rubbish i...

Scotland's first low emission zone (LEZ) has come into effect in Glasgow. Vehicles which do not meet emission standards are no longer able to enter parts of the city centre - and owners face fines which can rise to several hundreds of pounds per day. It covers an area between the...

In 2008, the Brown family watched on helplessly as destructive bushfires ripped through the Victorian countryside. For them, it was a wakeup call. It was the third time in several years flames had come close to torching vineyards that five generations of their family had poured o...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has decreed six new indigenous reserves, banning mining and restricting commercial farming there. The lands - including a vast area of Amazon rainforest - cover about 620,000 hectares (1.5m acres). Indigenous leaders welcomed the move...

More and more species of whales and dolphins are being recorded in Irish waters, a group that monitors the mammals has said. Padraig Whooley, of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), said it was an "exciting time" to be studying them. The group lists more than two dozen speci...

Sudan's former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has warned that the conflict in his country could become worse than those in Syria and Libya. The fighting between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) would be a "nightmare for the world" if it continued, h...

The Port of Aberdeen will invest 55m over the next 10 years in a bid to become the UK's first net zero port by 2040, it has been announced. The aim is to reduce emissions and promote low carbon alternative fuels. The port said it had already taken action to reduce the environment...

Some of the UK's biggest pension funds have voted against reappointing BP's chairman over a decision to weaken its climate plans, but the majority of shareholders backed Helge Lund. It comes after the energy giant cut back its target to reduce emissions by the end of the decade. ...

From the outside it looks like an ordinary warehouse. But inside this unassuming building, in Hod Hasharon central Israel, is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the Middle East. Researchers at NT-Tao have joined an elite group of around 35 private start-ups that are try...

Pupils (left to right) Finley, Jazmin, Haydn, Isla, Elvi, William have been involved in the project to reduce emissions at Tollesbury Primary School At a glance A local community project is raising 200,000 to reduce the emissions from the village primary school The Tollesbury Cli...

Spain recorded its hottest ever temperature for April on Thursday, hitting 38.8C according to the country's meteorological service. The record figure was reached in Cordoba airport in southern Spain just after 15:00 local time (14:00 BST). For days a blistering heatwave has hit t...

A new theatre production will leave its cast, crew and creative team behind when it leaves London to tour the UK. It's A Sin star Lydia West will appear in the one-woman play about climate change at London's Barbican this week. The show is powered by 10 cyclists on stage, who ped...

The White House has denied starting a subsidy war, following criticism of its massive support for green energy. The US is spending billions to help electric car firms, green energy and microchips via loans and tax breaks. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the US wanted...

Scientists have obtained their best satellite assessment yet of the status of the world's glaciers. Europe's Cryosat spacecraft tracked the 200,000 or so glaciers on Earth and found they have lost 2,720bn tonnes of ice in 10 years due to climate change. That's equivalent to losin...

Volunteers who have helped create the UK's first Young People's Forest have seen their climate anxiety levels fall, managers have said. The Woodland Trust has planted 250,000 trees on a former open cast coal mine near Heanor, in Derbyshire, in a project aimed at young people. Man...

A recent, rapid heating of the world's oceans has alarmed scientists concerned that it will add to global warming. This month, the global sea surface hit a new record high temperature. It has never warmed this much, this quickly. Scientists don't fully understand why this has hap...

NIE Networks is to invest over 3bn in Northern Ireland's electricity network over the next 10 years in order to facilitate climate change targets. It also plans to create more than 1,000 jobs between now and 2032 in an attempt to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. NIE Networks sa...

A huge electricity cable project in the North Sea could provide green power to 1.8 million UK homes in plans announced by the UK and Dutch governments. It would connect to offshore wind farms and transfer electricity between the two countries. European nations are under pressure ...

It's an elegantly simple solution to an age-old problem: to protect crops from hazards, keep them covered. Nets are commonly used to keep out pests in vegetable production, particularly in high-value areas like seeds. Yet in fruit production the use of nets is still being explore...

The heir to a 13th Century castle is aiming to power it entirely with renewable energy. Muncaster Castle in Ravenglass in west Cumbria was built as a defence against the Scots and has been home to the Pennington family for 800 years. It is connected to mains gas and electricity b...

Argentina is battling a record outbreak of dengue fever, which has killed more than 40 people and infected more than 60,000, mainly in the north-west. The infection is spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, and the last big outbreak to hit Argentina was in 2020. The health ministry ...

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross prompted a Holyrood security alert after a toy gun was delivered to his office. Police Scotland said it was made aware of concern for a package at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the force said the item was checked ...

Thousands of activists marked Earth Day with a demonstration in central London organised by Extinction Rebellion (XR). Members of the climate group gathered at Parliament Square, in Westminster, on Saturday, for the second day of what they are calling "The Big One". Some wore fan...

You want to go vegan to help the planet, but you're not paying for the shopping. You think trains are better than planes, but your dad books the summer holiday. Young people are some of the world's most powerful climate leaders and want rapid action to tackle the problem. It make...

Many high-profile Twitter media accounts have lost their labels describing their affiliations or funding models, following major changes on the social media platform. On Friday, several media outlets that previously had tags such as "government funded" no longer displayed them. T...

This video can not be played Watch: Spanish police gave the BBC's Nick Beake access to the "narco-sub" I'm about to climb into the first "narco-sub" known to have brought cocaine from South America to Europe. It's 20 metres (65 ft) long, built out of fibreglass and - remarkably -...

An energy project that sparked an uproar has been given the go-ahead in Maine after a jury ruled a referendum on the proposal was unconstitutional. Proponents say it would eliminate over three million metric tonnes of carbon emissions every year. But the project, which connected ...

An Indian climber who went missing after falling into a crevasse on Mount Annapurna in Nepal has been found alive. Anurag Maloo, who went missing on Monday, was found in a critical condition by rescuers. Two other Indian climbers were rescued on Tuesday, while an Irish climber di...

The lack of a Stormont executive is hampering progress on climate change adaptation in Northern Ireland, a report has found. The UK's Climate Change Committee (CCC) described planning in Northern Ireland as being "in its infancy" . There was very limited evidence of delivery and ...

What do Beyonce and Cristiano Ronaldo have in common? As of today, they are no longer verified on Twitter. The social media giant began removing the once-coveted blue tick verification from thousands of accounts on Thursday. The move comes as owner Elon Musk attempts to overhaul ...

Droughts in continental Europe are a possible cause for sightings of a Mediterranean bird in Britain and Ireland, say ornithologists. Black-crowned night herons have been spotted on Scotland's remote St Kilda archipelago, as well as County Wexford in Ireland and Dorset in England...

The group met the Pope to discuss how Greater Manchester is tackling climate change At a glance Mayor of Greater Manchester and religious leaders meet the Pope The group pledged a commitment to tackle climate change Andy Burnham presented Pope Francis with a Manchester United shi...

The Queen Consort's son has insisted Camilla did not have "any sort of end game" to become Queen. Speaking on the News Agents podcast, Tom Parker Bowles said his mother "just married the person she loved". His remarks counter allegations by the Duke of Sussex, who wrote that Cami...

An American firm has saved nearly 60 jobs in Dundee after buying a yarn manufacturer out of administration. Administrators from FRP Advisory said they had sold Bonar Yarns to a new company founded by former customer Elite Turf USA for an undisclosed sum. Bonar Yarns called in adm...

Buzzfeed is to close its news site and cut its workforce by 15%, chief executive Jonah Peretti has said. It comes as the digital media company faces serious financial challenges, including a slump in advertising spending. Calling the decisions "deeply painful", Mr Peretti said he...

Evgeniy Maloletka's picture, Mariupol Maternity Hospital Airstrike, has been named World Press Photo of the Year. Taken on assignment for the Associated Press, the image shows Iryna Kalinina, a wounded pregnant woman aged 32, being carried on a stretcher, across debris from a mat...

This video can not be played Record river levels following intense storms show how climate change is affecting Wales Record river levels and more frequent intense storms show climate change is starting to have an impact across Wales, flood forecasters have said. More named storms...

Secretive internet vigilantes have made it their mission to fight climate change denial on Twitter. But, as a vicious information war rages online, do they risk becoming the very trolls they claim to be targeting? I meet Maria and Arthur at the top of a hill overlooking the Medit...

The world will likely use fewer fossil fuels to produce electricity this year in a "turning point" for planet-friendly energy, a new report says. It would be the first ever annual drop in the use of coal, oil and gas to generate electricity, outside of a global recession or pande...

Antarctica's melting ice sheet could retreat much faster than previously thought, new research suggests. The evidence comes from markings on the seafloor off Norway that record the pull-back of a melting European ice sheet thousands of years ago. Today, the fastest withdrawing gl...

In the Sau reservoir, teams in small boats are hard at work hauling out fish with nets. The idea is to remove them before they die and rot in the water, making it unusable for human consumption. The water level has dropped so low here - to below 10% of the reservoir's capacity - ...

The world's top court will for the first time advise on countries' legal obligations to fight climate change, following a UN resolution on Wednesday. The International Court of Justice will now prepare an advisory opinion that could be cited in climate court cases. The motion cam...

England is not ready for the unavoidable impacts of global warming, the government's advisers on climate change say in a new report. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said the government hasn't achieved any of its targets and needed a policy "step change" to avoid loss of lif...

More than 2,000 women are taking the Swiss government to court claiming its policy on climate change is violating their right to life and health. The case is the first time the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will hear a case on the impact of climate change on human rights....

Global warming is changing the way trees grow, new research suggests. Researchers studying hardwoods in northwest Ohio say a century of warming has extended their annual growing season by a month on average. The scientists from Ohio State University compared recent observations t...

Claude Lorius, a leading glaciologist whose expeditions helped prove that humans were responsible for global warming, has died at the age of 91. He led 22 expeditions to Greenland and Antarctica during his lifetime. It was during one trip to Antarctica in 1965 where an evening of...

UN chief Antonio Guterres says a major new report on climate change is a "survival guide for humanity". Clean energy and technology can be exploited to avoid the growing climate disaster, the report says. But at a meeting in Switzerland to agree their findings, climate scientists...

A new way of sucking carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in the sea has been outlined by scientists. The authors say that this novel approach captures CO2 from the atmosphere up to three times more efficiently than current methods. The warming gas can be transformed into b...

Carbon capture and storage infrastructure is designed to prevent carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial processes and power stations being released into the atmosphere. Currently the technology is seen as expensive but it should in theory enable fossil fuels to be used without maki...

Billionaire Bill Gates has invested in an Australian climate technology start-up that plans to reduce the methane emissions of cow burps. The Microsoft co-founder has been outspoken about the environmental impact of meat production. Methane is the most common greenhouse gas after...

Technology to remove the planet-warming greenhouse gas CO2 from our atmosphere must be urgently ramped up, leading climate experts say in a new report. Scientists say big cuts in CO2 emissions won't be enough to limit global warming. And nature alone will not remove enough of it ...

The polar regions and Europe were hit hardest by global warming in 2022, according to a new analysis. The data from Copernicus, the EU's climate monitoring service, says 2022 was the fifth warmest year globally. Europe experienced its warmest summer, with temperatures increasing ...

The world has officially entered an El Nino phase, according to the US science agency NOAA. Scientists believe the weather patterns typically seen during El Nino are likely to send global temperatures soaring to record levels in the next few years. El Nino is part of the natural ...

Waste gases from a steelworks and household rubbish could be used to fuel aeroplanes for "guilt-free flying". It comes as five projects have been awarded a share of a 165m UK government fund. The projects will cut CO2 emissions by an average of 200,000 tonnes a year , once fully ...

The UK government is allowing the fossil fuel industry to waste large amounts of gas, according to a leading environmental think-tank. Green Alliance says oil and gas companies are wasting enough methane to power more than 700,000 UK homes. It says high energy prices mean more of...

Could the key to feeding the world with a changing climate be hiding in a 300-year-old museum collection? That's one of the hopes of scientists combing through 12,000 specimens of wheat and its relatives held in the Natural History Museum's archives. The most promising samples ar...

A new funding arrangement on loss and damage - a pooled fund for countries most affected by climate change - has been hailed as a "historic moment". It can be seen as the most important climate advance since the Paris Agreement at COP 2015. For decades the victims of a changing c...

Vast amounts of bacteria could be released as the world's glaciers melt due to climate change, scientists have warned. Potentially harmful pathogens are among the thousands of microbes that could leak into rivers and lakes. Researchers at Aberystwyth University said their study h...

For the past two years, Nikhil Arora has been working hard to cut his organic gardening company's carbon footprint, taking small steps, like shifting away from plastic packaging, to make his business, Back to the Roots, the most environmentally efficient it has ever been. The Cal...

Brazil is back, president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has told rapturous crowds at the UN climate summit COP27 in Egypt. Walking into a room of supporters singing his name, Lula promised to restore the Amazon rainforest and chase down climate criminals. Huge numbers gathered ...

Birdsong, snowdrops, blossom and midge bites - these are not things you associate with November in the north of England. But these are just some of the milder side effects of a warming world. As well as fuelling deadly floods and drought, rising temperatures are cited as a cause ...

Just Stop Oil has carried out a series of high-profile protests, including disrupting play at Wimbledon and Lords. The group is campaigning for more action on climate change, but its tactics - which have also included blocking major roads - have faced criticism. Just Stop Oil is ...

When COP26 was held a year ago in Glasgow, Northern Ireland was the only part of host nation the UK that did not have climate change legislation in place. Now, as world leaders gather in Sharm El-Sheikh for COP27 , what has changed for Northern Ireland, and where is it on its jou...

The UN's climate change summit has opened in Egypt with a warning that our planet is "sending a distress signal". Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was responding to a UN report released on Sunday saying the past eight years were on track to be the warmest on record. More than 1...

Global leaders are about to meet for another UN climate summit - COP27 starting in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday - and the reality of climate change for many people can be overwhelming. Record-breaking heatwaves, devastating floods in Pakistan, and drought in East Africa - and that i...

World leaders agreed a historic new climate agreement at COP27 in Egypt on Sunday morning. They have committed to establishing a fund to help countries being impacted by climate change, but they have not raised ambition on cutting emissions. The agreement comes a year after the G...

Glaciers across the globe - including the last ones in Africa - will be unavoidably lost by 2050 due to climate change, the UN says in a report. Glaciers in a third of UN World Heritage sites will melt within three decades, a UNESCO report found. Mount Kilimanjaro's last glaciers...

There is "no credible pathway" to keep the rise in global temperatures below the key threshold of 1.5C, according to a bleak new UN assessment. Scientists believe that going beyond 1.5C would see dangerous impacts for people all over the world. The report says that since COP26 la...

Climate change is severely impacting people's health around the world, a report by a leading medical publication has found. The Lancet Countdown report says the world's continued reliance on fossil fuels increases the risk of food insecurity, infectious disease and heat-related i...

World leaders are discussing action to tackle climate change at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. It follows a year of climate-related disasters and broken temperature records. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is attending, having previously said he would not. United Nations (UN) c...

The humble potato may struggle to grow in the UK in years to come due to climate change, researchers have warned. Scotland's fields grow a quarter of Britain's potato crop. However household favourites such as Ayrshire and Maris Piper are said to be at risk as temperatures rise. ...

Imagine a huge seaweed farm the size of Croatia floating in the South Atlantic between Africa and South America. Spinning in a natural ocean eddy, it sucks a billion tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere every year and sinks it to the ocean floor out of harm's way. Far-fetched? ...

Information campaigns like those used in the Covid-19 pandemic would help individuals act on climate change, a House of Lords report has said. To meet climate goals, a third of cuts to UK emissions by 2035 must come from people changing their behaviour, it says. It calls the gove...

Icebergs bigger than city blocks loom through the mist as Kaleeraq Mathaeussen reels in halibut from the frigid waters one by one. "Each season is not how it used to be," he says. It's become windier and more unpredictable. More than 250km (155 miles) inside the Arctic Circle, th...

The world has finally agreed on a long-term plan to curb carbon emissions from flying. At a meeting in Montreal, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), pledged to support an "aspirational" net zero aviation goal by 2050. The plan, seen as a compromise by many, was ...

Protests have been taking place across the UK on a day of action highlighting issues including the increased cost of living and the climate crisis. Enough is Enough, a campaign set up in response to the rising cost of living, held events in cities across the UK. It comes on the d...

Carbon emissions in the Amazon region in 2019 and 2020 more than doubled compared to the average of the previous eight years, according to a new study. Deforestation for agriculture and fires were the main drivers of the increase, according to the authors. The scientists say that...

Climate change threatens the health and survival of urban trees, with more than half of species already feeling the heat, according to a new study. City-dwelling oaks, maples, poplars, elms, pines and chestnuts are among more than 1,000 tree species flagged at risk due to climate...

Global warming is likely to have played a role in the devastating floods that hit Pakistan, say scientists. Researchers from the World Weather Attribution group say climate change may have increased the intensity of rainfall. However there were many uncertainties in the results, ...

This summer was the hottest on record in Europe, according to data from EU satellite monitoring. A series of extreme heatwaves and a long running drought saw June, July and August shatter the previous high mark for temperature. The Copernicus Climate Change Service said the data ...

Australia's parliament has passed legislation enshrining a pledge to slash carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050. The country is one of the world's biggest emitters per capita, and the target brings it more in line with other developed countries. But critics say...

Current rates of warming will put the Earth at risk of crossing six "dangerous" climate tipping points, according to a new analysis. Crossing these thresholds would disrupt the Earth's systems triggering the collapse of ice sheets and the loss of coral reefs. Scientific commentat...

The devastating floods in Pakistan are a "wake-up call" to the world on the threats of climate change, experts have said. The record-breaking rain would devastate any country, not just poorer nations, one climate scientist has told BBC News. The human impacts are clear - another ...

As Europe's energy costs skyrocket, Russia is burning off large amounts of natural gas, according to analysis shared with BBC News. They say the plant, near the border with Finland, is burning an estimated $10m (8.4m) worth of gas every day. Experts say the gas would previously h...

How high might temperatures climb and how much rain might fall in your area and how? The BBC and the Met Office have looked at the UK's changing climate in detail to find out. Temperatures in the UK exceeded 40C for the first time on record earlier this summer, and extreme weathe...

Around 16 football pitches of trees per minute were lost to forest fires in 2021, a new report says. Data from Global Forest Watch suggests that across the globe, the amount of tree cover being burned has nearly doubled in the past 20 years. Climate change is a key factor in the ...

The ongoing drought in the UK and Europe is putting electricity generation under pressure, say experts. Electricity from hydropower - which uses water to generate power - has dropped by 20% overall. And nuclear facilities, which are cooled using river water, have been restricted....

Global warming and changing weather patterns are affecting the water supply for one of the world's most important waterways, the Panama Canal, as well as access to drinking water for millions of Panamanians, reports journalist Grace Livingstone from Panama City. The Panama Canal ...

The US Senate has approved a sweeping $700bn (577bn) economic package that includes major legislation on healthcare, tax and climate change. The bill seeks to lower the cost of some medicines, increase corporate taxes and reduce carbon emissions. The passing of the bill - a flags...

Catastrophic climate change outcomes, including human extinction, are not being taken seriously enough by scientists, a new study says. The authors say that the consequences of more extreme warming - still on the cards if no action is taken - are "dangerously underexplored". They...

What can you do when the people closest to you believe climate change is a hoax? It was during school pick-up a few years ago that Lance Lawson first asked his father about his views on global warming. "He basically told me something along the lines of 'It's nonsense'," Lance rec...

Thirty years ago, a bold plan was cooked up to spread doubt and persuade the public that climate change was not a problem. The little-known meeting - between some of America's biggest industrial players and a PR genius - forged a devastatingly successful strategy that endured for...

Children should be taught climate change in more depth and in all subjects, experts and students themselves have told BBC News. Current teaching is leaving children unprepared to live in a warming world, they warn. The extreme heat and wildfires in the UK this week could be norma...

This video can not be played President Joe Biden says climate crisis is clear and present danger US President Joe Biden has announced $2.3bn (1.9bn) to help build infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather and natural disasters. But he stopped short of formally declaring a...

Why are we seeing such brutal temperatures? Climate scientists say the answer is climate change. The Met Office estimates that the extreme heat we are seeing has been made ten times more likely because of it. We are being warned it can pose a life-threatening risk to even normall...

Heat-related deaths will triple over coming decades without government action on overheating in our homes, warn its advisors on climate change. The alert comes amid the first UK red extreme heat warning, with potentially life-threatening record highs near 40C expected as far nort...

The UK government must drive down energy bills and reduce climate-warming emissions by insulating more homes, a report says. Official advisors the Climate Change Committee says the government's current insulation programme is "shocking". It says consumers are paying 40 extra a ye...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced more ambitious climate targets for his country. He has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by 2030, up from the previous conservative government's target of between 26% and 28%. Australia is one of the w...

Two weeks of climate talks in Germany have ended in acrimony between rich and poor countries over cash for climate damage. Developing countries say they are reeling from climate change caused by richer countries' emissions over hundreds of years. They hoped to get compensation on...

A new study says that the world is using more fossil fuels than ever as the transition to green energy stalls. The Renewables 2022 Global Status Report says the share of wind and solar in the global energy mix has risen minimally in the last decade. While renewables boomed in the...

Fiji has told an Asian security summit that climate change is a bigger threat to the Pacific than military tensions. "Machine guns, fighter jets... are not our primary security concern. The single greatest threat to our very existence is climate change," Fiji Defence Minister Ini...

This video can not be played WATCH: New Australian PM says climate action "shouldn't be controversial" Australia's new leader has vowed to take the country in a new direction, with a big shift in climate policy. Anthony Albanese, who won Saturday's election with the opposition ce...

Climate "doomers" believe the world has already lost the battle against global warming. That's wrong - and while that view is spreading online, there are others who are fighting the viral tide. As he walked down the street wearing a Jurassic Park cap, Charles McBryde raised his s...

The likelihood of crossing a key global warming threshold has risen significantly, according to a new analysis. UK Met Office researchers say that there's now around a fifty-fifty chance that the world will warm by more than 1.5C over the next five years. Such a rise would be tem...

Saudi Arabia has announced it will be cutting its production of crude oil by a million barrels a day to try to boost prices. Other members of the oil producers' group Opec+ agreed to keep their output levels unchanged, having made cuts of more than one million barrels a day last ...

A new project has been launched to address rising climate anxiety in students at the University of East Anglia. At the opening in Norwich, students told BBC News they felt hopelessness, anger and despair about climate change. They worry how they will live in a world with an unpre...

A dozen scientists, politicians, and campaigners say they have been tricked into participating in online events promoting climate-change denial. The events were organised by the Creative Society, an international activist group that denies global warming is being caused by human ...

A key finding in the latest IPCC climate report has been widely misinterpreted, according to scientists involved in the study. In the document, researchers wrote that greenhouse gases are projected to peak "at the latest before 2025". This implies that carbon could increase for a...

Scientists have mapped coral reefs in the Caribbean to identify those most likely to survive climate change. Corals with the highest potential to escape destruction from marine heat waves are predominantly located along the northern shoreline of Cuba. And other promising sites ar...

UN scientists have unveiled a plan that they believe can limit the root causes of dangerous climate change. A key UN body says in a report that there must be "rapid, deep and immediate" cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Global emissions of CO2 would need to peak within thre...

The dangers of climate change have been well reported for years. But what's had less attention is how the world could effectively tackle the issue. Yesterday, UN scientists laid out a plan that they believe could help people avoid the worst impacts of rising temperatures. The rep...

UN scientists have worked through the weekend to complete a key report on how to restrict the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet. Members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are likely to advise a rapid shift from fossil fuels over the next 8 years. They wi...

Targets to reverse the decline of biodiversity by 2030 may be missed without urgent action, according to a new report. This goal was a key part of the UN global summit on biodiversity held in December 2022. Nearly a third of all monitored species are currently endangered due to h...

Early warning systems to protect the entire world from extreme weather and climate disasters should be rolled out within five years, according to the UN. Right now, around one-third of the global population has no cover while in Africa 60% of the population is unprotected. The Wo...

The UN Secretary General says the rush to use fossil fuels because of the war in Ukraine is "madness" and threatens global climate targets. The invasion of Ukraine has seen rapid rises in the prices of coal, oil and gas as countries scramble to replace Russian sources. But Antoni...

UN scientists are likely to weigh up technology to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, as they gather to finalise a key report. This idea will be one of many solutions considered over the next two weeks by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Also in attendance will ...

The dense plumes of wildfire smoke seen in recent years are contributing to the warming of the Arctic, say scientists. Their study says that particles of "brown carbon" in the smoke are drifting north and attracting heat to the polar region. The authors believe the growing number...

This video can not be played Blaenau Ffestiniog: What is Wales' wettest town like? Appropriately enough, it's drizzling on the day we visit the town billed as Wales' wettest. A grey sky blends in with the towering slate mounds which surround Blaenau Ffestiniog, whose quarries onc...

The Australian government has won an appeal against a ruling that it has a duty of care to protect children from harm caused by climate change. Last year, eight teenagers and an 87-year-old nun convinced a court that the government had a legal duty to children when assessing foss...

Can the government wean Britain off Russian gas while also keeping energy affordable and hitting its climate change targets? Boris Johnson has pledged to produce an energy strategy shortly that does all three things. Can he pull it off and what are the political hurdles he faces?...

As countries scramble to reduce their reliance on Russia's oil and gas in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, few places are as exposed as the European Union. The EU gets roughly 40% of its gas from Russia: According to figures from research group Transport & Environment, this d...

A leading Ukrainian scientist says war is "closing the window of opportunity" for the world to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. Dr Svitlana Krakovska, who is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC ), spoke to me on Zoom from her apartment in K...

A new report released this week by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) looks at the causes, impacts and solutions to climate change. The report gives the clearest indication to date of how a warmer world is affecting all living things on Earth. Here are five...

Many of the impacts of global warming are now simply "irreversible" according to the UN's latest assessment. But the authors of a new report say that there is still a brief window of time to avoid the very worst. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that humans and ...

A new report on the impacts of climate change will likely be the most worrying assessment yet of how rising temperatures affect every living thing. This will be the second of three major reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its first since Novembe...

Scientists say that a rapid drop in emissions because of Covid played a key role in record rainfall in China in 2020. The decline in greenhouse gases and small particles called aerosols caused atmospheric changes that intensified the downpours. Hundreds of people died and million...

Australia's floods of 2010-11 spread devastation and damage across Queensland, with 33 people losing their lives and causing billions in losses across the state. The floods also damaged 19,000km of roads, including those needed for emergency and delivery vehicles. It was a stark ...

Many of the world's biggest companies are failing to meet their own targets on tackling climate change, according to a study of 25 corporations. They also routinely exaggerate or misreport their progress, the New Climate Institute report says. Google, Amazon, Ikea, Apple and Nest...

Huge plumes of the warming gas methane have been mapped globally for the first time from oil and gas fields using satellites. Plugging these leaks would be an important step in buying extra time to curb climate change. The new research found plumes covering vast areas, sometimes ...

Climate change is causing UK plants to flower almost a month earlier on average, according to a study. Just as autumn leaf fall is being delayed by warmer weather, flowers are appearing earlier on trees and shrubs. But while some might welcome these untimely blooms, scientists ar...

A slide show that Prime Minister Boris Johnson says helped convince him on climate change has been revealed for the first time. The slides used to "teach" him about climate science have been released after a Freedom of Information request by UK climate website Carbon Brief. While...

The parts of the world suitable for growing coffee, cashews and avocados will change dramatically as the world heats up, according to a new study. Key coffee regions in Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam and Colombia will all "drastically decrease" by around 50% by 2050. Suitable areas f...

Climate change is threatening to destroy treasures buried in the UK as the soils that protect them dry out. A Roman toilet seat, the world's oldest boxing glove, and the oldest handwritten letter by a woman are some of the extraordinary objects discovered in at-risk British peatl...

COP26 President Alok Sharma has warned that progress made during the summit is at risk of "withering on the vine". Mr Sharma said that the agreements reached at the Glasgow climate meeting had been a "fragile win" for the world. But unless the commitments made are turned into act...

The government has admitted that its efforts to insulate the UK from climate change impacts have been inadequate. The costs of climate change to Britain are "high and increasing", it says, and could reach many billions of pounds a year. Ministers say they'll have to go much furth...

Cracked homes, buckled roads and ruptured pipelines are likely to become common in and near the Arctic as warming temperatures cause frozen ground to thaw, new findings say. Five million people live on Arctic permafrost including in Russia, North America and Scandinavia. Climate ...

Climate change will expand the range of tropical cyclones, making millions more people vulnerable to these devastating storms, a new study says. At present, these cyclones - or hurricanes as they are also known - are mainly confined to the tropical regions north and south of the ...

Is the progress that was made at the COP26 Glasgow climate summit already in jeopardy because of challenges in the year ahead? 2021 was a momentous year for climate change. As well as a host of extreme, destructive events influenced by rising temperatures , the past 12 months hav...

This video can not be played In the latest Climate Check, Ben Rich looks back at some of the year's defining weather events Weather events, linked to a changing climate, brought misery to millions around the world in 2021 according to a new report. The study, from the charity Chr...

Wikipedia has for so long been plagued by climate change denial. But a group of dedicated volunteers around the world is working tirelessly to keep the deniers at bay. David Tetta lives in northern California, in the kind of close-knit community where neighbours just wander into ...

Several US states have been hit by a devastating series of tornadoes, with an expected death toll of more than 100. These are extremely rare outside the spring and summer, in the US, but this December there has been a record number of tornado warnings. So is climate change causin...

It's a glorious autumn afternoon and I'm standing on a hillside looking out over Tokyo Bay. Beside me is Takao Saiki, a usually mild-mannered gentleman in his 70s. But today Saiki-San is angry. "It's a total joke," he says, in perfect English. "Just ridiculous!" The cause of his ...

When relationships end it might be because the spark has disappeared, or maybe you just can't make time for one another. But can climate change cause break-ups? It might do, according to a new study which suggests albatrosses - some of the world's most loyal creatures - are "divo...

Several foreign-language Wikipedia pages seen by BBC News are promoting conspiracy theories and making misleading claims about climate change. A number, including some in Swahili, Kazakh and Belarusian, suggest scientists are divided over its causes. The overwhelming scientific c...

Scientists and leading climate experts have voiced concerns about the outcomes of the COP26 climate conference, in Glasgow. Those who spoke to the BBC praised the conference for getting countries to agree to meet again next year to pledge deeper emissions cuts. And they welcomed ...

As world leaders met at the COP26 summit to debate how to tackle climate change, misleading claims and falsehoods about the climate spiralled on social media. Scientists say climate change denial is now more likely to focus on the causes and effects of warming, or how to tackle i...

The boss of the world's second biggest airline has said that tackling climate change will make flying more expensive. "Over time, it's going to cost us all more, but it's the right approach that we must take," Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian told the BBC. Aviation is r...

This video can not be played Alok Sharma fights back tears as Glasgow Climate Pact reached A deal aimed at staving off dangerous climate change has been struck at the COP26 summit in Glasgow. The Glasgow Climate Pact is the first ever climate deal to explicitly plan to reduce coa...

The COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh has been billed as a "watershed moment" for climate change. What are some key things countries need to do to tackle the problem? Burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and especially coal, releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphe...

Iran will ratify the landmark Paris agreement on climate change only if sanctions against it are lifted, a senior leader has told the BBC. Ali Salajegheh said sanctions were impeding Iran in areas like renewable energy. Iran is the world's eighth largest CO2 emitter, yet is one o...

Despite pledges made at the climate summit COP26, the world is still nowhere near its goals on limiting global temperature rise, a new analysis shows. It calculates that the world is heading for 2.4C of warming, far more than the 1.5C limit nations committed to. COP26 "has a mass...

Researchers studying the ocean at depths of up to 6km have found that climate change has a "worrying" effect on its ability to lock away carbon. The latest discovery comes from the International "i-Atlantic" project . It has revealed that - if global temperatures increase to leve...

Most of us are trying to be greener and for some that means seeking out brands and companies that are environmentally-friendly. But how can you check firms really are as green as they make out? Greenwashing - branding something as eco-friendly, green or sustainable when this is n...

Global carbon dioxide emissions are set to rebound to near the levels they were at before Covid, in a finding that has surprised scientists. The amount of planet-heating gas released in 2020 fell by 5.4% as the pandemic forced countries to lock down. But a scientific report by th...

The climate crisis is no longer a future concern. In many parts of the world, it has already begun. Millions of people are living with extreme temperatures, facing a growing threat of flooding or wildfires. Here, five people explain how extreme temperatures have changed their liv...

Extreme weather events - including powerful heat waves and devastating floods - are now the new normal, says the World Meteorological Organisation. The State of the Climate report for 2021 highlights a world that is "changing before our eyes." The 20-year temperature average from...

This week has seen a series of hard-hitting reports on climate change, timed for the days before the COP26 summit starts in Glasgow. The conference, which starts on Sunday, is where world leaders are being asked to promise more ambitious cuts in greenhouse gases to prevent greate...

Top oil executives have appeared before US lawmakers to face allegations they misled the public about climate change. Major producers were quizzed about the impact of the fossil fuels they profit from and their environmental toll. The hearing on Thursday, which Democrats hailed a...

This video can not be played PM Scott Morrison sets out "a uniquely Australian way" of meeting climate commitments Leading global coal and gas supplier Australia has pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Prime Minister Scott Morrison however said the plan would no...

National plans to cut carbon fall far short of what's needed to avert dangerous climate change, according to the UN Environment Programme. Their Emissions Gap report says country pledges will fail to keep the global temperature under 1.5C this century. The Unep analysis suggests ...

Tackling climate change will require world leaders to take action on a global level. But as individuals we also contribute to warming emissions. Here are some things you can do to reduce your personal impact. From installing a heat pump to turning down the heating, there is a raf...

The build-up of warming gases in the atmosphere rose to record levels in 2020 despite the pandemic, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The amounts of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide rose by more than the annual average in the past 10 years. The WMO says this will ...

Scientists and politicians say we are facing a planetary crisis because of climate change. But what's the evidence for global warming and how do we know it's being caused by humans? Our planet has been warming rapidly since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The average tempe...

There are no simple solutions to complex problems like climate change. But there have been times in the past when the world has come together to try to fix an environmental crisis. How did we deal with acid rain, for example, or the hole in the ozone layer? And are there lessons ...

Climate change will lead to growing international tensions, the US intelligence community has warned in a bleak assessment. The first ever National Intelligence Estimate on Climate Change looks at the impact of climate on national security through to 2040. Countries will argue ov...

A huge leak of documents seen by BBC News shows how countries are trying to change a crucial scientific report on how to tackle climate change. The leak reveals Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia are among countries asking the UN to play down the need to move rapidly away from fos...

Plans by governments to extract fossil fuels up to 2030 are incompatible with keeping global temperatures to safe levels, says the UN. The UNEP production gap report says countries will drill or mine more than double the levels needed to keep the 1.5C threshold alive. Oil and gas...

The UK risks falling behind in its efforts to reach "net zero" by 2050 without much faster action, according to the government's independent climate advisers. The 2050 target is a key part of the UK's international commitments, which are designed to avoid the worst impacts of cli...

Carbon emissions are rebounding strongly and are rising across the world's 20 richest nations, according to a new study. The Climate Transparency Report says that CO2 will go up by 4% across the G20 group this year, having dropped 6% in 2020 due to the pandemic. China, India and ...

Hundreds of people could die in floods in the UK, the Environment Agency has warned in a hard-hitting report that says the country is not ready for the impact of climate change. Earlier this year in Germany, dozens of people died in floods. "That will happen in this country soone...

Climate change academics from some of the regions worst hit by warming are struggling to be published, according to a new analysis. The study looked at 100 of the most highly cited climate research papers over the past five years. Fewer than 1% of the authors were based in Africa...

"It's a kind of hopelessness I guess. Helplessness," says Ross Simpson, 22, from Glasgow. He's telling me how he and his friends feel about stopping the worst effects of climate change. The warnings keep coming of more heatwaves, droughts, floods, and global temperatures going up...

Rich countries' plans to curb carbon are "smoke and mirrors" and must be urgently improved, say poorer nations. Ministers meeting here in Milan at the final UN session before the Glasgow COP26 climate conference heard that some progress was being made. But officials from developi...

The UK has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Net zero means a country takes as much of these planet-warming gases - such as carbon dioxide - out of the atmosphere as it puts in. In March, the government released a new net zero strategy , after a ...

This video can not be played Greta Thunberg mocked the ''empty words and promises'' of world leaders as "blah, blah, blah" With the jeers of Greta Thunberg ringing in their ears, climate ministers are holding final talks before a key UN conference in Glasgow. The Swedish activist...

Scientists are warning politicians immersed in climate change policy not to forget that the world is also in the midst of a plastic waste crisis. They fear that so much energy is being expended on emissions policy that tackling plastic pollution will be sidelined. A paper from th...

With just five weeks left until world leaders gather in Glasgow for a critical climate summit, the BBC's Matt McGrath and Roger Harrabin consider progress made at this week's UN gathering and the outstanding issues that remain. Climate change was the dominant theme at this year's...

This video can not be played Boris Johnson: It's time for humanity to grow up A climate summit of world leaders in 40 days' time will be the "turning point for humanity", PM Boris Johnson has said in a speech to the United Nations. He warned that global temperature rises were alr...

Despite all the promises to take action, the world is still on course to heat up to dangerous levels. That's the latest blunt assessment of the United Nations. Its experts have studied the climate plans of more than 100 countries and concluded that we're heading in the wrong dire...

US President Joe Biden has urged world leaders to commit to cutting methane gas emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by the end of the decade. He said it would "rapidly reduce the rate of global warming" if other countries joined the US and the EU in signing up to the pled...

A new global survey illustrates the depth of anxiety many young people are feeling about climate change. Nearly 60% of young people approached said they felt very worried or extremely worried. More than 45% of those questioned said feelings about the climate affected their daily ...

The number of extremely hot days every year when the temperature reaches 50C has doubled since the 1980s, a global BBC analysis has found. They also now happen in more areas of the world than before, presenting unprecedented challenges to human health and to how we live. The tota...

Almost 60% of oil and gas reserves and 90% of coal must remain in the ground to keep global warming below 1.5C, scientists say. The forecast is based on close analysis of global energy supply and demand. It is a "bleak" but realistic assessment of "what the science tells us is ne...

The countries most vulnerable to climate change are calling for an "emergency pact" to tackle rising temperatures. The group wants all countries to agree radical steps to avoid "climate catastrophe" at the upcoming COP26 meeting in Glasgow. Green campaigners are urging a postpone...

When you hear the word "shapeshifting" you probably think of a sci-fi or horror film, and not the climate. But that's what scientists say is happening to some animals in response to climate change. Warm-blooded species are evolving to have larger beaks, legs and ears to regulate ...

Dragonflies are moving northwards across Britain and Ireland as temperatures rise. More than 40% of species have increased their distribution since 1970, while only about 10% have declined, according to a new report. Experts from the British Dragonfly Society say it's an indicato...

A new study shows that increases in extreme winter weather in parts of the US are linked to accelerated warming of the Arctic. The scientists found that heating in the region ultimately disturbed the circular pattern of winds known as the polar vortex. This allowed colder winter ...

This video can not be played "I could see the water was coming all the way down the road and coming over the bank" A major summit on climate change is "make or break" for the planet's future, according to an environmental campaigner turned MP. In November, Glasgow will host COP26...

The number of weather-related disasters to hit the world has increased five-fold over the past 50 years, says the World Meteorological Organization. However, the number of deaths because of the greater number of storms, floods and droughts has fallen sharply. Scientists say that ...

Last year was the warmest on record across Europe, breaking the previous high mark by a considerable distance, say scientists. Temperatures across the region were more than 1.9C above the long-term average between 1981 and 2010. The State of the Climate 2020 report from the Ameri...

Madagascar is on the brink of experiencing the world's first "climate change famine", according to the United Nations, which says tens of thousands of people are already suffering "catastrophic" levels of hunger and food insecurity after four years without rain. The drought - the...

Government plans to decarbonise homes are too complicated and confusing, according to a coalition of consumer and industry groups. They've written to the prime minister to say that current schemes to adapt homes go wrong far too often. The open letter, from Citizens Advice and ot...

The heavy rainfall behind deadly flooding in Europe in July was made more likely by climate change, scientists say. The floods in Germany, Belgium and other areas killed at least 220 people as towns and villages were swamped. Researchers say global heating made rainfall events li...

How much of an impact on UK lifestyles will the government's goal of net zero carbon emissions really have? A new report says that while the 2050 target will require significant efforts from consumers, these should not result in "massive lifestyle changes". The study from the Ton...

A worldwide ban on ozone-depleting chemicals in 1987 has averted a climate catastrophe today, scientists say. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer , banning chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons, has now simulated our "world avoided". Without the treat...

July was the world's hottest month ever recorded, a US federal scientific and regulatory agency has reported. The data shows that the combined land and ocean-surface temperature was 0.93C (1.68F) above the 20th Century average of 15.8C (60.4F). It is the highest temperature since...

Ireland is getting warmer and wetter due to climate change, according to a major report published on Thursday. The Status of Ireland Climate 2020 report also shows that sea levels around the coast are rising. That report comes after a UN warning of increasingly extreme heatwaves,...

Extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more intense in many places because of climate change. Scientists say this will continue whilst humans keep releasing planet-warming greenhouse gases. Here are four ways climate change is linked to extreme weather. Even a small increa...

The world's largest ever report into climate change will be published later, setting out the stark reality of the state of the planet. The study is by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - a UN group that looked at more than 14,000 scientific papers. It will be the most...

Nations vulnerable to climate change have warned they are on the "edge of extinction" if action is not taken. The warning by a group of developing countries comes after a landmark UN report argued that global warming could make parts of the world uninhabitable . World leaders inc...

The UN report on the science of climate change is set to make a huge impact. Our environment correspondent Matt McGrath considers some of the key lessons from it. For those who live in the West, the dangers of warming our planet are no longer something distant, impacting people i...

Human activity is changing the climate in unprecedented and sometimes irreversible ways, a major UN scientific report has said. The landmark study warns of increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts and flooding, and a key temperature limit being broken in just over a decade. The r...

The world is "dangerously close" to running out of time to stop a climate change catastrophe, the UK government's climate chief Alok Sharma has said. Mr Sharma - who is leading COP26, the climate summit hosted by the UK this year - said the effects were already clear with floods,...

China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissi...

Low-income countries are struggling to protect themselves against climate change, officials and experts have told the BBC. Organisations representing 90 countries say that their plans to prevent damage have already been outpaced by climate-induced disasters, which are intensifyin...

UN researchers are set to publish their strongest statement yet on the science of climate change. The report will likely detail significant changes to the world's oceans, ice caps and land in the coming decades. Due out on Monday, the report has been compiled by the Intergovernme...

A new global agreement - the Glasgow Climate Pact - was reached at the COP26 summit. It aims to reduce the worst impacts of climate change - but some leaders and campaigners say it does not go far enough. The agreement - although not legally binding - will set the global agenda o...

The UK is already undergoing disruptive climate change with increased rainfall, sunshine and temperatures, according to scientists. The year 2020 was the third warmest, fifth wettest and eighth sunniest on record, scientists said in the latest UK State of the Climate report. No o...

Israel will cut carbon emissions by 85% from 2015 levels by the middle of the century, its government says. Its prime minister said the decision would help the country gradually shift to a low-carbon economy. Targets include cutting the vast majority of emissions from transport, ...

Against a backdrop of fires and floods, researchers are meeting virtually to finalise a key climate science study. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is preparing the most comprehensive assessment on the state of global heating since 2013. Over the next two week...

Planners can effectively ignore climate change when they are deciding whether to grant permission for new road schemes, environmentalists have said. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has promised a review of 27bn highways policy which will be completed within two years. But in the...

US climate envoy John Kerry has called on China to increase the speed and depth of its efforts to cut carbon. Without sufficient emissions reductions by China, Mr Kerry said, the global goal of keeping temperatures under 1.5C was "essentially impossible". Mr Kerry said he was con...

Top climate scientists have admitted they failed to predict the intensity of the German floods and the North American heat dome. They've correctly warned over decades that a fast-warming climate would bring worse bursts of rain and more damaging heatwaves. But they say their comp...

More than 100 developing countries have set out their key negotiating demands ahead of the COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow. These include funding for poorer nations to fight and adapt to climate change and compensation for the impacts they will be subjected to. Those backing the...

The European Union has announced a raft of climate change proposals aimed at pushing it towards its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. A dozen draft proposals, which still need to be approved by the bloc's 27 member states and the EU parliament, were announced on Wednesday....

Technology can help indigenous communities to significantly curb deforestation, according to a new study. Indigenous people living in the Peruvian Amazon were equipped by conservation groups with satellite data and smartphones. They were able to reduce tree losses by half in the ...

The searing heat that scorched western Canada and the US at the end of June was "virtually impossible" without climate change, say scientists. In their study, the team of researchers says that the deadly heatwave was a one-in-a-1,000-year event. But we can expect extreme events s...

Glasgow is hosting the COP26 climate summit amid ongoing controversy over a new oil field west of Shetland that could get the green light by the UK government. The Cambo oil field is thought to contain 800 million barrels of oil - with climate campaigners saying it would be hypoc...

Planting extra trees to combat climate change across Europe could also increase rainfall, research suggests. A new study found that converting agricultural land to forest would boost summer rains by 7.6% on average. The researchers also found that adding trees changed rainfall pa...

BBC Bitesize has removed references to the "benefits" of climate change on its website, following complaints online. The education website listed "healthier outdoor lifestyles" as one of the pluses of having warmer temperatures. Others included easier access to oil in Alaska and ...

A new record high temperature for the Antarctic continent of +18.3C has been confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It occurred on 6 February last year at Argentina's Esperanza research station. The mark was widely reported at the time but has now been validate...

There's likely to be a significant increase in the number of lawsuits brought against fossil fuel companies in the coming years, say researchers. Their new study finds that to date, lawyers have failed to use the most up-to-date scientific evidence on the cause of rising temperat...

In my first week as the BBC's new Australia correspondent in 2019, a state of emergency was declared in New South Wales. Bushfires blazed and came very close to Sydney. The orange haze and the smell of smoke will forever be etched in my memory. As the country woke to pictures of ...

The UK public should be urged by the government to protect the climate by eating less meat and dairy produce, advisers say. Cattle are a major source of planet-heating gases, but ministers fear a backlash if they ask people to cut down on steak. But the Climate Change Committee (...

A large facility capable of extracting significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the air is being planned for north east Scotland. The proposed plant would remove up to one million tonnes of CO2 every year - the same amount taken up by around 40 million trees. The extracted gas ...

With new homes being built with eco-friendly design in mind, older properties can prove the worst offenders when it comes to their carbon footprint. But making alterations to your existing home can be costly, running into hundreds or even thousands of pounds. So, how can homeowne...

Exhausted delegates have concluded three weeks of virtual climate negotiations with little progress on key issues. The UN subsidiary bodies meeting was meant to clear the decks ahead of the major COP26 gathering in Glasgow in November. But technical glitches, and multiple time zo...

This video can not be played Will Wales see more sun and less snow in future? Lives and livelihoods are at risk if Wales does not do more to prepare for a hotter, wetter future, government advisers say. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said current plans to protect people, infr...

The world's most powerful defence alliance agreed on Monday to step up efforts to tackle climate change for the first time. Nato - the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation - said its members have pledged to "significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from military activities" in...

The world's rich nations which caused the climate crisis know what's expected of them - but they consistently fail to deliver in full. This summit made some progress, especially on heralding the demise of coal - the fuel that drove the industrial revolution and sent emissions soa...

Switzerland's policy on fighting climate change has been thrown into doubt after voters rejected key measures in a popular vote. A referendum saw voters narrowly reject the government's plans for a car fuel levy and a tax on air tickets. The measures were designed to help Switzer...

Wales needs to do twice as much on climate change in the next decade "as we've done in the previous 30 years", the climate change minister has said. Julie James said it was "stretching an ambitious target" but that it would be possible to reach it. All road schemes in Wales are s...

The G7 nations have agreed to step up action on climate change and renewed a pledge to raise $100bn a year to help poor countries cut emissions. After a summit in Britain, G7 leaders also promised to help developing countries move away from coal. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, ...

World leaders meeting in Cornwall are to adopt strict measures on coal-fired power stations as part of the battle against climate change. The G7 group will promise to move away from coal plants, unless they have technology to capture carbon emissions. It comes as Sir David Attenb...

Hundreds of climate campaigners have staged a protest march targeting the G7 summit. The activists paraded from St Ives Leisure Centre to the middle of the Cornish town, escorted by police. They called for immediate action from the G7 world leaders to "address the climate and eco...

Climate change and nature loss are interlinked and must be tackled together. That's the finding of a key report by 50 leading scientists searching for combined solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises. "Quick fixes" for climate change risk harming nature, say the experts....

The head of a climate advisory body has said it would be "morally wrong" for NI to be set a target for cutting emissions that it cannot reach. Lord Deben, chairman of the UK's Climate Change Committee, was giving evidence to a Stormont scrutiny committee on Thursday. The governme...

Sales of halogen lightbulbs are to be banned in the UK from September, with fluorescent lights to follow, under government climate change plans. The move will cut 1.26 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year and deliver consumers savings, officials say. The UK began phasing out...

This video can not be played The landslips frequently turn the reservoir's water pink Reservoirs in the Brecon Beacons are increasingly being polluted by landslides that have been described as a "dramatic" warning of climate change. Extreme rainfall in recent years has led to an ...

It's becoming more likely that a key global temperature limit will be reached in one of the next five years. A major study says by 2025 there's a 40% chance of at least one year being 1.5C hotter than the pre-industrial level. That's the lower of two temperature limits set by the...

Tackling climate change slipped "down the agenda" in the years following the 2008 financial crash, according to Wales' former first minister. Carwyn Jones was defending his record in power after being announced as chair of climate charity Size of Wales. Mr Jones, a Senedd member ...

The world's major nations have taken further significant steps to help limit climate change. G7 environment ministers have agreed that they will deliver climate targets in line with limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C. That's far more ambitious than the previous 2C m...

Will it be next, and if so, when? These are questions often asked about Larsen C, a huge ice shelf, twice the size of Wales, attached to the eastern edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. A dozen or so smaller floating ice platforms, mostly to the north, have either disintegrated or su...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that no new fossil fuel boilers should be sold from 2025 if the world is to achieve net-zero emissions by the middle of this century. It's one of 400 steps on the road to net-zero proposed by the agency in a special report . The sale of ...

Reducing emissions of methane gas is vital for tackling climate change in the short-term, a major UN report says. Methane is produced when living things decompose; it's also in natural gas. It persists for just a short time in the atmosphere - unlike carbon dioxide - but methane ...

Recent climate change promises by major nations will bring the world a fraction closer to the prospect of a more stable climate, analysis suggests. The Climate Action Tracker group says the new targets have reduced projected warming by the end of century by 0.2C. The forecast now...

Young activists are breathing new life into the long-running debate over climate justice - the framing of global warming as an ethical issue rather than a purely environmental one. When world leaders took to the (virtual) stage at President Biden's climate summit, they were given...

Germany's climate change laws are insufficient and violate fundamental freedoms by putting the burden of curbing CO2 emissions on the young, its highest court has ruled. It says the law fails to give enough detail on cutting CO2 emissions after current targets end in 2030. "The p...

It's an unassuming rock, greenish in colour, and just over 4cm in its longest dimension. And yet this little piece of sandstone holds important clues to all our futures. It was recovered from muds in the deep ocean, far off the coast of modern-day West Antarctica. The scientists ...

The world's glaciers are melting at an accelerating rate, according to a comprehensive new study. A French-led team assessed the behaviour of nearly all documented ice streams on the planet. The researchers found them to have lost almost 270 billion tonnes of ice a year over the ...

Tackling climate change is about "growth and jobs" not "expensive bunny hugging", Boris Johnson has said. Speaking at a virtual summit, the prime minister told world leaders "we can build back better from this pandemic by building back greener." At the same event, US President Jo...

As the impacts of a changing climate around the world become clearer, Yorkshire will not be spared the effects of global warming. On Monday, the World Meteorological Organisation revealed 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record globally, with the regional picture showin...

The global shipping industry is calling on the world's governments to tax its carbon emissions. Groups that represent more than 90% of the global fleet say the measure is needed to tackle climate change. "A global solution is the only one that's going to work", Guy Platten, secre...

This video can not be played Joe Biden urged nations to help "overcome the existential crisis of our time" US President Joe Biden has told a major summit that we are in a "decisive decade" for tackling climate change. The US has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 50-52% below 200...

The EU has adopted ambitious new targets to curb climate change, with a pledge to make them legally binding. Under a new law agreed between member states and the EU Parliament, the bloc will cut carbon emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. The EU parliamen...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is predicting a major surge in CO2 emissions from energy this year, as the world rebounds from the pandemic. Total energy emissions for 2021 will still be slightly lower than in 2019, the agency says. But CO2 will rise by the second largest a...

Radical new climate change commitments will set the UK on course to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, the UK government has announced. Hitting the targets would require more electric cars, low-carbon heating, renewable electricity and, for many, cutting down on meat and dairy....

Scientists say a "forgotten" coffee plant that can grow in warmer conditions could help future-proof the drink against climate change. They predict we could soon be sipping Stenophylla, a rare wild coffee from West Africa that tastes like Arabica coffee, but grows in warmer condi...

China and the US say they are committed to working together and with other countries on tackling climate change. It comes after several meetings between Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and his US counterpart John Kerry in Shanghai last week. They both agreed on further specific...

Around the world, there are teams of people who are working to track down and destroy hidden sources of greenhouse gases - stopping them from harming the planet. Some of the gases, which are used in refrigeration, have many times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. On...

New Zealand is to become the world's first country to bring in a law forcing its financial firms to report on the effects of climate change. The country wants to be carbon neutral by 2050 and says the financial sector needs to play its part. Banks, insurers and fund managers can ...

Bitcoin mining in China is so carbon intensive that it could threaten the country's emissions reduction targets, according to new research. China wants its emissions to peak in 2030, and has plans to be carbon neutral by 2060. The cryptocurrency's carbon footprint is as large as ...

Sharp divisions between the major global emitters have emerged at a series of meetings designed to make progress on climate change. India lambasted the richer world's carbon cutting plans, calling long term net zero targets, "pie in the sky." Their energy minister said poor natio...

A critical meeting on climate change, organised by the UK, appears to be the latest victim of an ongoing row with China. Ministers from around 35 countries are due to participate in today's summit on climate and development. But while the US, EU, India and others are taking part,...

I drive a diesel car, eat meat and just a few months ago had a gas boiler installed in my house, that's quite an admission for an environment correspondent who reports on climate change. The problem is that greener options are financially out of reach for me and - it seems - most...

Ronah Masika remembers when she could still see the snowy caps of the Rwenzori mountains, a Unesco World Heritage site on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The view was stunning every time she travelled from her home in Kasese town to the Ugandan cap...

Rising imports in wealthy countries of coffee, cocoa and other products are a "growing threat" to forests in tropical regions according to a new study. Research shows consumer behaviour in the UK and other rich nations is responsible for the loss of almost 4 trees per person per ...

This video can not be played 'We all recognise there needs to be a transformational change' Reshaping the economy to fight climate change must not result in making life "even harder" for disadvantaged communities, says a leading campaigner. Susie Ventris-Field is spearheading eff...

As Bangladesh celebrates 50 years of independence, Qasa Alom reflects on how the country his British-Bangladeshi family still calls home is being affected by climate change. "Can you turn the air-con on?" I asked over and over but none of the grown-ups seemingly could hear me. "I...

A new approach to making jet fuel from food waste has the potential to massively reduce carbon emissions from flying, scientists say. Currently, most of the food scraps that are used for energy around the world are converted into methane gas. But researchers in the US have found ...

The green, underwater meadows of Posidonia seagrass that surround the Balearic Islands are one of the world's most powerful, natural defences against climate change. A hectare of this ancient, delicate plant can soak up 15 times more carbon dioxide every year than a similar sized...

When Swiss energy companies made green electricity the default choice, huge numbers of consumers were happy to stick with it - even though it cost them more. Four years after the switch, researchers found that around 80% of customers were still on green tariffs. This "default eff...

This video can not be played US climate change envoy John Kerry praises "ambitious" UK emissions target US climate change envoy John Kerry has urged the world's top 20 polluters which create 81% of emissions between them to reduce CO2 immediately. He was speaking after meeting Pr...

A "game-changing" new map shows the threats climate change may have on the UK's stately homes and landscapes. The National Trust warns the number of its sites facing a high level of threat from issues such as coastal erosion, extreme heat and flooding could rise from 5% to 17% ov...

The government has been hit by a double whammy of reports from MPs criticising its performance on climate change. The influential Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says ministers have "no plan" to meet climate change targets, two years after setting them in law. And the business co...

Tackling climate change may emerge as a key goal for China when it unveils its future economic roadmap in Beijing on Friday. The 14th five-year plan will be the blueprint for the country's short-term development. It's expected to outline stronger steps in limiting carbon from the...

The world will heat by more than 1.5C unless nations produce tougher policies, a global stocktake has confirmed. Governments must halve emissions by 2030 if they intend the Earth to stay within the 1.5C safe threshold. But the latest set of national policies submitted to the UN s...

Wherever you look in West Antarctica right now, the message is the same: Its marine-terminating glaciers are being melted by warm seawater. Scientists have just taken a detailed look at the ice streams flowing into the ocean along a 1,000km-stretch of coastline known as the Getz ...

"Climate change is a threat to our security," Boris Johnson told world leaders as he chaired a United Nations Security Council session. It is the first time a British PM has chaired such a meeting since 1992. Other speakers included broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, UN Secretar...

MPs are complaining that the Treasury is set to claw back money from a mismanaged government scheme to help people insulate their homes. The Green Homes Grant scheme is in such chaos that a huge majority of its 1.5bn budget for this year is unspent. The government has said it wil...

This video can not be played Speaking via a big screen link at the Natural History Museum, Bill Gates said achieving net zero would be 'humanity's greatest ever achievement' Fifty-one billion and zero - the two numbers Bill Gates says you need to know about climate. Solving clima...

New targets to eliminate the gases driving climate change from Wales' economy and way of life are to become law. The Welsh Government said "business as usual" was no longer an option. Changing weather patterns are already "wreaking havoc" and acting now is "the right thing to do ...

The world is heading for mortality rates equivalent to the Covid crisis every year by mid-century unless action is taken, according to Mark Carney. The former central banker said the investment needed to avert millions of deaths was double current rates. But with governments plou...

The leading climate scientist James Hansen has warned Boris Johnson that he risks humiliation over plans for a new coal mine in Cumbria. The UK government, which hosts a climate summit this year, has allowed the mine at Whitehaven to go ahead. Dr Hansen, formerly Nasa's leading g...

Fossil fuels have been the bedrock of US prosperity for more than a century. The country's economy, security and society depend on them. But in the few days since his inauguration, the new American president has gone to war against coal, oil and natural gas with a decisiveness th...

The governments climate change advisors have rapped ministers for allowing a new coal mine in Cumbria. They say the site will increase global emissions and compromise the UKs legally binding carbon budgets. They warn the decision could undermine its leadership of the vital COP26 ...

This video can not be played WATCH: Robert Downey Jr's climate change plans He's one of Hollywood's biggest stars and, as Iron Man, is many moviegoers' idea of what a tech tycoon should look like. But Robert Downey Jr has ambitions to play another role - that of an investor in te...

This video can not be played Biden: "We've already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis" US President Joe Biden has signed a series of executive orders designed to address climate change, including a new ban on some energy drilling. The orders aim to freeze new oil an...

Despite the pandemic, almost two thirds of people around the world now view climate change as a global emergency. That's the key finding from the largest opinion poll yet conducted on tackling global warming. More than a million people in 50 countries took part in the survey, wit...

The government has been pressured into calling a public inquiry into a proposed new coal mine in Cumbria. The county council at first approved the colliery, and the government decided not to challenge the decision. After an outcry from environmentalists, the council decided to re...

Make no mistake, returning to the Paris climate agreement is not mere symbolism - it is an act cloaked in powerful, political significance. While re-joining the pact was actually quite simple - the signing of a letter on Biden's first day in office and then a 30-day wait which en...

Global meteorological agencies agree that 2020 was a scorching year but they are divided on just where it ranks in the temperature records. For Nasa, last year is in a statistical dead heat with 2016 as the warmest year. Others, including the UK Met Office, believe it is second i...

US greenhouse gas emissions tumbled below their 1990 level for the first-time last year as a result of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. A preliminary assessment from research group Rhodium says that overall emissions were down over 10%, the largest fall since World War I...

Look down on the Arctic from space and you can see some beautiful arch-like structures sculpted out of sea-ice. They form in a narrow channel called Nares Strait, which divides the Canadian archipelago from Greenland. As floes funnel southward down this restricted conduit, they r...

New data from EU satellites shows that 2020 is in a statistical dead heat with 2016 as the world's warmest year. The Copernicus Climate Change Service says that last year was around 1.25C above the long-term average. The scientists say that unprecedented levels of heat in the Arc...

This year, 2021, a number of things are coming together to help achieve a low-carbon future. In 25 years of reporting the environment patch I've never been so convinced that the world has the potential to change. It's about politics: recent bolder climate commitments from the UK,...

Countries only have only a limited time in which to act if the world is to stave off the worst effects of climate change. Here are five reasons why 2021 could be a crucial year in the fight against global warming. Covid-19 was the big issue of 2020, there is no question about tha...

The world continued to pay a very high price for extreme weather in 2020, according to a report from the charity Christian Aid. Against a backdrop of climate change, its study lists 10 events that saw thousands of lives lost and major insurance costs. Six of the events took place...

Environmentalists are using the law to pressure the government to force infrastructure plans into line with its climate change commitments. Ministers are facing a fusillade of legal challenges on airports, energy and roads. And now they have been threatened with new legal action ...

UK Met Office scientists are forecasting that 2021 will be a little cooler around the world, but will still be one of the top six warmest years. The La Nina weather phenomenon will see temperatures edge down but greenhouse gases will remain the biggest influence. Researchers say ...

The UK minister tasked with leading UN climate talks says world leaders are failing to show the necessary level of ambition. Alok Sharma was speaking at the conclusion of a virtual climate summit organised by the UK, UN and France. He said "real progress" had been made and 45 cou...

EU leaders have agreed on a more ambitious goal for cutting greenhouse gases - reducing them by 55% by 2030, rather than 40%. The new target was reached after difficult all-night talks in Brussels. Poland, heavily reliant on coal, won a pledge of EU funding to help it transition ...

The global response to the Covid-19 pandemic has driven the biggest annual fall in CO2 emissions since World War Two, say researchers. Their study indicates that emissions have declined by around 7% this year. France and the UK saw the greatest falls, mainly due to severe shutdow...

Scientists have reconstructed a 700-year history of how westerly winds have blown around the Southern Hemisphere. It's a remarkable record that's written in the muds at the bottom of a small lake on the remote Marion Island in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean. What this history rev...

Agreed by 196 parties in the French capital in December 2015, the Paris climate deal aims to keep the rise in global temperatures this century "well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C." We look at five key countries...

The world's wealthiest 1% account for more than twice the combined carbon emissions of the poorest 50%, according to the UN. Their emissions gap report finds that the richest will need to rapidly cut their CO2 footprints to avoid dangerous warming this century. The study finds th...

A landmark report says the UK can make major cuts to carbon emissions more cheaply than previously thought. The Climate Change Committee says that, for less than 1% of national wealth, the UK can reduce 78% of emissions by 2035, based on 1990 levels. This brings forward the UKs c...

The much-loved combination of beer and crisps is being harnessed for the first time to tackle climate change. Crisps firm Walkers has adopted a technique it says will slash CO2 emissions from its manufacturing process by 70%. The technology will use CO2 captured from beer ferment...

This video can not be played A video released in 2018 showed the original plan for the crossing in virtual form A new tunnel linking Kent and Essex will create five million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), figures suggest. Estimates say building the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC), a ...

Snowy winters could become a thing of the past as climate change affects the UK, Met Office analysis suggests. It is one of a series of projections about how UK's climate could change, shared with BBC Panorama. It suggests by the 2040s most of southern England could no longer see...

Meeting the UK's world-leading climate change target will be a "colossal challenge", a government spending watchdog has warned. The National Audit Office says it will affect the way we work, travel, heat our homes - even how much meat we eat. In a report it says the cost of cutti...

The UK prime minister is set to declare one of the most ambitious targets in the world for tackling climate change. BBC News understands Boris Johnson's goal will be to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 68% or 69% by the end of the decade, based on 1990 levels. This will mean an ev...

The Earth continued to endure a period of significant heating in 2020 according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Its provisional assessment suggests this year will be one of the three hottest, just behind 2016 and 2019. The warmest six years in global records datin...

A new analysis, seen by the BBC, suggests the goals of the UN Paris climate agreement are getting "within reach." The Climate Action Tracker group looked at new climate promises from China and other nations, along with the carbon plans of US President-elect Joe Biden. These commi...

The global response to the Covid-19 crisis has had little impact on the continued rise in atmospheric concentrations of CO2, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This year carbon emissions have fallen dramatically due to lockdowns that have cut transport and industry...

Are you the type of person who always says thank you? Well, if it's by email, you should stop, according to UK officials looking at ways to save the environment. The Financial Times reports that we may all soon be encouraged to send one fewer email a day, cutting out "useless" on...

Winter activities on ice are becoming increasingly dangerous as the world warms, scientists say. When researchers looked at data on drowning accidents in largely frozen lakes or rivers , they saw a "strong correlation" to rising temperatures. They found that deaths from drowning ...

This video can not be played Could a new nuclear power site come to Wales? Parts of Wales that have suffered industrial decline are set to benefit from a long-awaited plan to tackle climate change, the UK government has said. Its aim is to create 250,000 new green jobs in the UK ...

North Atlantic hurricanes are retaining far more of their strength when they hit land because of global warming, say scientists. Previously, experts believed these storms died down quickly once they made landfall. But over the past 50 years, the time it takes for hurricanes to di...

Joe Biden's plan to tackle climate change has been described as the most ambitious of any mainstream US presidential candidate yet. Our environment correspondent Matt McGrath considers what he wants to do, and how he might get it done. Much will be made about Joe Biden's pledge t...

After a three-year delay, the US has become the first nation in the world to formally withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. President Trump announced the move in June 2017, but UN regulations meant that his decision only takes effect today, the day after the US election. The...

You're probably reading this on your phone. If not, take it out your pocket and look at it. It's a smartphone, isn't it? Think how often you use it and all the useful things it helps you do. Now, think back. How long since you bought your first smartphone? It will be about 10 yea...

China's aggressive policy of planting trees is likely playing a significant role in tempering its climate impacts. An international team has identified two areas in the country where the scale of carbon dioxide absorption by new forests has been underestimated. Taken together, th...

Millions of highly polluting used cars from rich countries are being "dumped" on developing nations, according to a UN report. Between 2015 and 2018, some 14 million older, poor quality vehicles were exported from Europe, Japan and the US. Four out of five were sold to poorer cou...

Can we trust the silver bullet of technology to fix climate change? The prime minister seems to think so. In a speech due soon, he is expected to pledge his faith in offshore wind power, solar, carbon capture, hydrogen, clean cars, and zero-emission aviation. Clean technologies a...

A new type of white paint has the potential to cool buildings and reduce the reliance on air conditioning, say researchers. In a study, the new product was able to reflect 95.5% of sunlight and reduce temperatures by 1.7C compared to the ambient air conditions. The engineers invo...

Who occupies the White House for the next four years could play a critical role in the fight against dangerous climate change, experts say. Matt McGrath weighs the likely environmental consequences of the US election. Scientists studying climate change say that the re-election of...

Idris Elba and his wife, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, have said individuals can make a difference in tackling climate change. The couple were speaking to Liz Bonnin for BBC Radio 5 Live's new podcast 'What Planet Are We On? ' Actor, producer and DJ, Idris said: "There is definitely somet...

A new UN report says the world needs to rapidly raise investment in early warning systems for extreme weather events. Over the past 50 years, recorded disasters have increased five-fold, thanks in part to climate change. The study warns that one in three people on Earth are not a...

A surprise announcement at this year's UN General Assembly has transformed the politics of cutting carbon, says the BBC's chief environment correspondent, Justin Rowlatt. As the meeting of the so-called "global parliament" comes to an end, he asks whether it might just signal the...

Climate change is driving the scale and impact of recent wildfires that have raged in California, say scientists. Their analysis finds an "unequivocal and pervasive" role for global heating in boosting the conditions for fire. California now has greater exposure to fire risks tha...

Offering young people work on nature projects and converting empty offices into eco-homes are among the ideas being considered by a "green recovery" Welsh Government taskforce. Its boss Sir David Henshaw said it was "absolutely critical" climate change was tackled alongside coron...

China will aim to hit peak emissions before 2030 and for carbon neutrality by 2060, President Xi Jinping has announced. Mr Xi outlined the steps when speaking via videolink to the UN General Assembly in New York. The announcement is being seen as a significant step in the fight a...

As climate change becomes a focus of the US election, energy companies stand accused of trying to downplay their contribution to global warming. In June, Minnesota's Attorney General sued ExxonMobil, among others, for launching a "campaign of deception" which deliberately tried t...

Scientists have found a clever new way of measuring ocean warming, using sound waves from undersea earthquakes. The researchers say the "hack" works because sound travels faster in warmer water. The team looked at sonic data from the Indian Ocean emitted by tremors over a 10-year...

This video can not be played Earlier this year, the BBC's Rebecca Morelle heard the views of four citizens' assembly members A frequent flyer tax, phasing out polluting SUVs and restricting cars in city centres are among climate change solutions suggested by members of the public...

The global response to Covid-19 has barely made a dent in the causes of climate change, according to a major new report. While emissions of CO2 plummeted during lockdown, concentrations of the long-lasting gas have continued to rise in the atmosphere. The period from 2016 to 2020...

The UK government remains committed to spending 0.7% of national income on foreign aid, Dominic Raab has said. The foreign secretary dismissed as "tittle tattle" reports that the 15bn aid budget could be cut to pay for more defence and intelligence spending. Press reports suggest...

Power companies 'hindering' move to green energy Power companies 'hindering' move to green energy New research suggests that power companies are dragging their feet when it comes to embracing green energy sources such as wind and solar. Only one in 10 energy suppliers globally ha...

At least 90 people have been arrested at climate change protests causing disruption across England. Extinction Rebellion organised action in London and Manchester to urge the government to prepare for a "climate crisis". Campaigners were arrested after they sat in the middle of t...

As several papers show images of children returning to the classroom, the Daily Mail features an empty rush-hour railway station and asks: "They're back at work, where's the rest of the UK?" The Guardian says 37% of UK office workers have gone back to the workplace, compared with...

Hundreds of climate activists marched through Cardiff as part of Extinction Rebellion's latest protests in the city. Some activists scaled the roof of the Welsh secretary's office to hang banners, demanding action to cut greenhouse gases. Police and the Welsh Government urged pro...

A professor who will be the first black person to host a lecture series in 200 years said science "historically has been racist" but "times are changing". Prof Chris Jackson will deliver a Royal Institution (RI) Christmas lecture this year, which will be shown on BBC Four. The ge...

Former secretary of state Julian Smith has said he hopes NI politicians focus on governing for the people, not on issues around the future of the border. He was speaking during an interview for Radio Ulster's Talkback programme. Mr Smith was secretary of state for 204 days, helpi...

The BBC's weekly The Boss series profiles different business leaders from around the world. This week we speak to Christian Kroll, the founder and chief executive of internet search engine Ecosia. Christian Kroll wants nothing less than to change the world. "I want to make the wo...

A woman has been stabbed in a "vicious and unprovoked attack" while walking with her five-year-old son. Greater Manchester Police said the 24-year-old was approached by a man with a knife in Rudheath Avenue, Withington at about 13:30 BST on Saturday. She suffered wounds to her le...

Preserving the Amazon rainforest is of global importance in the fight against climate change, but it is under threat from forest fires, mostly started to clear land for agriculture. Early numbers from this year's fire season show an increase, leading to concern from scientists. P...

A polar bear has killed a man in Norway's Arctic Spitsbergen island, local officials say. The attack occurred at a campsite near Longyearbyen, the main town of the island in the Svalbard archipelago. The bear was then shot and found dead at the local airport. Experts say polar be...

Microsoft is poised to launch its game streaming service, delivering high-end titles direct to phones - and Google already offers an equivalent service. Cloud gaming promises top-tier graphics and performance without the expensive hardware - with no more massive updates or downlo...

This video can not be played Sir Ed Davey, the newly-elected leader of the Lib Dems, said his party must "start listening" Sir Ed Davey has won the race to become the new leader of the Liberal Democrats. The acting leader will now take over on a permanent basis after beating his ...

Sunshine has given way to wind and rain, as the motorboat chugs through a fjord in the Faroe Islands. "Its a bit windy here," says Olavur Gregarsen. "We'll see how far we can get to the harvesting boat." We soon reach a sheltered spot where steep mountains are looking down on hun...

The A83 runs for almost 100 miles from Loch Lomond to Campbeltown, at the foot of the Kintyre peninsula. But there is one section, near the Rest and Be Thankful, which has become infamous for landslips, closures and long diversions. James MacDonald and his family watched in horro...

At Colombian dinner tables Alvaro Uribe has always been a topic "better avoided", explains political organiser Isabel Perez. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, Colombia's ex-president who governed for two terms from 2002 to 2010, and perhaps the most powerful in...

Sir Ed Davey has been elected leader of the Liberal Democrats, beating fellow MP Layla Moran to the top job. He has served as energy and climate change secretary, received an award for a life-saving act of heroism, almost became a spy - and Ed Balls used to copy his homework. But...

This video can not be played A whisky distillery - newly reopened after lockdown - had a flooded cellar A person has been rescued from a river and dozens of people were evacuated from their homes overnight after Wales was hit by Storm Francis. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service ...

The price of flour and bread is set to rise after what could be the worst UK wheat harvest in 40 years, the industry is warning. Farmers say that the extreme weather over the last year is likely to mean wheat yields are down by up to 40%. As a result, some millers have already in...

Cocoa, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber, soy, timber, beef and leather. It's estimated that an area the size of the UK was used abroad every year between 2016 and 2018, to meet British demand for these natural materials. People everywhere rely on things like these for everyday pr...

One of the co-founders of climate change group Extinction Rebellion has been remanded into custody ahead of a weekend of planned action, police said. Roger Hallam, 54, of Wandsworth, is among five people charged with conspiracy to cause criminal damage. He and four others appeare...

This video can not be played Emergency services rescue residents from flooded homes Storm Francis has been lashing the UK with "unseasonably" strong gusts of nearly 80mph (129kph) and heavy rain. Homes have been flooded, campers rescued, and road and rail travel disrupted amid th...

Pupils entering Year 12 who are taking a GCSE in English literature will not have to study any novels as part of their course. It is among changes proposed by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). Pupils taking GCSE, AS and A-level courses will have ...

In what may have been her most famous speech, Greta Thunberg said in New York, "I should be in school." Now, just under twelve months on from that moment, she is. After taking a year-long break from education to try and force world leaders to take action on climate change, Greta ...

UK businesses will have to show that their products and supply lines are free from illegal deforestation, under government plans. A proposed law would require larger companies operating in the UK to show where commodities such as cocoa, soy, rubber and palm oil originated from. I...

An inquiry into the recent massive bushfire disaster in Australia has found the country should expect "worse" in the years to come. The review - which looked at New South Wales (NSW), the worst-hit state - made sweeping proposals aimed at better preparing for future fire seasons....

Technologies that can remove carbon dioxide from the air could have huge implications for future food prices, according to new research. Scientists say that machines that remove CO2 from the air will be needed to keep the rise in global temperatures in check. But these devices wi...

This video can not be played Campers have been rescued after Storm Francis hit Wales on Saturday Thousands of homes were left without power, properties were damaged and there was widespread travel disruption as Storm Francis battered Wales. Falling trees damaged homes and vehicle...

Five contenders to be named Scotland's Tree of the Year have been announced. The shortlist includes a hawthorn planted by Mary Queen of Scots and a "photographers' favourite" stunted oak tree. The tree that wins the public vote - which has now started - will receive a care packag...

Road planners in England have been accused of rigging accounting rules to disguise the climate impact of new roads. Environmentalists say the Department for Transport has under-counted CO2 from its road improvement programme. That's because the DfT measures emissions against nati...

US President Donald Trump has declared that wildfires burning through homes and devastating precious forestry in parts of California are a major disaster and has released federal aid. Over 14,000 firefighters are battling 585 fires that have now burnt nearly one million acres (40...

In March, as shutters clattered on shop windows, lights went off in restaurants and office doors were locked, there was peace to be found in the woods. If lockdown had a silver lining, for many people, it was a renewed love of nature. Ian McCurley, director of the Woodland Trust ...

The UK's oldest polar bear has died after he was "unexpectedly taken ill" on Friday. The 22-year-old bear, named Victor, suffered terminal kidney failure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster. A team of vets tried to help but had no choice but to put him to sleep, park manage...

About 130,000 jobs could be created by transforming Scotland's economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Scottish Labour's leader. Richard Leonard said a "Green new deal" was needed to tackle both the economic crisis and climate crisis. His proposals include b...

Fossil leaves from the remains of a 23 million-year-old forest suggest some plants may adapt to grow more quickly as CO2 levels rise, a study says. Scientists recovered the very well-preserved leaves from an ancient lake on New Zealand's South Island. They have enabled the scient...

Donald Trump won the 2016 US presidential election riding on one simple phrase: "Make America Great Again". As he seeks a second term, he faces a country struggling with challenges from the coronavirus and the pandemic's economic aftershocks - and an electorate that will weigh hi...

Scientists say the loss of ice in Greenland lurched forward again last year, breaking the previous record by 15%. A new analysis says that the scale of the melt was "unprecedented" in records dating back to 1948. High pressure systems that became blocked over Greenland last Summe...

Two gold nuggets worth around A$350,000 (190,000; US$250,000) have been discovered by a pair of diggers in southern Australia. Brent Shannon and Ethan West found the nuggets near goldmining town Tarnagulla in Victoria state. Their lucky find was shown on TV show Aussie Gold Hunte...

The construction of large-scale dams has played a surprising role in limiting rising seas, say scientists. Over the past century, melting glaciers and the thermal expansion of sea water have driven up ocean levels. But this new study finds that dams almost stalled the rising seas...

Researchers have found a way to tackle a disease that threatens thousands of hectares of Alpine forests each year. Needle bladder rust causes Norway spruce needles to yellow and fall out, causing a significant reduction in growth. Scientists in Austria have unlocked a natural def...

When he formally announced his entry into the 2020 presidential race, Joe Biden declared that he stood for two things - workers who "built this country", and values that can bridge its divisions. As the US faces challenges from coronavirus to racial inequity, his pitch is to crea...

Thousands of British holidaymakers have made a last-minute dash to get home before a 14-day quarantine requirement came into force for people arriving from France. The isolation measure also applies to the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos, and Aruba, amid concerns abo...

Click or tap on an underlined word for a short definition or explanation The US president has a huge influence on people's lives both at home and abroad, so when the next election is held on 3 November, the outcome will matter to everyone. The US political system is dominated by ...

The Planet Earth-observation company has just released new imagery of the broken Milne Ice Shelf in the Arctic. Located on the northern margin of Canada's Ellesmere Island, the ice platform split on 30/31 July to form a free-floating bloc some 80 sq km (30 sq miles) in area. By 3...

This video can not be played Dawn Butler says the system is currently biased against black people An MP has called for a "system change" after she was stopped by police while travelling in a car in east London. Former shadow equalities minister Dawn Butler accused the Met Police ...

The world's peatlands will become a large source of greenhouse gases as temperatures rise this century, say scientists. Right now, huge amounts of carbon are stored in boggy, often frozen regions stretching across northern parts of the world. But much of the permanently frozen la...

Twenty-five years of satellite observations have been used to reconstruct a detailed history of Antarctica's ice shelves. These ice platforms are the floating protrusions of glaciers flowing off the land, and ring the entire continent. The European Space Agency data-set confirms ...

The UK's coastguard has issued a new warning urging people to be careful in the sea, after recording its highest number of call-outs in a single day for more than four years. Its teams dealt with 340 incidents and rescued 146 people on Saturday. Saturday was the second day of a m...

Emissions from UK peatland could cancel out all carbon reduction achieved through new and existing forests, warns the countryside charity CPRE. It says many degraded peatlands are actually increasing carbon emissions. Yet, it says, there has been much more focus from the governme...

The dramatic drop in greenhouse gases and air pollutants seen during the global lockdown will have little impact on our warming planet say scientists. Their new analysis suggests that by 2030, global temperatures will only be 0.01C lower than expected. But the authors stress that...

A ruling by the Irish Supreme Court on climate change policy could have "huge ramifications" across Europe, the group which took the case has said. On Friday the Supreme Court quashed the government's 2017 National Mitigation Plan. Judges ruled that it did not give enough detail ...

Climate change driven by industrial society is having an increasing impact on the UKs weather, the Met Office says. Its annual UK report confirms that 2019 was the 12th warmest year in a series from 1884. Although it does not make the top 10, the report says 2019 was remarkable f...

Polar bears will be wiped out by the end of the century unless more is done to tackle climate change, a study predicts. Scientists say some populations have already reached their survival limits as the Arctic sea ice shrinks. The carnivores rely on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean...

Millions of people around the world could be exposed to dangerous levels of heat stress - a dangerous condition which can cause organs to shut down. Many live in developing countries, and do jobs that expose them to potentially life threatening conditions. These include being out...

A record-breaking heatwave in Siberia would have been almost impossible without human-caused climate change, a study has found . The Russian region's temperatures were more than 5C above average between January and June of this year. Temperatures exceeded 38C in the Russian town ...

The World Meteorological Organisation says there's a growing chance that global temperatures will break the 1.5C threshold over the next five years, compared to pre-industrial levels. It says there's a 20% possibility the critical mark will be broken in any one year before 2024. ...

The vast majority of emissions cuts from electric cars will be wiped out by new road-building, a report says. The government says vehicle emissions per mile will fall as zero-emissions cars take over Britains roads. But the report says the 80% of the CO2 savings from clean cars w...

This video can not be played Dr Farzad Saadat, an anaesthetic registrar at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, is among those seeking action Poor air quality and climate change pose a bigger threat to people's health and the economy than coronavirus, NHS staff have warned. B...

Sweltering temperatures of up to 40C could be a regular occurrence in the UK by 2100 if carbon emissions stay very high says the Met Office. The current record stands at 38.7C, set in Cambridge last July. This new study says there is an "increasing likelihood" of going beyond thi...

Ireland stands on the brink of putting climate change at the heart of its government if Green Party members vote in favour of a new coalition. The new administration plans to ban fracked gas imports from the US, make steep cuts in emissions and end new drilling for oil and gas. A...

Rather than benefiting the environment, large-scale tree planting may do the opposite, two new studies have found. One paper says that financial incentives to plant trees can backfire and reduce biodiversity with little impact on carbon emissions. A separate project found that th...

This video can not be played Greta Thunberg talks about how she has spent lockdown in Sweden Greta Thunberg says the world needs to learn the lessons of coronavirus and treat climate change with similar urgency. That means the world acting "with necessary force", the Swedish clim...

Global sport faces major disruption from climate change in coming decades, according to a new analysis. By 2050, it's estimated that almost one in four English football league grounds can expect flooding every year. But tennis, rugby, athletics and winter sports will also face se...

Older, carbon-rich tropical forests continue to be lost at a frightening rate, according to satellite data. In 2019, an area of primary forest the size of a football pitch was lost every six seconds, the University of Maryland study of trees more than 5 metres says. Brazil accoun...

May was the sunniest calendar month on record, and spring was the sunniest spring, the Met Office has said. The UK enjoyed 266 hours of sunshine in May - surpassing the previous record of 265 hours in June 1957. And it is even more extraordinary following a drenching winter, with...

Good news is in short supply at the moment, so brace yourself for a rare burst of optimism about climate change. World leaders know their countries face one of the most severe recessions in history thanks to the coronavirus restrictions. That presents a unique challenge, but also...

Scientists are learning just how fast the ice margin of Antarctica can retreat in a warming world. They've identified features on the seafloor that indicate the ice edge was reversing at rates of up to 50m a day at the end of the last ice age. That's roughly 10 times faster than ...

Climate change can still be tackled but only if people are willing to embrace major shifts in the way we live, a report says. The authors have put together a list of the best ways for people to reduce their carbon footprints. The response to the Covid-19 crisis has shown that th...

Daily global emissions of CO2 fell by 17% at the peak of the shutdown because of measures taken by governments in response to Covid-19, say scientists. The most comprehensive account yet published says that almost half the record decrease was due to fewer car journeys. But the au...

Future increases in rainfall in England could significantly impact emergency responses, according to a new study. Researchers say that flood conditions could see just 9% of some rural populations reached by an ambulance within the 7-15 minute mandatory timeframe. Older people liv...

Claims by oil and gas companies that they are curbing their carbon emissions in line with net zero targets are overstated, according to a new review. The independent analysis of six large European corporations acknowledges they have taken big steps on CO2 recently. In April, Shel...

The former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has added his voice to calls for industrialised nations to invest in a greener economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. He shared his comments in an online discussion about climate change with the former Prime Minister o...

The Covid-19 lockdown has cut climate change emissions - for now. But some governments want to go further by harnessing their economic recovery plans to boost low-carbon industries. Their slogan is "Build Back Better", but can they succeed? I've just had a light bulb moment. The ...

More than three billion people will be living in places with "near un-liveable" temperatures by 2070, according to a new study. Unless greenhouse gas emissions fall, large numbers of people will experience average temperatures hotter than 29C. This is considered outside the clima...

We're living through the biggest carbon crash ever recorded. No war, no recession, no previous pandemic has had such a dramatic impact on emissions of CO2 over the past century as Covid-19 has in a few short months. Multiple sources indicate we are now living through an unrivalle...

The UK must avoid lurching from the coronavirus crisis into a deeper climate crisis, the governments advisers have warned. They recommend that ministers ensure funds earmarked for a post-Covid-19 economic recovery go to firms that will reduce carbon emissions. They say the public...

Tackling climate change must be woven into the solution to the Covid-19 economic crisis, the UK will tell governments next week. Environment ministers from 30 countries are meeting in a two-day online conference in a bid to make progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The g...

Despite the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the world mustn't forget the "deeper environmental emergency" facing the planet. That's the view of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in remarks released to celebrate Earth Day. The toll taken by the virus is both "immedia...

Europe is heating faster than the global average as new data indicates that last year was the warmest on record. While globally the year was the second warmest, a series of heatwaves helped push the region to a new high mark. Over the past five years, global temperatures were, on...

A drought, equal to the worst to have hit the western US in recorded history, is already under way, say scientists. Researchers say the megadrought is a naturally occurring event that started in the year 2000 and is still ongoing. Climate change, though, is having a major impact ...

While high temperatures were critical to the melting seen in Greenland last year, scientists say that clear blue skies also played a key role. In a study, they found that a record number of cloud free days saw more sunlight hit the surface while snowfall was also reduced. These c...

Rising temperatures may be having a profound physical impact on one of the world's favourite songbirds. Researchers in Spain found that over a 20-year period, nightingales had evolved smaller wingspans. The scientists say this is linked to a changing climate in the region which h...

Wind, solar and hydro power installations pose a growing threat to key conservation areas, say researchers. Researchers found that over 2,200 green energy plants have been built within the boundaries of the Earth's remaining wilderness. They say that around 17% of renewable facil...

Coronavirus has plunged the world into uncertainty and the constant news about the pandemic can feel relentless. All of this is taking its toll on people's mental health, particularly those already living with conditions like anxiety and OCD. So how can we protect our mental heal...

The rich are primarily to blame for the global climate crisis, a study by the University of Leeds of 86 countries claims. The wealthiest tenth of people consume about 20 times more energy overall than the bottom ten, wherever they live. The gulf is greatest in transport, where th...

New rules could spell the death of a "throwaway" culture in which products are bought, used briefly, then binned. The regulations will apply to a range of everyday items such as mobile phones, textiles, electronics, batteries, construction and packaging. They will ensure products...

The UK cannot go climate neutral much before 2050 unless people stop flying and eating red meat almost completely, a report says. But it warns that the British public do not look ready to take such steps and substantially change their lifestyle. The report challenges the views of...

We know that climate change harms people but policies to tackle climate change can harm people too. And typically it's the poorest who're most likely to suffer from lost jobs in dirty industries and higher energy bills. In Scotland, for instance, they made thousands of workers jo...

Scientists have published the first assessment quantifying the role of climate change in the recent Australian bushfires. Global warming boosted the risk of the hot, dry weather that's likely to cause bushfires by at least 30%, they say. But the study suggests the figure is likel...

Australia's summers have become twice as long as its winters amid increasing temperatures driven by climate change, according to new weather data analysis. The Australia Institute found that summer across most of the country over the past 20 years was about a month longer than in...

Ever wondered if your bank or insurance company is funding the coal industry? Or whether your pension fund is backing oil companies drilling new wells in the Arctic? Investors are facing scrutiny like never before about what they're doing to tackle climate change. And the Bank of...

The Supreme Court has reversed a decision to block plans for a controversial third runway at Heathrow Airport. It means that developers can now seek planning permission for the project, which faces opposition from environmentalists and local residents. Heathrow is already the UK'...

"It's educated people who are causing the most damage to the planet," says sixth-former Joe Brindle. Joe, 17, says schools need to put the environment at the heart of education. Ministers agree "it is vital that pupils are taught about climate change" but Joe says schools are fai...

Human life "as we know it" could be threatened by climate change, economists at JP Morgan have warned. In a hard-hitting report to clients, the economists said that without action being taken there could be "catastrophic outcomes". The bank said the research came from a team that...

"Climate chaos" has caused widespread losses of bumblebees across continents, according to scientists. A new analysis shows the likelihood of a bee being found in any given place in Europe and North America has declined by a third since the 1970s. Climbing temperatures will incre...

Breakthrough technologies such as carbon capture and hydrogen cannot be relied on to help the UK meet its climate change targets, a report says. The government had hoped that both technologies would contribute to emissions reductions required by 2050. But the reports authors say ...

The former head of this years vital climate summit may sue the UK government for sacking her, the BBC has learned. Claire ONeill, an ex-minister, was told by Downing Street that she couldnt chair the Glasgow meeting because she was no longer a minister. But sources close to Mrs O...

The worst-case scenario for emissions of CO2 this century is no longer plausible, say researchers. Referred to as "business as usual", the scenario assumes a 500% increase in the use of coal, which is now considered unlikely. Climate models suggest that this level of carbon could...

If the Glasgow climate conference fails to deliver, it could mark the end of the global approach to tackling the problem. COP26 in November will see around 200 world leaders meet to agree a new, long term deal on rising temperatures. But according to Claire O'Neill, the president...

US President Donald Trump's position on climate change has been in the spotlight again, after he criticised "prophets of doom" at the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the event, which had sustainability as its main theme, and activist Greta Thunberg as its star guest, Mr Trump d...

Should aviation be taxed more? Should SUVs be banned? Should wind power be subsidised by taxpayers? These are the sort of the climate-related questions to be pondered by a new "citizens' assembly", composed of 110 members of the public. The panel has been selected to reflect key ...

"The moment of crisis has come" in efforts to tackle climate change, Sir David Attenborough has warned. He spoke as BBC News launched a year of special coverage on global warming. Here are our answers to a range of readers' questions. Climate change will need to be tackled by gov...

The German government and regional leaders have agreed on a plan to phase out coal-fired power stations by 2038, involving compensation of about 40bn (34bn; $45bn). The end date for burning brown coal (lignite) - the dirtiest type of coal - could be brought forward to 2035, depen...

The 10 years to the end of 2019 have been confirmed as the warmest decade on record by three global agencies. According to Nasa, Noaa and the UK Met Office, last year was the second warmest in a record dating back to 1850. The past five years were the hottest in the 170-year seri...

UK scientists say the recent fires in Australia are a taste of what the world will experience as temperatures rise. Prof Richard Betts from the Met Office Hadley Centre said we are "seeing a sign of what would be normal conditions under a future warming world of 3C". While natura...

Tennis star Roger Federer has responded to climate change critics - including campaigner Greta Thunberg - by saying he takes the issue very seriously. Activists oppose Federer's sponsorship deal with Credit Suisse over its links to the fossil fuel industry. Some appeared in court...

Greenland is not used to being the centre of attention, but last year it made the front pages of newspapers around the world. It came after US President Donald Trump confirmed news reports that he wanted the US to buy the vast Arctic island from Denmark. The Danish government imm...

A tiny spark in the UKs hydrogen revolution has been lit at a university campus near Stoke-on-Trent. Hydrogen fuel is a relatively green alternative to alternatives that produce greenhouse gases. The natural gas supply at Keele University is being blended with 20% hydrogen in a ...

The Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended his government's stand on climate change as the country deals with devastating fires and a historic heatwave. Mr Morrison said his policies on reducing emissions would ensure what he called a "vibrant and viable economy, a...

The highest court in the Netherlands has upheld a ruling requiring the government to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% of 1990 levels by the end of next year. The case was brought six years ago by the Urgenda environment group in a bid to force ministers to go well b...

Next year will continue the global warming trend with temperatures again likely to rise more than one degree above pre-industrial levels. According to the Met Office, 2020 will likely be 1.11C warmer than the average between 1850-1900, The year ahead is set to extend the series o...

At the conclusion of UN climate talks in Madrid, our environment correspondent Matt McGrath considers the key lessons. COP25 in Madrid only happened because the Chilean government, faced with mounting civil disorder, decided to cancel the meeting in Santiago. Spain stepped in and...

Africa is more vulnerable than any other region to the world's changing weather patterns, explains climate specialist Richard Washington. The African continent will be hardest hit by climate change. There are four key reasons for this: Is Africa sleepwalking into a potential cata...

Record UN climate talks in Madrid have ended in a compromise deal on cutting greenhouse gas emissions which left many disappointed. Here are key quotes from leaders, experts and activists on the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) outcome. "I am disappointed with the results of ...

Growing fruit and veg in the garden is already seen as environmentally friendly, but it could also be a weapon in the fight against climate change. That's been the experience of a community in Bangladesh, whose rice crop - the source of their food and income - was ruined when sea...

The Chilean official leading UN climate talks in Madrid has called on delegates to show flexibility, as they struggle to reach agreement on crucial measures needed to tackle climate change. The negotiations, which were scheduled to end on Friday, continued throughout Saturday and...

This video can not be played Protesters staged a sit in at UN climate talks Environmentalists and observers have been barred from UN climate talks in Madrid after a protest inside the conference. Around 200 climate campaigners were ejected after staging a sit in, preventing acces...

UN climate talks in Madrid enter their final scheduled day with divisions emerging between major emitting countries and small island states. Negotiators are attempting to agree a deal in the Spanish capital that would see countries commit to make new climate pledges by the end of...

Scientists think they can now explain at least part of the recent growth in methane (CH4) levels in the atmosphere. Researchers, led from Edinburgh University, UK, say their studies point to a big jump in emissions coming from just the wetlands of South Sudan. Satellite data indi...

This video can not be played Ice loss from 1992 to 2018 has occurred mostly around the coast (Imbie/ESA/Planetary Visions) Greenland is losing ice seven times faster than it was in the 1990s. The assessment comes from an international team of polar scientists who've reviewed all ...

UN negotiators meeting in Madrid have been accused of "playing politics" while the climate crisis grows. The talks - now in their final week - are bogged down in technical details as key countries seek to delay efforts to increase their pledges, observers say. Ministers are due t...

On board Darryl Green's small fishing boat, just off the island of Praslin in the Seychelles, the water is so clear we can see the seabed. Brightly coloured fish swim around the hull. "You know at my age I've seen the fish size decrease dramatically," the fisherman reminisces. He...

Climate change and nutrient pollution are driving the oxygen from our oceans, and threatening many species of fish. That's the conclusion of the biggest study of its kind, undertaken by conservation group IUCN. While nutrient run-off has been known for decades, researchers say th...

As the climate warms, birds are shrinking and their wingspans are growing, according to a new study. Researchers analysed 70,716 specimens from 52 North American migratory bird species collected over 40 years. The birds had died after colliding with buildings in Chicago, Illinois...

Researchers say that carbon dioxide emissions this year have risen slightly, despite a drop in the use of coal. The Global Carbon Project's annual analysis of emission trends suggests that CO2 will go up by 0.6% in 2019. The rise is due to continuing strong growth in the utilisat...

We know the warnings by now. 2019 is on course to be in the top three warmest years on record. The UK government has declared a national climate emergency . And now, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the "point of no return is no longer over the horizon". That came ahead...

Scientists say that average temperatures from 2010-2019 look set to make it the warmest decade on record. Provisional figures released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggest this year is on course to be the second or third warmest year ever. If those numbers hold,...

This video can not be played COP25: What you need to know about the climate conference The president of an island nation on the frontline of climate change says it is in a "fight to the death" after freak waves inundated the capital. Powerful swells averaging 5m (16ft) washed acr...

A critical 12 months in the battle against rising temperatures begins in Madrid this week, as UN delegates gather for key talks. The 25th Conference of the Parties, or COP, will see negotiators from almost 200 countries in attendance. Ahead of the meeting the UN secretary general...

Greta Thunberg is one of the world's best-known climate change campaigners. The 21-year-old from Sweden is due to go on trial at a magistrates court in London on 1 February, following her arrest at an environmental protest in October 2023. Ms Thunberg was born in the Swedish capi...

Scientists from the University of Manchester are creating a blueprint to help bands and pop stars to perform live and tour the world without contributing to climate change. It's after the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research were approached by the group Massive Attack who s...

Eliminating greenhouse gas emissions in the UK is achievable with current technology, according to a new report. The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) said a net zero-carbon Britain is already possible, without relying on future developments. The Powys-based charity said ch...

Critical elements in the Earths climate may be more likely to break down than previously thought, according to a group of scientists. Their commentary in the journal Nature says theres growing evidence that irreversible climatic changes could be triggered within a few decades. Th...

Countries will have to increase their carbon-cutting ambitions five fold if the world is to avoid warming by more than 1.5C, the UN says. The annual emissions gap report shows that even if all current promises are met, the world will warm by more than double that amount by 2100. ...

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases once again reached new highs in 2018. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says the increase in CO2 was just above the average rise recorded over the last decade. Levels of other warming gases, such as...

"Do we really need 27 scene changes? Do we need cars hanging from the ceiling?" It might not be an obvious question for a superstar agent to be raising, but it's one Emma Banks, who co-founded the UK arm of one of the world's biggest music tour agents, is increasingly having to a...

While the rest of the world has cut coal-based electricity over the past 18 months, China has added enough to power 31 million homes. That's according to a study that says China is now in the process of building or reviving coal equivalent to the EU's entire generating capacity. ...

Australia is enduring a bushfire crisis that has left three people dead, razed more than 150 homes, and prompted warnings of "catastrophic" danger. Bushfires are a regular feature in the Australian calendar, but the blazes in New South Wales and Queensland have not previously occ...

The biggest and most damaging hurricanes are now three times more frequent than they were 100 years ago, say researchers. Using a new method of calculating the destruction, the scientists say the increase in frequency is "unequivocal". Previous attempts to isolate the impact of c...

Cutting the speed of ships has huge benefits for humans, nature and the climate, according to a new report. A 20% reduction would cut greenhouse gases but also curb pollutants that damage human health such as black carbon and nitrogen oxides. This speed limit would cut underwater...

The decline in sea ice seen in the Arctic in recent decades has been linked by scientists to the spread of a deadly virus in marine mammals. Researchers found that Phocine distemper virus (PDV) had spread from animals in the North Atlantic to populations in the North Pacific. The...

A global group of around 11,000 scientists have endorsed research that says the world is facing a climate emergency. The study , based on 40 years of data on a range of measures, says governments are failing to address the crisis. Without deep and lasting changes, the world is fa...

Mountaineering in some parts of the world is becoming riskier because of climate change, climbing experts and scientists warn. They say warming in the Alps has thinned ice and snow cover, resulting into frequent rock-falls and landslides. Their concerns were voiced at a meeting o...

Just a day after the President of Chile said his country could no longer hold the world's annual climate conference, Spain has offered to host it in Madrid. The critical meeting, called COP25, was due to take place in Santiago for two weeks from 3 December. Chilean President Seba...

Peatlands are a natural carbon sink, absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and burying it in the soil. In Europe alone, they lock up about five times more carbon than forests. But according to a new study, the continent's peatlands are in such a dry and fragile state, they could go i...

Celebrity Extinction Rebellion supporters have admitted in an open letter being "hypocrites" over their high-carbon lifestyles. But stars including Benedict Cumberbatch, who last week joined London protests, called for "systemic change" to the "fossil-fuel economy". It comes as E...

Some of Wales' biggest emitters of greenhouse gases have been urged to join together to help tackle climate change. More than 300 businesses, public sector bodies and community leaders are meeting at a conference in Cardiff. Extinction Rebellion campaigners have also been invited...

The UK government must tell the public small, easy changes will not be enough to tackle climate change, warn experts. Researchers from Imperial College London say we must eat less meat and dairy, swap cars for bikes, take fewer flights, and ditch gas boilers at home. The report, ...

What is BBC Future? Earth Future Planet Health Gap Sustainability on a Shoestring Time: The Ultimate Guide The Next Giant Leap Green Tech Best of BBC Future Latest More Back in 2014, my partner and I marked a date in our shared online calendar. Unusually, this was for 27 August 2...

Greta Thunberg is angry, and not just about climate change. "The haters are as active as ever", the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist posted on social media on Thursday, "going after me, my looks, my clothes, my behaviour and my differences". Anything, she says, rather than ta...

For the first time in more than a decade, climate change is at the forefront of a federal election campaign in Canada. Can Justin Trudeau again win the heart of environmentally minded voters? Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg had words for Liberal leader Justin Trudeau: - t...

The Duke of Sussex says there is "a race against time" to halt global warming, adding that he is "troubled" by climate change deniers. "I don't believe that there's anybody in this world that can deny science," he said. He called it "an emergency", adding "the world's children ar...

Climate change is devastating our seas and frozen regions as never before, a major new United Nations report warns. According to a UN panel of scientists, waters are rising, the ice is melting, and species are moving habitat due to human activities. And the loss of permanently fr...

It will be the clearest declaration yet on how an overheating world is hammering our oceans and frozen regions. Scientists have been meeting in Monaco to finalise a report on the seas and the cryosphere. Released on Wednesday, it will show how the oceans have been a friend, helpi...

This video can not be played "You are failing us" - Greta tells world leaders Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg has made a passionate speech to world leaders at the UN, accusing them of failing to act on climate change. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty ...

The signs and impacts of global warming are speeding up, the latest science on climate change, published ahead of key UN talks in New York, says. The data, compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), says the five-year period from 2014 to 2019 is the warmest on recor...

This video can not be played Julienne Stroeve: "It will be brutal if the wind speeds get up" The largest Arctic science expedition ever conceived is under way. The German Research Vessel Polarstern left port late on Friday for the far north where it intends to lock itself in the ...

Getting countries to cut down greenhouse gases that cause global warming is proving an uphill task. But convincing them to clean their air for public health has been easier - and that could help fight climate change as well, UN officials have told the BBC. They say an internation...

Is individual action pointless in the face of climate change? Let's not beat around the bush: the simple answer has to be "yes". Think about it: what difference does one person forgoing a lamb chop for a lentil bake, deciding to catch the bus rather than take their car, or decidi...

One world problem, one corner of Wales - climate change is already "happening before our eyes," according to a man watching the coastline closely. Aberystwyth is a seaside town which has already had experiences of extreme weather. Five years ago, properties were evacuated as wave...

This video can not be played The acceleration in melting of the ice sheet covering Greenland has shocked researchers Extreme events linked to climate change, such as the heatwave in Europe this year, are occurring sooner than expected, an ex-chief scientist says. Prof Sir David K...

It's the most powerful greenhouse gas known to humanity, and emissions have risen rapidly in recent years, the BBC has learned. Sulphur hexafluoride, or SF6, is widely used in the electrical industry to prevent short circuits and accidents. But leaks of the little-known gas in th...

Investing $1.8 trillion over the next decade - in measures to adapt to climate change - could produce net benefits worth more than $7 trillion. This is according to a global cost-benefit analysis setting out five adaptation strategies. The analysis was carried out by the Global C...

People must use less transport, eat less red meat and buy fewer clothes if the UK is to virtually halt greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the government's chief environment scientist has warned. Prof Sir Ian Boyd said the public had little idea of the scale of the challenge from t...

French President Emmanuel Macron has lashed out at Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro for endorsing "rude" remarks about his wife. A supporter of the Brazilian president mocked Mr Macron's wife, Brigitte, 66, in a Facebook post. The post contained a photo contrasting the French first lady's...

The climate campaigner Greta Thunberg chose to sail to a UN climate conference in New York in a zero-emissions yacht rather than fly - to highlight the impact of aviation on the environment. The 16-year-old Swede has previously travelled to London and other European cities by tra...

Farmers are on the front line of climate change - vulnerable to changes in temperature and rainfall, as well as increasingly frequent extreme weather events. They also face criticism , in particular over greenhouse gas emissions from the meat and dairy industry, with calls for a ...

Increasingly frequent marine heatwaves can lead to the almost instant death of corals, scientists working on the Great Barrier Reef have found. These episodes of unusually high water temperatures are - like heatwaves on land - associated with climate change. Scientists studying c...

Green and Social Democrat (SPD) politicians in Germany say the 7% sales tax (VAT) rate on meat should be raised to 19% to help curb global warming and fund animal welfare improvements. According to UN research, methane from livestock accounts for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions...

Switching to a plant-based diet can help fight climate change, UN experts have said. A major report on land use and climate change says the West's high consumption of meat and dairy produce is fuelling global warming. But scientists and officials stopped short of explicitly calli...

Users of the social video app TikTok have been spreading a message of climate change awareness through make-up and time-lapse videos. Their chosen hashtag of #Globalwarning - a play on the term "global warming" - has been viewed more than 24 million times on the app so far. Short...

The impoverished African nation of Burundi comes top of a list of the world's most food-insecure countries says Christian Aid. The charity argues that Burundi and others are now keenly feeling the impacts of climate change on their food production systems. But Burundi's contribut...

The searing July heatwave that hit Europe last week was made both more likely and more intense by human-induced climate change, scientists say. A rapid attribution study says that heating added up to 3C to the intensity of the event that scorched the UK, France and the Netherland...

A preliminary analysis of global temperature data for July suggests it may have "marginally" become the warmest month on record. Figures from the first 29 days of a month in which many countries had heatwaves are "on a par" or slightly higher than a record set in July 2016. The a...

The top 10 warmest years on record in the UK have all occurred since 2002, a new analysis from the Met Office says. Its State of the UK Climate report shows that 2014 remains the warmest year in a temperature sequence now dating back to 1884. Despite last summer's blistering heat...

The speed and extent of current global warming exceeds any similar event in the past 2,000 years, researchers say. They show that famous historic events like the "Little Ice Age" don't compare with the scale of warming seen over the last century. The research suggests that the cu...

Do you remember the good old days when we had "12 years to save the planet"? Now it seems, there's a growing consensus that the next 18 months will be critical in dealing with the global heating crisis, among other environmental challenges. Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel ...

Protest group Extinction Rebellion (XR) is carrying out a week of demonstrations to highlight what it says is government inaction on climate change. On Wednesday, some protesters glued themselves to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) over the govern...

London could feel as hot as Barcelona by 2050, with Edinburgh's climate more like Paris, Leeds feeling like Melbourne and Cardiff like Montevideo. That's from a study looking at how a 2C temperature increase could change the world's 520 major cities. And that's not as good as it ...

Researchers say an area the size of the US is available for planting trees around the world, and this could have a dramatic impact on climate change. The study shows that the space available for trees is far greater than previously thought, and would reduce CO2 in the atmosphere ...

Last week's record breaking heatwave across much of Europe was made "at least five times" more likely to happen by climate change, say scientists. Their rapid attribution study says that rising temperatures "super-charged" the event, making it more likely to happen than through n...

This video can not be played "We are stronger when we work together," says Theresa May World leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, after Theresa May urged them to do more on climate change. The prime minister called on the G20 countries to ...

A "triple whammy" of events threatens to hamper efforts to tackle climate change say UN delegates. At a meeting in Bonn, Saudi Arabia has continued to object to a key IPCC scientific report that urges drastic cuts in carbon emissions. Added to that, the EU has so far failed to ag...

Is this the simplest way to show what is meant by global warming? The chart below organises all the countries of the world by region, time and temperature. The trend is unmistakeable. Each line of coloured pixels is the temperature record of an individual nation within its region...

The chancellor has warned Theresa May that reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 could cost the UK more than 1tn. The Financial Times reports that the PM wants to introduce the legislation to Parliament next week as "one of her most important legacies". Philip Ham...

Leading climate scientists have called for Theresa May to make her "legacy" a target to cut greenhouse gases to zero by 2050. A group of experts have written to the prime minister calling for her to enshrine a target for "net zero" emissions in national law. Experts claim the tar...

During the last worldwide school strikes in March, BBC News asked for your questions on climate change. Since then, thousands of you have been talking to our climate change chatbot on Facebook Messenger. Below are some of the topics that came up many times - with some answers fro...

This video can not be played How climate change is sinking an Indian island Scientists believe that global sea levels could rise far more than predicted, due to accelerating melting in Greenland and Antarctica. The long-held view has been that the world's seas would rise by a max...

Scientists in Cambridge plan to set up a research centre to develop new ways to repair the Earth's climate. It will investigate radical approaches such as refreezing the Earth's poles and removing CO2 from the atmosphere. The centre is being created because of fears that current ...

The Republic of Ireland has declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. A Fianna Fail amendment to the Oireachtas report on Climate Action was accepted without a vote. In May a national climate emergency was declared by the UK Parliament. In Scotland targets are being set to r...

Eight European countries have called for an ambitious strategy to tackle climate change and to spend a quarter of the entire EU budget on fighting it. The joint statement says the EU should have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 "at the latest". It was signed by France, ...

MPs have approved a motion to declare an environment and climate emergency. This proposal, which demonstrates the will of the Commons on the issue but does not legally compel the government to act, was approved without a vote. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who tabled the motion, s...

The UK should lead the global fight against climate change by cutting greenhouse gases to nearly zero by 2050, a report says. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) maintains this can be done at no added cost from previous estimates. Its report says that if other countries follow ...

Climate change is seen as the biggest challenge to the future of human life on Earth, and understanding the scientific language used to describe it can sometimes feel just as difficult. But help is at hand. Use our translator tool to find out what some of the words and phrases re...

This video can not be played How cow dung could help fight climate change Climate change can't be halted if we carry on degrading the soil, a report will say. There's three times more carbon in the soil than in the atmosphere but that carbon's being released by deforestation and...

This video can not be played Climate Change - The Facts is available to watch on BBC iPlayer Sir David Attenborough has issued his strongest statement yet on the threat posed to the world by climate change. In the BBC programme Climate Change - The Facts , the veteran broadcaster...

The heads of two major central banks have written a stark warning about the financial risks of climate change. Bank of England governor Mark Carney and France's Francois Villeroy de Galhau set out the dangers to the global economy in an open letter. "If some companies and industr...

BBC News has launched a chat bot to help users learn about climate change in weekly conversations on Facebook Messenger. Subscribers will get an alert every Wednesday inviting them to explore topics from rising temperatures to new ways of tackling global warming. They can also as...

Scramble across exposed rocks in the middle of Antarctica and it's possible to find the mummified twigs of shrubs that grew on the continent some three to five million years ago. This plant material isn't much to look at, but scientists say it should serve as a warning to the wor...

A technology that removes carbon dioxide from the air has received significant backing from major fossil fuel companies. British Columbia-based Carbon Engineering has shown that it can extract CO2 in a cost-effective way. It has now been boosted by $68m in new investment from Che...

This video can not be played Climate change: How 1.5C could change the world Like superheroes, their job is to save the planet and this week 180 climate scientists are meeting in Edinburgh to plan their next move. To be technical, they are Working Group III of the Intergovernment...

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says that the physical and financial impacts of global warming are accelerating. Record greenhouse gas levels are driving temperatures to "increasingly dangerous levels", it says. Their report comes in the same week as the International...

Unless a rich benefactor steps in, the role of human-induced climate change in Cyclone Idai is unlikely to be clearly determined. The scientists with the expertise simply don't have the resources to do the large amount of computer modelling required. However, there are a number o...

A national climate emergency has been declared by the UK Parliament. MPs are calling on the government to make changes that include setting a new target of reaching net zero emissions before 2050. The current target is to reduce carbon emissions by 80% (compared to 1990 levels) b...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she supports school students' protests about climate change. It appears to contradict some education officials, who have criticised participants for skipping school and threatened them with exclusion. Mrs Merkel said students might be frus...

Wallace Broecker, the US climate scientist who helped popularise the term "global warming" has died in New York at the age of 87. Prof Broecker was among the first to connect emissions of CO2 to rising temperatures back in the 1970s. He also studied the ocean conveyor belt, linki...

This video can not be played Climate march schoolchildren: 'We need change and we need it now' Pupils from around the UK went "on strike" on Friday as part of a global campaign for action on climate change. Students around the country walked out of schools to call on the governme...

The world is in the middle of what is likely to be the warmest 10 years since records began in 1850, say scientists. The Met Office is forecasting that temperatures for each of the next five years are likely to be 1C or more above pre-industrial levels. In the next five years the...

Rising temperatures will change the colour of the world's oceans, making them more blue in the coming decades say scientists. They found that increased heat will change the mixture of phytoplankton or tiny marine organisms in the seas, which absorb and reflect light. Scientists s...

The supermarket chain Morrisons is raising the price of its reusable plastic bags from 10p to 15p as a trial and introducing a 20p paper version. The paper bags will be available in eight stores as part of a two-month trial. The supermarket chain said reducing plastic was their c...

The popularity of vegan foods continues to grow, with January seen as a traditional time to consider giving them a try. Milk alternatives, such as oat, soy, almond or coconut, are one area of interest, with sales rising in the UK. A scientific study suggests the greenhouse gas em...

It is frustrating: you buy a new appliance then just after the warranty runs out, it gives up the ghost. You cant repair it and cant find anyone else to at a decent price, so it joins the global mountain of junk. Youre forced to buy a replacement, which fuels climate change from ...

Extreme weather events linked to climate change cost thousands of lives and caused huge damage throughout the world in 2018, say Christian Aid. The charity's report identified ten events that cost more than $1bn each, with four costing more than $7bn each. Scientists have shown t...

Concrete is the most widely used man-made material in existence. It is second only to water as the most-consumed resource on the planet. But, while cement - the key ingredient in concrete - has shaped much of our built environment, it also has a massive carbon footprint. Cement i...

Delegates to the UN climate conference in Poland have reached agreement on how to implement the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, which comes into force in 2020. What are the key points to come out of the meeting? However dull it may be, the operational rules for the 2015 Paris climate ...

Negotiators in Poland have finally secured agreement on a range of measures that will make the Paris climate pact operational in 2020. Last-minute rows over carbon markets threatened to derail the two-week summit - and delayed it by a day. Delegates believe the new rules will ens...

Avoiding meat and dairy products is one of the biggest ways to reduce your environmental impact, according to recent scientific studies. Switching to a plant-based diet can help fight climate change, according to a major report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Chang...

Snowy mountain winters are being "squeezed" by climate change, according to scientists in California. Researchers who studied the winter snowfall in the mountains there revealed that rising temperatures are reducing the period during which snow is on the ground in the mountains -...

The population of wild reindeer, or caribou, in the Arctic has crashed by more than half in the last two decades. A new report on the impact of climate change in the Arctic revealed that numbers fell from almost 5 million to around 2.1 million animals. The report was released at ...

Attempts to incorporate a key scientific study into global climate talks in Poland have failed. The IPCC report on the impacts of a temperature rise of 1.5C, had a significant impact when it was launched last October. Scientists and many delegates in Poland were shocked as the US...

Climate change has significantly boosted the chances of having summer heatwaves in the UK. A Met Office study says that the record-breaking heat seen in 2018 was made about 30 times more likely because of emissions from human activity. Without warming the odds of a UK heatwave in...

President Donald Trump's words and actions are restricting global efforts to cut carbon, according to a new study. The analysis says the withdrawal by the US from the Paris climate agreement has created the political cover for others to go slow on their commitments. The author sa...

This video can not be played Sir David Attenborough addressing the climate change conference in Poland. The naturalist Sir David Attenborough has said climate change is humanity's greatest threat in thousands of years. The broadcaster said it could lead to the collapse of civilis...

Climate change is set to cause major changes across the world: sea levels will rise, food production could fall and species may be driven to extinction. The UN has warned that the world needs to limit climate change to below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. But scientists say th...

With dire warnings of rising global temperatures and urgent calls for governments to take action, it may feel like the future of the planet is out of your hands. GETTY But environmentalists say individuals can take their own small steps to help keep a global rise in temperature b...

The year 2018 is on course to be the fourth warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization. It says that the global average temperature for the first 10 months of the year was nearly 1C above the levels between 1850-1900. The State of the Climate report say...

Is it remotely feasible to remove 12 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air? Every year. For decades to come. That's the challenge posed by the latest conclusions of the UN's climate science panel. It says that only by pulling this heat-trapping gas out of the atmosphere c...

The European Union says it is aiming to become the first major economy to go "climate neutral" by 2050. Under the plan, emissions of greenhouse gases after that date would have to be offset by planting trees or by burying the gases underground. Scientists say that net-zero emissi...

Global efforts to tackle climate change are way off track says the UN, as it details the first rise in CO2 emissions in four years. The emissions gap report says that economic growth is responsible for a rise in 2017 while national efforts to cut carbon have faltered. To meet the...

In its first major update on climate change in almost 10 years, the Met Office has warned of significant temperature rises in the decades ahead. The UK Climate Projections 2018 study is the most up to date assessment of how the UK may change over this century. It says that under ...

This video can not be played Climate change: How 1.5C could change the world US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on a report by his own government warning of devastating effects from climate change. Asked outside the White House about the findings that unchecked global warmi...

This video can not be played Climate change: How 1.5C could change the world Unchecked climate change will cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars and damage human health and quality of life, a US government report warns. "Future risks from climate change depend... on decisio...

Concentrations of key gases in the atmosphere that are driving up global temperatures reached a new high in 2017. In their annual greenhouse gas bulletin , the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says there is no sign of reversal in this rising trend. Carbon dioxide levels re...

A new report on the potential of heavy industry to combat climate change offers a rare slice of optimism. Sectors like steel, chemicals, cement, aviation and aluminium face a huge challenge in cutting carbon emissions. But a group including representatives from business concludes...

The number of sheep and cattle in the UK should be reduced by between a fifth and a half to help combat climate change, a report says. The shift is needed, the governments advisory Committee on Climate Change (CCC) maintains, because beef and lamb produce most farm greenhouse gas...

Errors have been found in a recent study suggesting the oceans were soaking up more heat than previously estimated. The initial report suggested that the seas have absorbed 60% more than previously thought . But a re-examination by a mathematician showed that the margin of error ...

A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned of disastrous consequences if current trends of global warming are not reversed immediately. Aayushi Awasthy from the University of East Anglia's Energy and Resources Institute explains why this has parti...

US President Donald Trump has accused climate change scientists of having a "political agenda" as he cast doubt on whether humans were responsible for the earth's rising temperatures. But Mr Trump also said he no longer believed climate change was a hoax. The comments, made durin...

Watching your favourite show or listening to your playlist has never been easier. A virtually endless supply of film, music and TV can be streamed and downloaded almost instantly. But at what cost to the environment? Vast amounts of energy are needed to keep data flowing on the i...

Scientists say we have to make "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes" to our lifestyles, in order to avoid severely damaging climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just issued a report detailing the impact of global warming at 1.5C above...

This video can not be played Climate change: How 1.5C could change the world It's the final call, say scientists, in the most extensive warning yet on the risks of rising global temperatures. Their dramatic report on keeping that rise under 1.5 degrees C says the world is now com...

One little girl draws a nightmarish picture of people calling for rescue as they drown in rising water. Another sketches a huge snake with sharp teeth to show the power and danger of flooding. These disturbing images are the work of children at a primary school in Can Tho provinc...

It is likely to be the most critical and controversial report on climate change in recent years. Leading scientists are meeting in South Korea this week to see if global temperatures can be kept from rising by more than 1.5C this century. The world has already passed one degree o...

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that if the world doesn't change course by 2020, we run the risk of runaway climate change. Mr Guterres said he was alarmed by the paralysis of world leaders on what he called the "defining issue" of our time. He wants heads of gover...

Insects will be at the heart of worldwide crop losses as the climate warms up, predicts a US study. Scientists estimate the pests will be eating 10-25% more wheat, rice and maize across the globe for each one degree rise in climate temperature. Warming drives insect energy use an...

Scientists have described the serious concept of "Hothouse Earth" . An international team of researchers suggest that global warming will have severe consequences for the planet. They paint a picture of boiling hot climates and towering seas in years to come if temperatures rise ...

It may sound like the title of a low budget sci-fi movie, but for planetary scientists, "Hothouse Earth" is a deadly serious concept. Researchers believe we could soon cross a threshold leading to boiling hot temperatures and towering seas in the centuries to come. Even if countr...

Climate change resulting from human activities made the current Europe-wide heatwave more than twice as likely to occur, say scientists. Researchers compared the current high temperatures with historical records from seven weather stations, in different parts of Europe. Their pre...

Young people will be left to pick up the bill for climate change because politicians are dodging the issue, a UK report warns. The government must act faster to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from road traffic, homes and farming, the Committee on Climate Change says. Without ...

Pope Francis has said climate change is a challenge of "epochal proportions" and that the world must convert to clean fuel. "Civilisation requires energy, but energy use must not destroy civilisation," he said. He was speaking to a group of oil company executives at the end of a ...

Science fiction has long been criticised for its lack of racial diversity and inclusion. It's rare to see a lead character who isn't white. One study of the top 100 highest-grossing films in the US showed that just eight of those 100 movies had a non-white protagonist, as of 2014...

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he will pay $4.5m (3.2m) to cover some of the lapsed US commitment to the Paris climate accord. He said he had a responsibility to help improve the environment because of President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the deal. ...

A significant shift in the system of ocean currents that helps keep parts of Europe warm could send temperatures in the UK lower, scientists have found. They say the Atlantic Ocean circulation system is weaker now than it has been for more than 1,000 years - and has changed signi...

Women are more likely than men to be affected by climate change, studies show. UN figures indicate that 80% of people displaced by climate change are women. Roles as primary caregivers and providers of food and fuel make them more vulnerable when flooding and drought occur. The 2...

The Falcon Heavy's boosters burned for 154 seconds before they were jettisoned into space. Free from the main body of the rocket, they spun 180 degrees and arced back towards the earth, burning their engines again as they descended to Cape Canaveral, to land, smoothly, improbably...

This video can not be played Watch: Collar cams reveal polar bear's-eye view High-tech tracking collars on nine female polar bears have measured the animals' efforts to find food on the diminishing Arctic ice. Each bear wore a collar - recording video, location and activity level...

This video can not be played Bhagwanti Lassi Ram is one of those being helped by Educate Girls Until you see it, it is difficult to conceive how much work many Rajasthani girls have to do before they go to school. For some, their chores take precedence and school is a last priori...

The White House has sought to downplay a major climate change report, which was compiled by 13 US federal agencies. The study is at odds with assertions from President Donald Trump and several members of his administration. It says it is "extremely likely" human activity is the "...

Scientists have responded furiously to claims about climate change made in a live BBC radio interview. Experts told BBC News that the assertions made by former Chancellor Nigel Lawson on Radio 4's Today programme were simply untrue. Lord Lawson had claimed that global temperature...

Few people outside Saudi Arabia had heard of Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud before his father became king in 2015. But now, the 35-year-old crown prince is considered the de facto ruler of the world's leading oil exporter. He has won plaudits from Western leaders for some of the ref...

The tiny oil- and gas-rich Gulf state of Qatar has been cut off by some of its powerful Arab neighbours over its alleged support for terrorism. Qatar refused to comply with an initial list of 13 demands, saying it would not agree to any measures that threatened its sovereignty or...

Ever since US President Donald Trump declared that he would withdraw the US from the landmark Paris climate change agreement, much has been made of the fact only two other countries have not signed up. They are Syria, and the Central American nation of Nicaragua - but the US is v...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to protect the landmark Paris agreement, which aims to curb climate change and fossil fuel emissions. He made the promise in a phone call with incoming French President Emmanuel Macron, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement. US Pr...

Temperature data for 2016 shows it is likely to have edged ahead of 2015 as the world's warmest year. Data from Nasa and the UK Met Office shows temperatures were about 0.07 degrees Celsius above the 2015 mark. Although the Met Office increase was within the margin of error, Nasa...

Many species will not be able to adapt fast enough to survive climate change, say scientists. A study of more than 50 plants and animals suggests their ability to adapt to changes in rainfall and temperature will be vastly outpaced by future climate change. Amphibians, reptiles a...

It's been four years since Donald Trump made a string of promises during his long 2016 campaign to be the 45th president of the United States. Four years later, his supporters often cite "promises made, promises kept" as a reason why they're backing him again. Many of them made h...

At UN climate talks in Morocco, countries say they are prepared to move ahead without the US. President-elect Trump has said that he will "cancel" the Paris Climate Agreement within 100 days of taking office. Negotiators in Marrakech say that such a move would seriously damage th...

This video can not be played A global audience joins Michael Sandel to discuss who should foot the bill Most climate scientists think the world is getting warmer and that humans are at least in part responsible. Almost every country in the world has pledged to make efforts to sta...

Climate change could have a domino effect on key infrastructure in the UK, government advisers have warned. In a 2,000-page report, the Climate Change Committee says flooding will destroy bridges - wrecking electricity, gas and IT connections carried on them. The committee also w...

The nations of the world are due to meet at the COP27 summit in Egypt, to try to agree far-reaching action on climate change. They are under pressure to improve on landmark commitments they made seven years ago in Paris. The Paris Agreement saw almost all the world's nations - fo...

As the Paris Conference of the Parties (COP21) draws near, the international spotlight is more focused on climate change than at any time since the Copenhagen talks of 2009. But amid all the talk of decarbonising energy and transport systems, one crucial area remains in the shado...

Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events around the world. One US group has given the 50 states a report card, ranking the risk of potential disasters and long-term dangerous changes. Most US states are well-prepared for current natural disas...

Musicians have written exhilarating protest songs about everything from civil rights to apartheid. Yet no-one's managed a popular song about what's meant to be the most important issue of our time. Music writer Alex Marshall asks why. For most of the past year, the United Nations...

Human societies will soon start to experience adverse effects from manmade climate change, a prominent economist has warned. Prof Richard Tol predicts the downsides of warming will outweigh the advantages with a global warming of 1.1C - which has nearly been reached already. Prof...

The UN has released its assessment of national plans to limit climate change, submitted by 146 countries. Officials say the submissions, in their current form, won't keep global temperatures from rising by more than the 2C danger threshold. The global total of carbon emissions wi...

China - the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases - has announced details of its climate action plan. The office of Premier Li Keqiang said that emissions "will peak by around 2030" and China would work hard to achieve the target even earlier. The statement echoes China's d...

International talks in Bonn have made progress towards a new global deal on climate change, says the UN, amid calls from NGOs for a faster pace. Countries are working towards options to limit greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 in time for a crunch Paris summit. The UN said progre...

Scientists are calling on world leaders to sign up to an eight-point plan of action at landmark talks in Paris. The key element is the goal to limit global warming to below 2C by moving to zero carbon emissions by 2050. The UN meeting in December is "the last chance" to avert dan...

Since there is a consensus amongst the majority of the world's scientists that temperatures are rising - most likely driven by human behaviour - why does climate change coverage seem to be drying up? Have the media lost interest? Is it a question of chronic political fatigue? Are...

Climate change could have a "huge impact" on China, reducing crop yields and harming the environment, the country's top weather scientist has warned, in a rare official admission. Zheng Guogang told Xinhua news agency that climate change could be a "serious threat" to big infrast...

Scientists and officials are meeting in Denmark to edit what's been termed the "most important document" on climate change. The IPCC Synthesis Report will summarise the causes and impacts of - and solutions to - rising temperatures. It will be the bedrock of talks on a new global...

This video can not be played The BBC's Laura Westbrook reports Street protests demanding urgent action on climate change have attracted hundreds of thousands of marchers in more than 2,000 locations worldwide. The People's Climate March is campaigning for curbs on carbon emission...

Austria, with its sensitive Alpine regions, has been particularly hard hit by climate change, a major survey says. The Austrian Climate Change Assessment Report 2014 says average temperatures in Austria have risen by almost 2C since 1880. This is compared with a global rise of 0....

A UN panel has released the most comprehensive assessment yet of the effects of climate change on our planet. Members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say the "summary for policymakers" provides overwhelming evidence of the scale of these impacts. The BBC N...

A selection of BBC reports on the possible effects of climate change in the UK and worldwide. The impacts of global warming are likely to be "severe, pervasive and irreversible", a major report by the UN has warned. Scientists and officials meeting in Japan say the document is th...

The UN's climate panel has published the second part of its long-awaited report. The document by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) considered the impacts of a warming world, vulnerabilities in human and natural systems and the potential for adaptation. Human-in...

This video can not be played Climate change "threatens our planet, our only home", warns Thomas Stocker, IPCC co-chair A landmark report says scientists are 95% certain that humans are the "dominant cause" of global warming since the 1950s. The report by the UN's climate panel de...

This video can not be played The BBC's Victoria Gill explains why the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report really matters, in just 90 seconds The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is meeting in Sweden to thresh out a critical report on global warming. S...

Global temperatures are rising as a result of human activity. People around the world are already experiencing the consequences, from more intense heatwaves to rising sea levels. Things are likely to worsen in the coming decades, but scientists argue that urgent action can still ...

It is increasingly unlikely that global warming will be kept below an increase of 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels, a study suggests. Data show that global CO2 emissions in 2012 hit 35.6bn tonnes, a 2.6% increase from 2011 and 58% above 1990 levels. The researchers say that ...

The Kingdom of Denmark has, despite its relatively small size, punched above its weight internationally. Vikings raiding from Denmark and the other Nordic nations changed the course of 9th and 10th Century European history; in the Middle Ages, the Union of Kalmar united all of Sc...

Europe's northernmost country, the Kingdom of Norway is famed for its mountains and spectacular fjord coastline, as well as its history as a seafaring power. It also enjoys one of the world's highest standards of living, in large part due to the discovery in the late 1960s of off...

BBC News environment correspondent Richard Black traces key milestones, scientific discoveries, technical innovations and political action. 1712 - British ironmonger Thomas Newcomen invents the first widely used steam engine, paving the way for the Industrial Revolution and indus...

Japan has the world's third-largest economy, having achieved remarkable growth in the second half of the 20th Century after the devastation of World War Two. Its role in the international community is considerable. It is a major aid donor, and a source of global capital and credi...

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven states that has grown from a quiet backwater to one of the Middle East's most important economic centres. Although traditionally conservative and authoritarian in government, the UAE is one of the most liberal countries in t...

Once home to several pre-colonial empires, the landlocked, arid West African country of Mali is one of the largest on the continent. For centuries, its northern city of Timbuktu was a key regional trading post and centre of Islamic culture. After independence from France in 1960,...

A chronology of key events: 1768 - Gurkha ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah conquers Kathmandu and lays foundations for unified kingdom. 1792 - Nepalese expansion halted by defeat at hands of Chinese in Tibet. 1814-16 - Anglo-Nepalese War; culminates in treaty which establishes Nepal's ...

How does adaptation differ from mitigation? And what is REDD? The jargon of climate change can be hard to grasp. Use this glossary to decode it. Adaptation Action that helps cope with the effects of climate change - for example construction of barriers to protect against rising s...