What’s going on here? The EU has agreed to update their international environmental laws to criminalise harmful environmental actions. This could mean corporations that cause serious environmental harm may end up with key staff members facing arrest and prison time.  What does this mean? Ecocide is defined by Stop Ecocide International as “the mass damage and destruction of the natural living world – severe harm to nature which is widespread or long-term”. The decision made by the EU means that large scale environmental damage will become a criminal offence. The directive is expected to b ..read more

In 2022, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework recognised biodiversity credits as one of the ways to finance a global deal for nature. Since then, there’s been a flurry of activity as governments, businesses, and project hosts prepare for market development. Colombia and Australia pioneered the sale of voluntary biodiversity credits not long after COP15.  The European market sold its first domestic credits in the Spring/Summer of 2023. The UK is in the process of establishing its standards and governance. Leaning on the experience of environmental markets experts, Stefanie ..read more

Climate Litigation is here to stay, but what does this mean for you? Climate litigation has been on the rise over the last decade but what has caused this increase? And what does this even mean for our regular everyday life? What is Climate Litigation? Climate Litigation is the act of taking legal action to combat the climate crisis and involves arguments relating to climate change. An example of recent litigation in the UK is the ongoing lawsuit ClientEarth brought against the UK government over their climate plan. When and how does climate litigation occur? These types of lawsuits occur when ..read more

What’s going on here? The UK is planning to build a new satellite which will help detect and monitor global heating and natural disasters from space.  It will be among the first in a new network of satellites called the Atlantic Constellation. The satellites observe the land and shares data with other members, including Spain and Portugal. What does this mean? The Atlantic Constellation is an innovative global project developing satellites to monitor the Earth’s oceans and climate. It aims to collect data on natural disasters, such as storms. This data is valuable because these severe wea ..read more

You may have heard about the importance of sharks in our seas. But this week, we are taking a deeper dive with Julian Engel, Senior Analyst at OceanMind and Co-Initiator of the Stop Finning EU initiative. Through this initiative, with passion, and teamwork, they managed to get 1,000,000 signatures needed in order to speak in front of the European Commission to demand a ban on shark finning trade. Firstly, why are sharks so important to our seas? There are ecological reasons why we should be very concerned about the decline of sharks, which in the last 70 years have seen a 90% reduction in numb ..read more

What is going on here?  The World Health Organisation’s top environmental health expert, Maria Neira, has warned that delays in addressing the impacts of air pollution will have dire consequences for global health. On the eve of COP28, she gave the following warning: “Whether they like it or not – whether they know it or not – the negotiators at Cop are negotiating with our health,”. What does this mean? Air pollution consists of harmful gases and particulate matter that have contaminated the air around us. This type of pollution is typically the result of human activity such as burning f ..read more

Artificial Intelligence is coming…well actually, it’s already here and changing a lot of our working practices (whoever knew ChatGPT could have so many useful and useless applications eh?!) But for us Curious Earthers the question is, what are the environmental and social implications of these new technological developments? How could AI contribute to a sustainable future, and even accelerate action in a meaningful and impactful way? And conversely – what are the environmental and social downsides to watch-out for  as developments continue?  This week, we’re diving deeper into the op ..read more

What’s going on here?  In a remarkable display of unity and determination, Nigeria’s grassroots activists are joining forces to confront the formidable challenge of climate change, spanning from the arid landscapes of Bauchi State to the oil-rich Niger Delta. In the country’s northern regions like Bauchi desertification looms large, encroaching on a staggering 63.83% of Nigeria’s total land area. The grassroots warriors plant trees, share knowledge, and resist desertification, not just for the planet but to protect our homes. What does this mean? The Niger Delta, a region grappling with t ..read more

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an international treaty that provides the framework for the conservation of wetlands. Worldwide there are currently 2,494 Ramsar sites, protecting 256,878,029 hectares. Despite this treaty, wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests. What are wetlands? Wetlands are defined as “land areas where the soil is saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally”. There are many types of wetland and they can look very different. Anything from a boggy area in your garden, to a floodplain, to an extensive area of reed-beds – all are cla ..read more

If you’re reading this it’s probably safe to say you’re kind of into the whole environment thing…. But how do you go from being interested to being part of the movement? Don’t worry, we’re here to show you how!  What does an activist look like? You might think that in order to play your part in the fight against the climate crisis, you need to be chaining yourself to buildings, marching with a banner, or throwing paint around, but direct action is just one part of it.  An activist doesn’t always look like the protestors we see in the news. Activism can involve anything from writing a ..read more