What’s going on here? Once thought to be almost extinct, the blue whale population is believed to be making a strong recovery and even suspected to be stabilising. A bank of audio recordings has demonstrated their resurgence. What does this mean? The blue whale, the largest animal to have ever existed, faced extinction towards the middle of the twentieth century due to commercial whaling. An international ban on hunting blue whales was introduced in the mid-1960s, however, hunting of the animals was continued by the Soviet Union beyond this time. The whales still face significant threats from ..read more

“Too many newsrooms chasing the news, but missing the story.” Inspired by Tortoise Media – the slow newsroom – this article unpacks the recent controversy surrounding the corporate climate action group, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The initiative was founded to produce science-aligned decarbonisation standards and guidance for organisations, and has become “the de facto standard embraced by the climate action ecosystem”. Last month, after announcing that it intended to revise its standard to allow corporations to offset a larger portion of their emissions, the world-lead ..read more

On April 22nd the world celebrated the 54th Earth Day. This year’s theme was ‘Planet vs Plastics’ – a demand that we act now to create a plastic-free future and safeguard the health of every living being upon our planet. The organisation Earth Day is committed “to end plastics for the sake of human and planetary health, demanding a 60% reduction in the production of plastics by 2040″. Let’s delve into some of the impacts of plastic pollution, and explore sustainable approaches to overcoming this crisis. Plastic vs Planet Across the globe, governments, organisations and individuals are taking a ..read more

What’s going on here? Last week, global leaders gathered in Ottawa to discuss the state of global plastic consumption. The meeting is part of wider United Nations negotiations to create the first treaty to address plastic pollution. The treaty stems from a 2022 UN Environment Programme resolution where member states agreed to “forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024.”   What does this mean? A treaty is due by the end of this year (2024). The negotiations last week centred on how ambitious it should be in its first iteration, with many countries divided on definitions ..read more

What’s going on here? Last week, the Scottish Government announced it was scrapping the country’s legally binding climate target to reduce emissions by 75% by 2030. This is despite Scotland having been the first country in the world to declare a climate emergency. What does this mean? This news comes after the Climate Change Committee said that the 2030 target was ‘unachievable’ – and after eight out of the previous 12 annual targets had also been missed. Scotland still has a target of being net zero by 2045  – five years earlier than the UK government’s goal). But Friends of the Earth Sc ..read more

What’s going on here? A group of women in Switzerland are celebrating after winning a landmark case in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). They argue that by failing to address climate change, their government is putting them at risk of premature death in a heatwave. In a historic decision last week, the Court agreed with them. What does this mean? The case was brought by a group of Swiss women mostly in their 70s, known as the KlimaSeniorinnen or Senior Women for Climate Protection. Their case argued that they are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of extreme heat. Many of t ..read more

2024 can, and should, be thought of as the year of the election. A record number of voters worldwide will cast their ballots across 64 countries and the European Union, representing around 49% of the global population. The results of these elections will shape the second half of this decade, with wide-reaching consequences. Let’s have a closer look at some of these elections, and how they could affect climate change policy going forward. United States In November, US voters will choose between the Democratic Joe Biden for a second consecutive term, or Republican Donald Trump.  In his firs ..read more

UK emissions fall below Victorian levels. What’s going on here? A recent study conducted by the Carbon Brief recorded a 5.7% fall in the UK’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2023 compared to the previous year. Emissions in 2023 fell to their lowest level since 1879, with carbon dioxide emissions dropping below 400MtCO2e (million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) for the first time since Victorian times.  The primary cause of the 5.7% fall in GHG emissions is attributed to a 20% reduction in gas as a source of domestic power. With the UK reverting to its long standing positi ..read more

The 20th of March was World Rewilding Day! In honour of this, and to help you beat the post-bank-holiday blues, I have collected a hopeful handful of rewilding wins that 2024 has already witnessed just 3 months in! These range from airlifting tortoises back into the wild to ground-breaking new environmental protection measures. If conservationists, policy-makers, and environmental managers around the world are starting as they mean to go on, then 2024 looks set to be a great year for rewilding. Galapagos tortoise. Image credit: Alexa via Pixabay.Early January- 136 giant Galapagos tortoises rel ..read more

What’s going on here? The first day of April marks the beginning of Citizen Science Month! In this month, we celebrate the valuable contributions of ordinary people, who put great efforts into collecting data and conducting scientific research, regardless of their educational backgrounds. Citizen Science Month strives to raise awareness of environmental challenges and to empower individuals around the globe to contribute in their own way, making positive impacts for the scientific community.   What does this mean? Initiated by SciStarter in 2016 and supported by the National Library ..read more