Global food prices have soared since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine over 15 months ago. Could the climate crisis make matters worse?
In this bi-weekly digest, find out how extreme weather is affecting agriculture, water and living conditions – and how we can solve these challenges by learning from our distant past.
LANDSCAPE NEWS
Over 6,000 Indigenous people recently gathered in Brazil’s capital, Brasília, to demand recognition of their land rights. Our youth program officer, Pê Magalhães, was there to investigate.
On the Philippine island of Mindanao, young people are building food sovereignty by saving seeds. Here’s what that looks like from our Forest Restoration Steward, Gloria Amor Paredes.
Aquaculture is the world’s fastest-growing food sector, but its green track record has been spotty. Here’s how it can feed us more sustainably.
PEOPLE
Could our food be in for a major climate shock? If extreme weather were to hit two breadbasket regions at the same time, the effects could be calamitous for the world’s wheat supply.
The climate crisis isn’t the only factor causing floods: another culprit is plastic waste blocking drainage systems for over 200 million people.
Across Latin America, migrants fleeing insecurity and economic instability are finding themselves displaced yet again by climate disasters.
Last year, swathes of Pakistan were left underwater for months. This renowned 82-year-old architect wants to flood-proof her country before it happens again.
PLANET
Europe has lost a quarter of its bird population in the last 40 years, thanks in large part to pesticides and fertilizers.
These monitoring stations were originally set up to measure air pollution. As it turns out, they can also tell us a lot about biodiversity.
In the northeastern U.S., birds and other wildlife have set up hosue in the unlikeliest of habitats: airports.
Five years ago, Mexico banned fishing in this marine park despite protests from the fishing industry. Today, there are still plenty of fish to fry elsewhere.
CLIMATE
At the current rate of global heating, a third of humanity could be living in unbearably heat conditions by 2090, up from 9 percent today.
Is Europe about to run out of water? Amid its worst drought in 500 years, the continent’s reservoirs are running precariously low.
While climate finance is growing, rich countries are vastly overstating the amount of aid they’re providing to the Global South, according to Oxfam.
The Earth’s climate has changed throughout human history (though never this quickly). So, what lessons can we learn from our ancestors to tackle today’s climate emergency?
BUSINESS
Solar investments are expected to attract USD 1 billion a day in 2023 – more than enough to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. But where will our old solar panels go when they’re retired?
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund – the world’s biggest investment fund – is calling on ExxonMobil and Chevron to do more to reduce emissions.
Delta Air Lines billed itself as the world’s first carbon-neutral airline. It’s now facing a class-action lawsuit for its controversial use of offsets.
It’s been a decade since the first lab-grown meat burger was made. So, why hasn’t the technology taken off yet?
POLICY
Brazil’s Congress has voted to strip the country’s environment and Indigenous ministries of some of their powers. Conservative lawmakers are also seeking to scupper the delimitation of Indigenous lands.
Mexico’s president and supreme court are at odds over the Maya Train project, which is scything through 1,500 kilometers of rainforest and – ironically – Mayan communities.
Last year, China accounted for 59 percent of the world’s electric car sales – and this tropical island is showing the rest of the country how it’s done.
And in Australia, this remote marine park is set to be tripled in size, making it larger than Germany.
