Hannah Fishburn

The retreat of sea ice is opening up new feeding grounds for giant whales along the coast of East Greenland.

This is the finding of a decades-long study, which has recorded and filmed hundreds of humpback, minke and fin whales feeding in coastal waters during the summer months.

These waters were once largely inaccessible to the whales, with sea ice acting as a natural barrier. As the ocean warms and the ice melts, the whales are now able to reach areas they could not previously access.

Prof Heide-Jørgensen, from the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, told BBC News that the changes in the region were “probably the most radical we can see anywhere in the subarctic”.

The transformation is linked to both rising sea temperatures and changes in food availability. Fish have been moving into East Greenland’s warmer waters, providing a new source of food for the visiting whales.

Researchers estimate that humpback, minke and fin whales could consume at least 800,000 tonnes of fish and krill over a summer feeding season.

Scientists have described these gatherings as seasonal Arctic “feeding frenzies”—a striking example of how warming temperatures are changing the balance of life in the ocean.

The arrival of these whales offers a fascinating glimpse into how marine animals are responding to a changing climate, while also highlighting the scale of the changes taking place across the Arctic.

A major tree-planting initiative in the North East has secured government funding to continue its work until at least 2030.

The North East Community Forest (NECF) is one of several community forests receiving support through the second phase of the government’s Trees for Climate programme. The initiative works across Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland and urban areas throughout County Durham.

The extended funding will help NECF continue creating new woodlands and expanding green spaces across the region. The organisation says the support provides “the confidence and stability needed to continue creating woodlands”, helping it plan for the future and deliver long-term benefits for local communities and wildlife.

Since its launch in 2021, NECF has planted more than 642,000 trees and created almost 700 hectares of new woodland across the North East.

Forest manager Lloyd Jones said:

“With long-term funding in place, we are well positioned to expand our impact and deliver lasting benefits for communities and the environment across the North East.”

The organisation’s progress has continued through the 2025–26 planting season, when it planted 125,375 trees and created 158 hectares of new woodland, hedgerows and open-space habitats across the region. NECF’s work also includes supporting community-focused projects, such as Ouseburn Farm in Byker, a nature-based play and learning project in Newcastle, and the planting of a Sycamore Gap sapling on the city’s Town Moor.

Since 2021, the Trees for Climate programme has helped new trees take root across the NECF region, stretching from North Shields to Newton Aycliffe.

Youth volunteers help rebuild flood-hit village

A group of young volunteers from Birmingham has travelled thousands of miles to one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, helping communities in northern Pakistan prepare for future climate-related disasters.

The volunteers, aged between 18 and 25, raised almost £50,000 through community fundraising before travelling to the remote district of Ghizer in Gilgit-Baltistan with Birmingham-based charities Bahu Trust and Islamic Help.

For several days, they lived alongside families in the mountain village of Tali Das, sharing meals and listening to residents describe how climate change has affected their lives. The village was rebuilt after a glacial lake outburst flood forced residents to leave their original homes. During their visit, the young volunteers helped establish a climate disaster rescue centre, designed to provide local people with emergency equipment and training.

The centre will help residents respond quickly to floods, landslides and other climate-related emergencies while waiting for emergency services to reach the remote area. The group also supported the community by planting trees and helping to renovate a school.

Northern Pakistan is home to more than 7,000 glaciers, making it the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar regions. As temperatures rise, many glaciers are retreating, increasing the risk of unstable glacial lakes and potentially devastating floods.

For the Birmingham volunteers, seeing the impacts of climate change first-hand made an issue often discussed in classrooms and online feel much more personal.

Major Landscape Restoration Project Begins in Northumberland

An ambitious new landscape restoration project is underway in Northumberland, following the purchase of the 3,035-hectare Emblehope Estate by environmental organisation RESTORE.

The project aims to restore nature and improve climate resilience across the landscape over the next 30 years. Plans include rewetting around 800 hectares of peatland, restoring native plants and habitats, and introducing low-intensity grazing to support biodiversity. 🌱

The restored peatland could also help reduce flooding by storing an estimated 100,000 cubic metres of additional water, acting like a giant natural sponge and slowing water flowing downstream.

The project is a major example of how restoring natural ecosystems can benefit wildlife, communities and the climate — showing the positive impact that large-scale nature recovery can have.

Find out more here

Renewable Energy Reaches a Turning Point

The global energy system could be reaching a “tipping point”, with renewable energy continuing to grow at an impressive rate.

According to a new review by the Energy Institute, global electricity use increased by 3% in 2025, with renewables providing enough additional electricity to meet the entire increase. Solar power grew by an incredible 30%, while global battery capacity increased by 66%.

China continued to lead the growth in renewable energy, installing more wind and solar power than the rest of the world combined. India also saw renewable generation increase by almost 24%, alongside a fall in electricity generated from coal, oil and gas.

However, global emissions are still rising. The review highlights the need for faster action to improve energy efficiency, switch to cleaner technologies and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

The rapid growth of renewable energy is encouraging, but the message is clear: we need to keep accelerating the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable energy system.

Helping New Woodlands Store More Carbon

New research from Imperial College London has found that adding crushed basalt to newly planted forests could increase the amount of carbon they store by up to 27% over four years.

Scientists also found that adding microorganisms from established forests to woodland soils helped young trees grow, increasing aboveground plant growth by 13% over the same period.

The study tested these approaches across 72 new woodland plots in Wales, exploring how simple, nature-based interventions could help young forests establish more successfully.

Healthy new woodlands are important for biodiversity, climate action and resilient landscapes. While more research and long-term monitoring is needed, these findings could help improve future woodland creation projects and support young forests as they grow.

Europe Experiencing Record-Breaking Heatwave

Large parts of Europe are experiencing an exceptionally severe heatwave, with temperatures breaking records across several countries.

A new analysis by World Weather Attribution has found that a heatwave of this severity would have been “virtually impossible” 50 years ago. Scientists say human-caused climate change has made extreme heat events significantly more likely.

Researchers compared the current heatwave with major European heatwaves in 1976 and 2003. They found that an event like this would have been extremely unlikely in the cooler climate of 1976, while compared with 2003, heatwaves of this severity are now tens to hundreds of times more likely.

The findings provide another clear example of how a warming climate is changing the weather we experience, with extreme heat becoming more frequent and intense.

As temperatures continue to rise, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking action to tackle climate change is more important than ever.

Mangrove Forests Are Making a Comeback

There is some positive news for our planet’s coastal ecosystems. Scientists have found that mangrove forests are now growing globally after decades of decline.

Mangroves are incredibly important. They protect coastal communities from storms and flooding while also absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide.

For many years, mangrove forests were being destroyed to make way for fish farms, housing and other developments. However, since 2010, the world has gained more mangrove forest than it has lost. Stronger legal protection and greater awareness of their importance have helped drive this change.

One of the most encouraging findings is that mangroves have an amazing ability to regenerate naturally when people stop cutting them down.

Fine out more here

New Hope for Climate-Resilient Coral Reefs

Scientists have discovered that climate-resilient coral reefs may be far more widespread than previously thought, offering hope for the future of our oceans.

Researchers analysed more than 45,000 coral surveys alongside decades of climate and ocean data. They identified almost 166,000 square kilometres of coral reefs across 71 countries and 100 territories that may have the ability to survive and recover from the impacts of climate change.

This is particularly important as coral reefs are facing increasing threats from rising ocean temperatures and mass coral bleaching. Between 2023 and 2025, extreme heat affected almost 84% of the world’s coral reef area.

The discovery of these resilient reefs highlights the importance of protecting and conserving areas that could act as refuges for coral and marine life as our climate continues to change.

While coral reefs remain under serious threat, identifying places with greater natural resilience gives scientists and conservationists valuable opportunities to focus protection and restoration efforts where they could have the greatest impact.

UN General Assembly backs ‘historic’ climate resolution

On the 20^th May the UN General Assembly approved a “historic” resolution calling on countries to comply with their climate obligations, as stated by the landmark advisory opinion that was published last year by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Last July, in the opinion first requested by the Pacific island state of Vanatu, the court ruled that harming the climate by increasing fossil fuel production may constitute an “international wrongful act”. This could allow affected countries to claim compensation from those responsible.

Following on from this a dozen nations, led by Vanuatu, submitted a proposal to the UN to recognise the advisory opinion and find ways to implement it.

Several large oil-producing attempted to amend the resolution to weaken the text, but this was rejected and the UN adopted the resolution with 141 countries in favour.

The resolution urges countries to employ measures to cut carbon emissions, including by tripling renewable energy capacity, “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems”, and phasing out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies.

Recycling could meet half of Europe’s critical mineral needs by 2050

Recovering critical minerals from waste such as used batteries, end-of-life vehicles and electronic equipment could meet more than half of Europe’s demand by 2050, a new report says.It would also reduce their dependence on imports of critical minerals vital for manufacturing clean energy technologies – from electric vehicles (EVs) to solar panels and wind turbines.

Some of these critical minerals include lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements which are largely lost during collection or waste processing.

In 2022, about 2 million metric tons of these minerals were contained in waste. This is expected to grow to up to 6 million tons by 2050 in the 27 EU countries plus Switzerland, Norway, the UK and Iceland.

From the 2 million tons of critical minerals found, about half was recovered as “secondary raw materials”, which means they are collected in some form but not processed. If all these secondary raw materials already collected were functionally recycled, they could supply up to 56% of Europe’s critical minerals demand by 2050, the study estimates.

El Niño expected to bring next record-hot year as soon as 2027

The weather system ‘El Niño’ could make 2027 the hottest year ever, the UN’s weather agency has warned.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s has predicted that there is an 86% chance that at least one year between 2026 and 2030 will surpass 2024 as the warmest year on record.

Global average temperatures reached 1.55C above pre-industrial levels in 2024, when the last El Niño event supercharged human-made warming primarily caused by the greenhouse gas emissions generated through burning fossil fuels.

Meteorologists expect El Niño – a natural climate pattern marked by unusually warm ocean surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean-to start developing as early as this month.

Researchers warn that a strong El Niño risks exacerbating extreme weather conditions, leading to more severe wildfires, droughts, storms and floods.

It has also been reported that there is a 91% chance that the key 1.5C warming threshold will be temporarily exceeded again for at least one year between 2026 and 2030. This occuring in a single year does not mean that themost ambitious global warming goal enshrined in the Paris Agreement has been lost. But the UN conceded last year that a “multi-decadal” breach is very likely to happen within the next decade.

Record Breaking Day for Renewable Energy Generation

On Wednesday 22^nd April, Great Britain’s electricity grid ran on a record-breaking 98.8% zero-carbon energy, for a short period between 15:30 and 16:00, surpassing the previous record of 97.7% set in April 2025.

Gas usage sank to a historic low, making up just 1.2% of the energy mix, meaning that virtually all of Britain’s twenty-eight million homes and five million businesses were being powered by clean energy for the half hour period. Over 50% came from wind, 34.4% from nuclear, 9.8% from biomass, 2.2% from solar, 1.5% from hydro and the remaining 0.8% from batteries, which store generated zero-carbon energy when generation exceeds demand.

This record shows that Britan’s electricity can be safely and securely run on clean energy. In addition, as well as an overall zero-carbon record, April 2026 also saw solar generation reaching new highs on two consecutive days.  

Researchers Develop Battery Recycling with Carbon Capture

Researchers have developed a new battery recycling with carbon capture that not only recovers valuable battery materials more efficiently but also captures carbon dioxide during the process.

Demand for batteries is rising rapidly, as electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and electronics expand worldwide. But with this growth comes a challenge; what do we do with the millions of batteries once they reach the end of their life?

Battery recycling with carbon capture is a new approach to manage this surge in waste. Traditional battery recycling methods can be energy intensive and rely on harsh chemicals to extract the materials, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, generating emissions and environmental impacts which can partially offset the climate benefits of using batteries in the first place. But battery recycling with carbon capture is a new method which uses a pressurised mixture of carbon dioxide and water, instead of harsh chemicals, to recover materials from the used batteries.

Using this new approach, researchers recovered about 95% of the lithium contained in the batteries. The remaining metals in the batteries, such as cobalt, manganese and nickel, are transformed into useful catalysts that can help produce green hydrogen fuel, another important technology for reducing carbon emissions.

Improved and efficient battery recycling is a critically important part of making the entire battery lifecycle more sustainable as recovering metals reduces the need to mine new materials, which has significant environmental impacts such as land disturbance, water use and greenhouse gas emissions. Battery recycling with carbon capture offers a way to support a more circular economy by reintroducing recovered materials from used batteries into the battery manufacturing supply chain. At the same time, capturing carbon during recycling helps reduce associated emissions.

Early results are promising and researchers are taking the next step to refine and scale the process.

Europe Named Fastest-Warming Continent in Latest Climate Change Report

The United Nations (UN) released a joint report with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in April 2026 which states that Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with nearly all of Europe experiencing above-average annual temperatures in 2025.

Hot and dry conditions across Europe in 2025 fuelled more frequent and intense wildfires, burning over 2.5 million acres of land, caused below average annual flows for 70% of Europe’s rivers and impacted snow cover, which feel by nearly 30%.

The report highlights that climate change is not a future threat but a present reality and evidences the need for more urgent action to be taken.

Winners of the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize Announced

Six grassroot environmental activists from around the world have been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in honour of their work to fight climate change and improve biodiversity:

• Iroro Tanshi (Nigeria) – rediscovered the endangered short-tailed roundleaf bat and has been working to save its habitat, the Alfi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, from human-induced wildfires through a community-led campaign.
• Borim Kim (South Korea) – started the Youth 4 Climate Action organisation and won a ruling that the South Korean government’s climate policy violated the constitutional rights of future generations, the first successful youth-led climate litigation in Asia.
• Sarah Finch (UK) – fought oil drilling in South-Eastern England for more than a decade, alongside the Weald Action Group, securing the ‘Finch ruling’ from the Supreme Court in June 2024 that authorities must consider fossil fuels’ impacts on the global climate before granting permission to extract them. This legal precedent has already stopped the development of subsequent fossil fuel extraction projects across the UK.
• Theonila Roka Matbob (Papua New Guinea) – led a successful campaign that saw the world’s second-largest mining company agree to address environmental and social devastation caused by its Panguna copper mine. Despite having abandoned the site 35 years ago, the company didn’t formally acknowledge the wide range of harms the mine has caused and begin address the urgent risks until this campaign.
• Alannah Acaq Hurley (US) – led a campaign, acting on behalf of 15 tribal nations, to stop a mega copper and gold mining project (what would have been North America’s largest open-pit mine) that threatened ecosystems in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. The victory safeguards Bristol Bay and its greater watershed, encompassing 25 million acres of wilderness, rivers and wetland and home to the largest wild salmon runs in the world.
• Yuvelis Morales Blanco (Colombia) – after a major spill in 2018 forced the relocation of dozens of local families and killed thousands of animals, Yuvelis took on some of the world’s biggest oil companies to successfully stop the introduction of commercial fracking into Colombia.

Learn more about the current and past winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize here: https://www.goldmanprize.org/all-winners/

World’s First Vertical Floating Solar Plant Begins Operating

The push for renewable energy requires innovative solutions, such as the world’s first vertical floating solar plant, which is now operating on an artificial lake, Lake Jais, in Bavaria, Germany.

Each segment requires only a narrow submerged base to secure the panels and allow controlled movement under wind and fluctuating water levels. The system is connected to the grid via a floating cable and a shore-based feed in point, minimising disruption to the lake’s ecosystem. The vertical orientation of the solar panels offers several advantages. The panels face east and west which increases morning and evening output, times when traditional solar systems produce less energy. The spacing between the panels also allows wind to pass through more easily, reducing wear and tear on the structure.

Like many other countries, Germany has thousands of artificial lakes from mining and quarrying activities, many of which sit idle after operations cease. Floating solar instillations on these artificial lakes provide opportunities for solar energy generation without occupying land. The Lake Jais vertical floating solar plant only covers 4.65% of the lake’s surface and environmental monitoring has shown no negative ecological impact since the installation. Findings suggest that vertical floating solar plants can coexist with aquatic ecosystems, with waterfowl observed creating nests on the floating sections and schools of fish observed gathering around the submerged sections. It also has the potential to be used to complement offshore wind farms, as wind and solar generation patterns often differ; combining both technologies could provide a more stable source of electricity.

Research still needs to be carried out across different climate and water conditions, with winter ice formation and extreme temperatures presenting potential challenges, but offshore floating solar could be an exciting new addition to the renewable technology field.

Wildlife Can Help Tackle and Mitigate Climate Change

Wildlife can help us tackle climate change. Studies examining the impact of wildlife’s natural behaviour has uncovered some fascinating results. For example, a study published in the science journal Nature found that just one forest elephant can increase the net carbon capture capacity of a forest by almost 250 acres. This is the equivalent of removing a year’s worth of emissions of 2,047 cars from the atmosphere.

Another study, by the World Federation for Animals, found that digging mammals help to trap leaf litter and increase soil nutrients as they dig their burrows, which helps to sequester more carbon. It also helps retain moisture in forests that are increasingly dry and vulnerable to more intense and frequent wildfires.

A study carried out by the University of Birmingham found that beavers are able to engineer riverbeds in ways which prevent carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere. By building dams, beavers flood stream margins, create wetlands and trap large amounts or organic and inorganic material, including carbon. In 2025, a family of beavers made headlines after building a dam exactly where authorities in the Czech Republic had been planning one, saving taxpayers around £1,000,000. As well as storing carbon, preventing it from entering the atmosphere, beaver dams also help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Beaver dams act as a firebreak, with beaver-dammed areas three times less affected by wildfires, and provide a natural flood defence, protecting surrounding areas.

Along with further research, to understand wildlife’s crucial role in shaping ecosystems and carbon capture, we also need more policies to safeguard and restore wild animal populations around the world.

Renewable Microgrids

Renewable microgrids are small-scale localised power networks that generate, store and distribute electricity from renewable sources such as wind, hydro and solar.

Popping up around the world, small communities design and build their own renewable microgrids. Although they initially require investment and funding, the microgrids provide reliable and cheaper energy for residents and shield them from price surges in response to global politics.

One example is Feldheim, a small village in Germany. Since 1990, local residents have come together to create a renewable energy microgrid, building a wind farm, biogas plant, solar plant and battery storage to generate and store green electricity in their village. Each household invested in the network, and they secured funding from state and EU grants.

Their microgrid now produces hundreds of millions of kWh of electricity every year, far more than the local population needs, with less than 1% being consumed by local residents. The remaining 99% is therefore able to be sold to the national grid, generating local revenue.

Similar renewable microgrids exist in other small communities around the world, such as Knoydart and the Isle of Eigg in Scotland and Kodiak Island in Alaska, demonstrating how this approach can work in different locations. But this approach relies on good communication and community trust and investment to work, so scaling this approach to larger communities would be more challenging.

Youth-Led Organisations Improve Flood Education and Adaptation Measures in Nigeria and Uganda

Two youth-led organisations, Green Quest and SV4CASH (Smart Village for Climate Action Self-Help) are helping to educate residents in Nigeria and Uganda, where climate-driven flooding destroys critical infrastructure and homes, and displaces and threatens thousands of families each year.

Their strategies focus on education first. Young volunteers will teach neighbours about flood preparedness, waste management, and early warning systems through interactive games, storytelling and hands-on learning. They will also create community-based early warning initiatives, so residents get alerts before water rises, giving families critical time to evacuate and secure belongings.

The projects also plan to build natural solutions like rain gardens and permeable pavements that reduce standing water and improve drainage across the communities. Additionally, volunteers will organize drainage maintenance campaigns and cleanup drives to reduce flood risk factors.

The projects intentionally weave in local knowledge and Indigenous traditions, ensuring solutions fit the specific needs and culture of each area while building on what residents already know works. They also showcase the power of youth action, demonstrating that young people are creating solutions to the climate challenges.

Heatwaves – Australia’s Soaring Summer Temperatures

Australians are no stranger to hot weather but since the 2019/20 bushfires, which burned through an area the size of the UK, the arrival of warmer weather is often accompanied by dread.

In the first week of January, South-East Australia experienced its most significant heatwave since the 2019/20 bushfires, with temperatures reaching up to 45°C. At the end of January another heatwave hit, with temperatures in the small town of Andamooka reaching 50°C, only the eighth time this has happened in recorded history in Australia.

Climate scientists have been able to conclude that these extreme heatwaves were made five times more likely by the climate crisis. The impact on human and wildlife’s health is marked; extreme heat is the most common cause of weather-related hospitalisations and species such as Koalas and Flying Foxes are struggling to find water.

As in other parts of the world, the pressure to turn away from fossil fuels will only keep growing. Residents and conservationists in Australia are calling for more immediate action to be taken and for the government to move away from fossil fuels. Since 2022, the government has approved 33 new coal and gas developments or extensions, which will release a significant amount of greenhouse gases over their lifetimes.

Tackling Construction Industry Emissions with Coffee Grounds Concrete

Researchers in Australia have developed coffee grounds concrete that’s 30% stronger than traditional concrete while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 26%.

Over six million tonnes of coffee waste is produced globally. Most of this waste ends up in landfills, but scientists at RMIT University are hoping to change that. They discovered that by heating the coffee waste up to 350°C, without oxygen, they can create biochar, a stable material that can replace sand in concrete.

The results show clear environmental benefits. Traditional concrete production relies on sand mining, which damages ecosystems and generates significant carbon emissions, and concrete alone accounts for about 8% of global CO₂ emissions. Replacing just 15% of sand with coffee biochar cuts CO₂ emissions by 26% and reduces fossil fuel consumption by 31%. It also eases pressures on river and lake ecosystems where sand mining traditionally takes place.

Scientists are continuing to research and test the material, including optimal production methods and long term durability, and are hoping to bring it into widespread adoption soon.

Renewables on the Rise

2025 was a good year for renewables! Following a 19% increase in solar capacity, wind and solar power produced more electricity in the European Union (EU) than fossil fuels for the first time. Wind and solar generated 30% of the EU’s electricity in 2025, ahead of the 29% generated by fossil fuel power plants running on coal, gas or oil.

In the UK, a record number of renewable projects were given the go-ahead in 2025. Planning approvals for battery, wind and solar power in the UK have risen by more than 400% over the past five years. This will significantly increase the UK’s capacity to generate and store clean electricity. As well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy will also allow the UK to move away from the turbulent fossil fuel market where prices and supply fluctuate as a result geopolitical instability.

Energy Dashboard is a fantastic website which allows you to see how electricity in the UK is currently being generated: https://www.energydashboard.co.uk/live. You can also view a map of the distribution of the largest generation and battery storage sites in the UK: https://www.energydashboard.co.uk/map

Wetter Winters in the UK

January has been a very wet month across the UK, including in the North East, with persistent spells of heavy rain and strong winds. Overall, the UK recorded 17% more rainfall than the long-term average for January.

Above average rainfall in November and December meant that the ground had become so saturated that even moderate rainfall had a greater impact. Flooding was seen across the UK, particularly in Northern Ireland and South-Western England who experienced one of their wettest January’s on record.  

The reason is simple physics: warmer air holds more water vapour, meaning heavier downpours. Professor Hayley Fowler from Newcastle University was interviewed by the Guardian. “We’ve seen a rapid increase in warming and that has a huge knock-on effect on rainfall. It’s directly attributable to fossil fuel burning and the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so it’s going to continue until we stop.”

Hidden Power of Fungi

Dr. Toby Kiers is an evolutionary biologist and Professor at Vrije University, Amsterdam. She has been awarded the 2026 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for her research into mycorrhizal fungi, which has fundamentally advanced understanding of the living systems beneath our feet.

Mycorrhizal fungi are vast underground networks of microscopic threads that link plant roots together, allowing plants to exchange water, nutrients and carbon, and store carbon in soils. Kiers research has revealed the scale of these networks influence: plants allocate an estimated 13 billion tonnes of carbon each year to mycorrhizal fungi, making them significantly more important to global climate regulation than we initially thought.

Dr. Kiers is committed to ensuring that underground biodiversity is recognised and protected. She co-founded SPUN, the society for the protection of underground networks, an international organisation dedicated to mapping and safeguarding mycorrhizal fungal biodiversity worldwide. Together with her team she helped create the world’s first underground atlas, a high resolution digital map that can be used by scientists, conservationists and policymakers to identify and protect these critical underground ecosystems.

The First Young Planet Leaders Changemaker Academy

In December the first Young Planet Leaders Changemaker Academy class graduated. 38 students, aged 14 – 22, representing 19 countries and six continents, came together for a series of online workshops that gave them the tools needed to create meaningful environmental change.

After hearing from a variety of thinkers, activists, inventors, and policy experts, who have shaped national or global conversations, each student designed a local climate solution. Some projects focused on conservation, others on circular economies and some aimed to educate, mobilize, or engineer new forms of renewable energy. At the end of the programme, students submitted their proposals to the young planet leaders board for review.

Three students received funding to help realise their projects:

• Marcella Azuekwu – Lagos Menstrual Dignity Project
• Shahed Anan Sajeeeb; Seed to Success Project
• Tumiso Mathenge; Girl to Girl Uwezo project

Applications for 2026 cohorts will open soon, so keep an eye on the Young Planet Leaders website: https://youngplanetleaders.org/academy/

Solar Panels in Space

Could solar panels in space provide energy security? New research from King’s College London reveals that solar panels in space could provide continuous clean energy for Europe, replacing most land-based renewables and reducing battery storage needs by over two-thirds.

Dr. Wei He, who led the research team at King’s College London, explains that space-based solar power offers something that wind turbines and rooftop panels cannot: constant, reliable energy generation. Unlike solar farms on Earth, that stop producing energy at night or during cloudy weather, solar panels in space would generate power around the clock.

However, the study acknowledges the challenges faced before space solar panels become a reality. Building the panels, launching them into orbit, and maintaining them in space remains prohibitively expensive with current technology. Only significant advances in space launch systems and manufacturing could bring costs down.

To see solar panels in space we will need sustained investment in research, cooperation and knowledge sharing between countries and continued innovation in space technology. But if the projections prove accurate, orbital solar farms could transform how we generate electricity within a generation.

Extreme Weather in South and South-East Asia – Cyclones and Monsoon Rains

Tropical cyclones have combined with heavy monsoon rains, fuelling intense wind and rain in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. More than 1,600 people were killed, and flooding and mudslides have devastated areas across the region displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

A world weather attribution study found that climate change made the extreme rainfall behind the disasters more intense and much more likely to occur. Whilst monsoon rains often occur, scientists said that this level of intensity was not normal.

COP30, or the 30^th UN Climate Change Conference, was hosted in Belém, Brazil. Held annually, COP is a major global summit, bringing together scientists, researchers, policy makers and world leaders from around the globe.

56,000 representatives from 194 countries attended COP30, making it the second largest COP in history. Indigenous voices were prominent with over 5000 participants, the highest representation at a COP to date.

COP30 was a major checkpoint for the Paris Agreement, marking ten years since this historic agreement. Every five years, each country’s progress is checked, and new targets are set to help limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

What was Agreed at COP30?

Two weeks of climate talks and negotiations took place:

• Fossil Fuels – at COP28, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2023, countries agreed for the first time about the need to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems”. It was hoped that talks around fossil fuels at COP30 would secure clearer steps for how countries would achieve this. However no further progress was made due to the strong opposition from major oil and gas producing countries.  
• Money – the countries at COP30 agreed to treble funding for adaptation by 2035. This funding is provided by richer countries to vulnerable countries to protect their people from the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis. Whilst this deal secures more money, some countries feel that the timeline ignores the urgency of the climate crisis.
• Nature – COP30 was deliberately situated in Belém, known as the gateway to the Amazon, to put focus on the vital role of forests. Brazil launched the Tropical Forest Forever Fund, a multibillion-dollar investment fund that will pay nations to keep old-growth forests and trees standing. Despite helping design the fund, the UK declined to pay into the fund, surprising and drawing criticism from conservationists. However, 66 other countries agreed to pay into the fund with over £4 billion pledged, including major contributions from Brazil, Germany and Norway.

COP30 Conclusions

Each COP agrees a statement or binding agreement which is publicly released at the end of the conference. But this relies on consensus – all countries present have to agree in order to pass a deal. This can be challenging as different countries have different priorities based on factors such as their vulnerability to climate change, economic position and dependence on fossil fuels.

More than 80 countries, including the UK, wanted COP30 to commit the world to stop using coal, oil and gas at a faster pace. But COP30 ended in bitter rows, with many countries left feeling frustrated. The final conclusions contained no direct reference to fossil fuels as many oil-producing nations held fast that they should be allowed to use their reserves to grow their economies.

 

COP31

The next COP, COP31, will be held in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026.