Showing 1 - 10 of 102
Three-year heatwave ‘bleached half the planet’s coral reefs’
AFP, Published on 10/02/2026
» PARIS - A study published on Tuesday showed that more than half of the world’s coral reefs were bleached between 2014 and 2017 — a record-setting episode now being eclipsed by another series of devastating heatwaves.
Emissions surge forces shift in climate focus
AFP, Published on 04/11/2025
» PARIS - Existing national commitments to slash heat-trapping pollution would limit global warming to 2.5 degrees Celsius in this century — nowhere near enough to avoid devastating climate impacts despite a sweep of new pledges, the United Nations warned on Tuesday.
World's coral reefs crossing survival limit: global experts
AFP, Published on 13/10/2025
» PARIS - The world's tropical coral reefs have almost certainly crossed a point of no return as oceans warm beyond a level most can survive, a major scientific report announced on Monday.
Cook Islands wages war on 'plague' of hungry starfish
AFP, Published on 24/07/2025
» RAROTONGA (COOK ISLANDS) — Divers clutch wooden spears as they plunge beneath the waves, hunting hordes of hungry starfish destroying the coral reefs around the Cook Islands.
The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor
AFP, Published on 23/07/2025
» RAROTONGA (COOK ISLANDS) — A 1,000-tonne ship is exploring the far-flung South Pacific for riches buried beneath the waves, spearheading efforts to dredge the tropical waters for industrial deep-sea mining.
Indonesia revokes most mining permits in dive hotspot
AFP, Published on 10/06/2025
» JAKARTA - Indonesia revoked permits on Tuesday for four of the five mining companies operating in the eastern archipelago of Raja Ampat after activists shared videos of islands damaged by nickel extraction.
In a hotter future, what comes after coral reefs die?
AFP, Published on 02/06/2025
» PARIS - The fate of coral reefs has been written with a degree of certainty rare in climate science: at 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming, most are expected to die.
Coral reefs pushed to brink as bleaching crisis worsens
AFP, Published on 23/04/2025
» PARIS — An unprecedented coral bleaching episode has spread to 84% of the world's reefs in an unfolding human-caused crisis that could kill off swathes of the essential ecosystems, scientists warned Wednesday.
‘Unprecedented’ mass bleaching ruins Australian reef
AFP, Published on 26/03/2025
» SYDNEY - An “unprecedented” mass bleaching event has been recorded off Australia’s western coast, scientists said on Wednesday, turning huge swathes of a celebrated reef system a sickly dull white.
Top climate scientist declares 2°C climate goal 'dead'
AFP, Published on 05/02/2025
» WASHINGTON — Holding long-term global warming to two degrees Celsius -- the fallback target of the Paris climate accord -- is now "impossible," according to a stark new analysis published by leading scientists.