Showing 1 - 10 of 44
A lesson in geoengineering for grown-ups
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 18/12/2025
» A few days ago the European Union's Earth Observation programme, "Copernicus", made a special announcement at the end of its monthly report on the state of the climate. It said that the average global temperature for the past three years (2023-2025) has been 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level. That's the level we were warned that we must never exceed.
Rising heat needs urgent response
Oped, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Published on 24/11/2025
» 2024 was the hottest on record globally. In Asia and the Pacific, Bangladesh was the worst-hit country, with about 33 million people affected by lower crop yields that destabilised food systems, along with extensive school closures and many cases of heatstroke and related diseases. Children, the elderly and low-wage earners in poor and densely populated urban areas suffered the most, as they generally had less access to cooling systems or to water supplies and adequate healthcare. India, too, was badly affected, with around 700 heat-related deaths mostly in informal settlements.
Gates' 'truth' about climate change
Oped, Peter Singer, Published on 14/11/2025
» Ahead of this year's United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), now underway in Belém, Brazil, Bill Gates, who chairs and funds the foundation that bears his name, released an essay entitled "Three tough truths about climate". The first of these truths is: "Climate change is a serious problem, but it will not be the end of civilisation."
COP30 must be more focused on human welfare
Oped, Bjorn Lomborg, Published on 13/11/2025
» With the United Nations climate summit, COP30, now in full swing in the humid jungle city of Belém, Brazil, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has cut through the noise with a blunt truth: these UN climate gatherings must zero in on lifting human lives, rather than fixating solely on slashing emissions or dialling down global temperatures. It's a perspective that's long overdue yet seems so obvious.
Clock ticks as plastic talks drag on
Oped, Pichmol Rugrod, Published on 13/08/2025
» This week in Geneva, negotiators from around the world are gathered for the fifth session of the Global Plastics Treaty -- known as INC 5.2. It is an intergovernmental process aimed at finding solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. Yet, more than a week in, progress toward a strong and binding agreement remains painfully slow. As the clock ticks, our window to act is rapidly closing.
Climate effort needs to be more proactive
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 21/07/2025
» Start with China, the world's biggest emitter by far of greenhouse gases: 27% of the entire world's emissions, and more than twice that of the second-biggest emitter, the United States. In fact, it's more than all the emissions of all the other developed countries combined. Bad China.
The key to universal energy access
Oped, Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven and Francesco La Camera, Published on 18/03/2025
» Our planet and its inhabitants are in trouble. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that to meet the targets of the 2015 Paris agreement and keep global warming below 2° Celsius (relative to preindustrial levels), renewable energy must supply 70-85% of the world's electricity by 2050. In other words, renewable capacity must triple by 2030 to avert a climate catastrophe.
World order frays as chaos rises
Oped, Mohamed ElBaradei, Published on 06/12/2024
» At 82, I have lived through countless political and social upheavals, enough to become somewhat inured to history's recurring cycles. But recent developments have left me profoundly shaken and afraid.
Multilateral climate action the only way
Oped, Mukhtar Babayev, Published on 22/11/2024
» Our world is at a critical juncture. The devastating effects of global warming are increasingly evident, and the crisis is deepening. To mitigate it, we must urgently reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Failing to act now will only increase the human and economic toll.
Global warming and the burning issue of money
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 14/11/2024
» It's hard to imagine a less plausible venue for the annual UN-sponsored conference on climate than the dictatorial petrostate of Azerbaijan. Baku, the capital, has a walled medieval centre that's worth a day or two, but offshore the shallow Caspian Sea is littered with a century's worth of old and new oil wells.