Climate ministers are making little headway against powerful forces UN climate talks open in Germany on Monday, with the EU struggling to keep its position of a global leader. Small developing countries that linked up with the EU in a new coalition last year say the bloc must commit to tougher emission cuts and more finance. Existing pledges on “climate aid” run out at the end of this year,... 

One of the first professional positions I held was as a ‘Women in Development Specialist’ in the early 1980s. Despite decades of research, many of the problems identified in the 1970s and 80s persist: the invisibility of women’s forest-related work for policymakers, extension personnel, and even researchers; the inattention throughout the value chain to the forest products women use; a lack of... 

Scientists examining the remains of “Otzi,” Italy’s prehistoric iceman, who roamed the Alps some 5,300 years ago, said on Wednesday they have isolated what are believed to be the oldest traces of human blood ever found. The German and Italian scientists said they used an atomic force microscope to examine tissue sections from a wound caused by an arrow that killed the Copper Age man,... 

Plants are flowering faster than scientists predicted in response to climate change, research in the United States showed on Wednesday, which could have devastating knock-on effects for food chains and ecosystems. Global warming is having a significant impact on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some breeding, migration and feeding patterns, scientists say. Increased carbon... 

The government of Peru has warned people to stay off beaches along large stretches of its coastline as it investigates the mysterious deaths of hundreds of dolphins and seabirds. More than 1,000 birds, mostly pelicans, have washed up dead along the northern Pacific coast in recent weeks, after many dolphins died in the same area. The health ministry stopped short of closing beaches. But it advised... 

A “supermoon” has graced the skies, appearing bigger and brighter than usual, as it comes closer to the Earth – and is likely to bring higher tides. The phenomenon, known as a perigee full moon, means the Moon appears up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than when it is furthest from the planet. The optimum effect was seen – cloud permitting – at 04:30 BST (03:30 GMT). The... 

—Journalists urged Ransford Tetteh, GJA President Journalists in the country have been urged to give some time to environmental issues, especially that which is related to afforestation, to reduce the pace at which the nation’s forest reserves are being depleted.   They are also to report on timber and logging firms in the country who are obliged by the constitutional conditions of replacing whatever... 

An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.7 has struck under the sea off Indonesia’s northern Aceh province. The quake triggered a tsunami watch alert across the Indian Ocean region. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said it was not yet known whether a tsunami had been generated, but advised authorities to “take appropriate action”. The region is regularly hit by earthquakes. The... 

Countries of the Far North are set to be the new players in the emerging Arctic frontier. The polar ice cap is melting at much faster rates than previously predicted, and may be completely ice free by the summer of 2040 or sooner. There are vast untapped resources in the Arctic Ocean such as new shipping lanes, fishing grounds, tourism, and it is believed to contain the largest of the world’s... 

The Earth at risk One of the world’s most widely known and respected senior scientists tells ABC News that current denial about the basic daunting realities of manmade global warming is “just foolishness.” He also reports that the rest of the world has now “pretty well given up” on its hope for U.S. leadership in dealing with global climate change. His assessment reinforces findings at the...