Climate calling

Top environmental delegates have resumed talks for the United Nations' COP-16 biodiversity summit in Rome. They are set to negotiate a way to pay for $200 billion dollars a year of biodiversity protection by 2030. Previous COP-16 talks in Colombia ended abruptly last year, as the negotiations ran into overtime and reached a deadlock.

Alexander Sangerlaub leads the think and do tank Futur Eins in Germany, which looks at the future of digital public spheres. I recently caught up with him in Berlin, after an event he was part of to raise awareness among young people about the impacts of disinformation on society and democracy.

The spread of false information is one of the biggest global risks, according to the World Economic Forum. Experts say climate denialism content, spread on digital platforms, could stall urgent action. While European nations focus on social media accountability and regulation, some Pacific islands are taking a localised approach to dispelling myths.

Australia ranks among the best in the world for air quality, but with worsening climate change and an ever extending bushfire season, some experts warn even low levels of air pollution are impacting our health. As more and more evidence links air pollution to both long and short term cognitive issues, medical experts say the government can do more to protect Australians in the long term

A stove powered by recycled car oil is providing a cleaner and more affordable cooking option for households in Cameroon. The innovation, designed by a local engineer, is also helping to reduce environmental pollution and health risks associated with traditional coal powered cooking methods.

The world's largest and oldest iceberg is on a collision course with a remote island... potentially putting wildlife in danger. Known as 'megaberg' the colossal slab of ice is drifting towards South Georgia - a British overseas territory - north of Antarctica. The iceberg first broke away from the Antarctic shelf in the 1980s. So how has it survived so long, and what could happen if it does reach the island?

The Denman glacier in East Antarctica is one of the largest and fastest melting glaciers on the continent, and yet little is known about what’s causing the accelerated retreat. But over the past three years Australian scientists have collected tonnes of rock and ice-core samples from the largely untouched region. It's hoped their research will contribute to much greater understanding of what's taking place.

The World Meteorological Organisation and NASA have confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with temperatures spurred on by greenhouse gas driven climate change. And the Bureau of Meteorology says it was the second hottest year on record in Australia after 2019. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says people and organisations need to be prepared for more extreme weather events and natural disasters due to the climate crisis.

A massive snowstorm is disrupting the U-S and Europe, with record snowfall, power outages, and widespread travel chaos. Nearly 70 million Americans face blizzard warnings, icy roads, and over 1,400 flight cancellations. In Europe, heavy snow and freezing rain hit the U-K, Ireland, and Germany, causing airport disruptions, power cuts, and flooding risks.

For more than 50 years, cities around the world have been safely drinking recycled wastewater, from Los Angeles to Barcelona and Cape Town. Yet few Australian cities have taken that plunge. But with climate change and population surges putting water supplies under pressure, experts say it could be a future solution.