Environment and climate policy

The global appetite for avocados is generating big bucks in Michoacán. Behind the scenes, criminal groups illegally clear forests and steal municipal water for cultivation. The risks are large but the benefits remain in the hands of a few

The iconic axelotl has fascinated Aztecs, scientists and became a meme. But is that enough to bring it back from the brink of extinction?

Norway spent decades trying to force the Saami to assimilate. The activist Ida Helene Benonisen is fighting for indigenous rights – in the tradition of her forefathers

Why are deserts increasing worldwide? An interview with the Romanian meteorologist Roxana Bojariu

Oasis ecosystems are perfectly adapted to the harsh desert environment. Today, many are threatened by drought and mismanagement. Photographer M’hammed Kilito zooms in on the people working to save them

Chinese freighters are hunting for one of the world's most coveted raw materials off the Taiwanese coast. But the search for sand poses a problem not just for Taipei, but for Beijing

For half a century, activist and author Vandana Shiva has been criticising the excesses of the global economy and arguing for a simple life. A conversation about false abundance and the necessity of downsizing

In the middle of the Saloum river delta in Senegal lies the island of Diamniadio. Here people live off the sea – but every year the nets get a little emptier

The notion of recycling and saving resources was already an everyday reality in Japan 300 years ago. Makiko Yamaguchi reflects on the Edo era

Off the coast of Italy, fruit and vegetables are being cultivated 10 meters below the sea's surface. Could these futuristic greenhouses be a prototype for how to grow food in an uncertain future?

Droughts, forest fires, floods: humanity is quietly heading for a climate crisis. With his photo series on water, Mustafah Abdulaziz holds a mirror up to what’s happening. A conversation

Climate change presents us with unprecedented challenges. The Indian historian Dipesh Chakrabarty calls for a change of perspective and in the process rediscovers human history

Melting glaciers, rising sea levels: scientist Aditi Mukherji explains why it is high time we change how we deal with water. A conversation

Wild horses, oil-smeared birds: Zoe Lucas recounts fifty years of life as a female explorer on a lonely Canadian island. A conversation

New Zealand is struggling with bursting sewage pipes and contaminated drinking water. Now the indigenous population is to collaborate on solutions

The French island of Martinique is under attack from rotting Sargasso algae and the toxic gases it releases

In the Andes, water is a scarce resource. But gold mines in the region require enormous amounts of water and pollute their environment. Their owners do not seem to care

Kazakh ecologist Zauresh Alimbetova is fighting to save what was once the world's fourth largest lake. A nature reserve is now flourishing in the dried-up zone. A conversation

Politicians keep repeating the same old mantra about how oil and gas are obselete and renewable energies are the future. But when will there finally be some action? Rana Adib, director of  REN21, an initiative promoting renewable energies, sees hope in what cities and communities are achieving at the local level

Plant seeds from all over the world are stored in Norwegian permafrost. Biologist Åsmund Asdal explains how important these seeds are for our future. A conversation

Hums, buzzes, squeaks: It’s surprisingly loud underground. What do these noises tell us?

In the north of Norway, citizens are protesting against a planned copper mine

Can the climate crisis still be halted? Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, authors of the Paris Agreement, are determined to keep looking forward.

Politicians and companies like to urge people to do their bit to help the environment, creating a smokescreen for their own failure to act.