S.Africans protest against Shell oil exploration in pristine coastal area

South Africans took to their beaches on Sunday to protest against plans by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) to do seimsic oil exploration they say will threaten marine wildlife such as whales, dolphins, seals and penguins on a pristine coastal stretch. A South African court on Friday struck down an application brought by environmentalists to stop the oil major exploring

Nature congress calls for protecting 30% of Earth, 80% of Amazon

The world’s most influential conservation congress passed resolutions Friday calling for 80 percent of the Amazon and 30 percent of Earth’s surface — land and sea — to be designated “protected areas” to halt and reverse the loss of wildlife. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is meeting in Marseille, does

EXCLUSIVE: Guinea rail builders blast in chimp habitat, no plan to protect apes

A Chinese-backed consortium building infrastructure for a massive iron ore mine in Guinea started blasting a railway tunnel in a habitat for a critically endangered chimpanzee species with no plan in place to manage the impact on the animals, company and government statements and satellite imagery show. The consortium is developing the mine in the

Australia rejects climate targets despite damning UN report

Australia’s conservative prime minister rejected growing calls Tuesday to adopt more ambitious emissions targets, insisting the country was doing enough to tackle climate change. Hours after a landmark UN climate report warned catastrophic global warming is occurring far more quickly than previously forecast, Prime Minister Scott Morrison signalled he would not adopt a net-zero target.

Gulf of Mexico’s ‘dead zone’ larger than average this year

This year’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” — an area where there’s too little oxygen to support marine life — is larger than average, according to researchers. Scientists supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined that the area off Louisiana and Texas’ coasts covers about 6,334 square miles (16,405 square kilometers), the agency

Arundhati Roy: Capitalism Is “A Form of Religion” Stopping Solutions to Climate Change & Inequality (2019)

As one million species face extinction due to human activity and the globe faces a growing climate crisis, we speak with world-renowned author Arundhati Roy about the threat capitalism poses to the future of life on earth. Roy says that those most responsible for creating the climate crisis “will see to it that they profit

‘Biggest Story in the World Right Now’: Humanity Has Flipped Amazon From Carbon Sink to Source

The findings, said one expert, “show that the uncertain future is happening now.” Following years of warnings and mounting fears among scientists, “terrifying” research revealed Wednesday that climate change and deforestation have turned parts of the Amazon basin, a crucial “sink,” into a source of planet-heating carbon dioxide. Though recent research has elevated concerns about the Amazon putting more CO2

Ottawa to close about 60 per cent of commercial salmon fisheries to conserve stocks

The federal government says it will close several commercial Pacific salmon fisheries in British Columbia and Yukon beginning this season to conserve fish stocks that are on the “verge of collapse.”  The Fisheries Department said in a news release Tuesday that 79 of 138 commercial and First Nations communal fisheries will be affected, which amounts

‘Europe’s last unspoilt river’ wins legal protection

It is being billed as Europe’s last unspoilt river. The 272km (169 miles) Vjose runs across Balkan borders. Conservationists are celebrating a legal victory to protect it from industrial development. The question is whether they can turn it into Europe’s first National Park encompassing an entire river system. Al Jazeera’s John Psaropoulos reports from Albania.