International: Africa
TotalEnergies abandons its carbon plantations in the Republic of Congo
Thu 29 May 2025
TotalEnergies has quietly abandoned the Batéké Carbon Sink project in the Republic of Congo, with only 12.5% of the proposed trees planted.
Nigeria's Trans Niger oil pipeline bursts, spills crude, rights group says
22 May 2025
Nigeria's Trans Niger Pipeline, a major oil artery transporting crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal, burst and spilled oil into the local B-Dere community in Ogoniland.
Indigenous land disputes cloud Kenya’s carbon market ambitions
20 May 2025
Two of Kenya’s biggest carbon credit projects are mired in controversy, clouding the country’s hopes of raising climate finance from the offset market.
More than 100 dead after flooding in eastern DR Congo, officials say
15 May 2025
Heavy overnight floods have washed away several villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing more than 100 people, according to local officials, in a nation suffering war and mass displacement.
Heat extremes in southern Africa might continue even if net-zero emissions are achieved
13 May 2025
Will reaching net zero have any effect on heat extremes, particularly in Africa?
Large fires are burning on the slopes of South Africa's famous Table Mountain
1 May 2025
Helicopters dropped water on large fires burning on the slopes of South Africa's Table Mountain on Tuesday as police investigated whether arson was the cause.
Ethiopia’s bold EV ambitions hit bumps in rural areas
17 Apr 2025
After becoming the world’s first country to ban imports of fossil fuel vehicles last year, a patchy power grid and high EV purchase costs are slowing Ethiopia’s green transport revolution in the countryside
Africa is proof that investing in climate resilience works – and that it makes good business sense
15 Apr 2025
Climate denialism should not blind investors and governments to the very real opportunities to be found in financing solutions.
Teens’ mental health suffers on Africa’s climate frontlines
14 Apr 2025
As climate change impacts take a heavy toll on young people’s wellbeing in poor rural areas, how can policymakers help them cope?
Africa must shun Trump’s push to resurrect coal
9 Apr 2025
Clean energy can be Africa’s greatest success story, which is why its leaders must not fall for the pro-coal lobbying of the Trump administration.
Study finds deforestation is a leading indicator of Ebola outbreaks
2 Apr 2025
A new CDC-led study identifies deforestation as a leading indicator of Ebola virus spillover. Using machine learning and two decades of satellite data, researchers found that forest loss and fragmentation were among the strongest predictors of where the virus might jump from animals to humans. The model doesn’t prove causation—but it does help identify environmental patterns that could guide preparedness in regions facing rising ecological pressure.
The case against a carbon credit farm in Madagascar
1 Apr 2025
The Italian multinational Tozzi Green has begun planting trees on land that local residents claim was stolen from them.
How much do rich nations owe Africa for climate damage?
27 Feb 2025
Wealthy nations owe African countries some 50 times more for climate damage than the debt Africa owes them, ActionAid report says.
Oil clean-up 'scam' warnings ignored by Shell, whistleblower tells BBC
17 Feb 2025
A BBC investigation has uncovered allegations that energy giant Shell has ignored repeated warnings that a controversial clean-up operation of oil-polluted areas of southern Nigeria has been beset by problems and corruption.
Sustainable economic growth in South Africa will come from renewables, not coal: modelling
17 Feb 2025
To move away from coal and meet its commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, South Africa needs to dramatically increase production of renewable energy.
Who can share seeds? As climate change and counterfeits hurt Kenyan farmers, it's a growing question
10 Feb 2025
Tucked away in a lush, forested area of central Kenya's Kikuyu town, the National Seed Bank stands as a crucial safeguard for the future of the country's agriculture. Inside two chilly rooms of a government building, more than 50,000 seed varieties are cataloged and stored.
African nations want to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030
3 Feb 2025
Several African nations committed on Monday to open up their electricity sectors to attract investors and light up homes of 300 million people currently lacking power in the next six years.
Think your efforts to help the climate don't matter? African philosophers disagree
31 Jan 2025
If a single pro-environment lifestyle change - like one person giving up their SUV or cutting out meat in favour of plant-based foods - will not turn the tide of global climate change on its own, it's reasonable to feel there is little that 'doing your bit' can achieve. This mindset is disempowering.
Kenya’s devastating drought is the worst in 40 years
18 Dec 2024
The extreme conditions are leaving millions without food or clean water.
Nimble electric trucks are supercharging African trade
12 Dec 2024
In Rwanda, farmers often watch their harvest spoil before it can reach the market. A fleet of simple, efficient trucks is changing that.
Thirty-five million Africans driven from homes by war and climate disasters – report
29 Nov 2024
Data shows a threefold increase in internal displacement across the African continent since 2009, with flooding and drought posing a growing threat.
The huge, high-tech, low-carbon kitchens feeding young Kenyans
27 Nov 2024
The Giga Kitchen is the jewel in the crown of Food4Education, a Kenyan nonprofit using high-tech, low-carbon and centralized kitchens to feed students en masse in what is Africa’s largest locally led and independently run school feeding program.
Big Oil’s dirty legacy in Nigeria
8 Nov 2024
Who will clean up the environmental mess when Shell and others pull out of the Niger Delta?
COP29 must kickstart stalled progress on the lifeline that is adaptation
1 Nov 2024
Targets for adapting to climate change are meaningless without the means to act. It’s time for a clear adaptation finance goal.
Worst drought in century devastates Southern Africa, millions at risk
17 Oct 2024
More than 27 million lives affected by worst drought in a century, with 21 million children malnourished, says WFP.
South Sudan floods: the first example of a mass population permanently displaced by climate change?
16 Sep 2024
Enormous floods have once again engulfed much of South Sudan, as record water-levels in Lake Victoria flow downstream through the Nile.
Floods decimate Nigerian zoo, wash crocodiles into community
13 Sep 2024
Floods in north Nigeria have killed more than 80% of animals in a large zoo with an array of wildlife from lions and crocodiles to buffaloes and ostriches.
'People have never seen anything like it': Morocco hit by extraordinary torrential rains
13 Sep 2024
A rare and deadly phenomenon: According to the latest count, published by the Moroccan interior ministry, 18 people have died as a result of the torrential rains that fell.
African nations are losing up to 5% of their GDP per year with climate change
4 Sep 2024
African nations are losing up to 5% of their GDP every year as they bear a heavier burden than the rest of the world from climate change, a new report said Monday after one of the continent’s hottest years on record.
Nearly 68 million people reeling from drought in Southern Africa
19 Aug 2024
Seventeen percent of people across the region need aid amid the climate change-fuelled drought.
Niger floods toll increases - 53 dead, 18,000 affected
23 Jul 2024
Flooding caused by heavy rains lashing Niger since June has killed 53 people and impacted 18,000, as the west African country grapples with the effects of climate change.
South Africa’s new environment minister must focus on people, not profits from fossil fuels – climate ecologist
22 Jul 2024
There are huge profits to be made in exploiting South Africa’s natural resources, but these come at a cost to society and the environment.
South Africa energy minister vows change with 'aggressive' renewables rollout
10 Jul 2024
South Africa's new energy minister vows to accelerate the shift to renewable energy from coal, breaking with a predecessor who opposed swift decarbonision.
Arrests in Uganda over pipeline protests
1 Jul 2024
Hundreds of people gathered outside Chinese embassies and financial institutions in 10 countries, calling on China to reject financial support for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and related oil field projects.
Climate change puts UNESCO-listed Mali fishing tradition in danger
25 Jun 2024
Thousands of fishermen holding cone-shaped nets stood side by side, cheering and chanting as they waited for the signal.
‘Crippling’ drought in Zambia threatens hunger for millions, says minister
11 Jun 2024
Collins Nzovu says country’s plight is foretaste of disasters that will increasingly afflict region as climate breakdown takes hold.
West African nations call for firms to be able to offset carbon
10 Jun 2024
A group of 10 West African countries has weighed into a debate over whether companies around the world should be allowed to use carbon offsets to cut emissions.
What a new global pledge means for climate, nature and gender goals
20 May 2024
World leaders gathered in Paris this week to pledge to make 2024 the “pivotal year” for improving access to clean cooking.
Kenya’s devastating floods expose decades of bad land management
6 May 2024
Floods in Kenya killed at least 169 people between March and April 2024, a result of decades of poor urban planning.
Southern Africa drought flags dilemma for loss and damage fund
2 May 2024
Scientists blame the current drought on El Niño – which could exclude those affected from receiving aid for climate-change damage.
Fifty killed in Kenya floods
1 May 2024
About 50 people have died in Kenya in a deluge following heavy rains and flooding, a Red Cross official has said.
World Bank advises South Africa on climate insurance, contingency fund options
30 Apr 2024
The World Bank is advising South Africa’s National Treasury on a climate risk strategy after floods in recent years caused billions of dollars of damage.
Deadly African heatwave 'impossible' without warming
19 Apr 2024
A deadly heatwave in West Africa and the Sahel was "impossible" without human-induced climate change, scientists say.
Africa's carbon sink capacity is shrinking
8 Apr 2024
The population of Africa, the second-largest continent in the world, currently sits at about 1.4 billion, but is set to exceed 2 billion by 2040.
Meet the Nigerian women spearheading solar projects
5 Apr 2024
The African country has the lowest access to electricity in the world. Women and girls are bearing the brunt of energy poverty.
How the the African Forest Restoration Initiative threatens savannas and grasslands
3 Apr 2024
A recent paper published in Science warns that “Across Africa, vast areas of nonforest are threatened by inappropriate restoration in the form of tree planting.”
"The water is eating the island"
26 Mar 2024
Villagers hang onto the last patch of Sierra Leone’s Nyangai Island, knowing that their home may soon disappear.
Back-to-back climate disasters leave millions of Malawians in deepening need
21 Mar 2024
Millions of Malawians are struggling with the impacts of back-to-back climate disasters that have deepened the poverty of subsistence farmers and undermined the ability of the cash-strapped government to help.
‘We don’t need air con’: how Burkina Faso builds schools that stay cool in 40C heat
5 Mar 2024
Architects use local materials and merge traditional techniques with modern technology to make schools and orphanages cool, welcoming places.
Alarming Africa-wide report predicts 30% drop in crop revenue, 50 million without water
1 Mar 2024
African countries will suffer significant economic loss after 2050 if global warming is not limited to below 2°C, a new study by the Center for Global Development has found.
Australia lets biggest LNG plant run to 2070 in climate blow
Thu 29 May 2025
Australia gave preliminary approval to extend the life of its biggest and oldest liquefied natural gas plant for decades, potentially creating billions of dollars in new drilling opportunities but raising questions about the nation’s climate agenda.
Hawaii to make sweeping tourism changes in bid to combat climate change
Fri 30 May 2025
Hawaii has enacted a law to increase taxes on hotel rooms and vacation rentals, with the goal of generating funds to combat climate change effects such as shoreline erosion and wildfires.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
Thu 29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
Brussels to propose ‘pragmatic’ 90% climate target for 2040
Fri 30 May 2025
The European Commission will tell countries to cut 90 percent of their planet-warming emissions by 2040, but offer “flexibilities” to make the goal politically palatable, according to EU climate chief Teresa Ribera.
Why expensive gas – not net-zero – is keeping UK electricity prices so high
Wed 28 May 2025
The UK’s high electricity prices have become intensely political, with competing claims over the cause of rocketing bills and how best to get them down.
Engineer explains why Alberta’s hydrogen strategy is money-losing climate failure
Mon 26 May 2025
Desperation, bad advice and lobbying likely underpinning the province’s plan to blend hydrogen with natural gas for home heating.
Indonesia backtracks on coal phase-out in new 2034 power supply plan
Thu 29 May 2025
Indonesia plans to add 69.5 gigawatts (GW) of power capacity by the end of 2034, much of it from renewable sources, but it still expects to add new coal-fired power plants.
Pacific Island nations support China's Taiwan claims at high-profile foreign ministers' meeting
Fri 30 May 2025
Pacific nations have backed China's claim over Taiwan during a high-profile meeting, but have shied away from directly endorsing Beijing's push to "reunify" the democratically ruled island with the mainland.
I just returned from Antarctica: climate change isn’t some far-off problem – it’s here and hitting hard
13 May 2025
Antarctica is often viewed as the last truly remote place on Earth – frozen, wild and untouched. But is it really as untouched as it seems?
South America sets historic benchmark: Zero new coal plants planned
Wed 28 May 2025
South America just achieved a remarkable energy milestone, quietly setting a global benchmark: for the first time in history, the entire continent now has zero new coal-fired power plants planned.
Nations agree on carbon-pricing system to steer shipping towards net-zero
14 Apr 2025
Nations have agreed to introduce a worldwide carbon-pricing system for international shipping to drive the sector towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
