International: Africa
E-car demand fuels rise in Congo child labour
7 Nov 2018
Demand for electric vehicles is fuelling a rise in child labour in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, experts said this week, urging companies to take action as the industry expands.
Dreaded tsetse flies wilt in Africa’s growing heat
5 Nov 2018
Global warming might have done one good thing for the Zambezi Valley: it may have done for the tsetse flies, with conditions soon too hot for them to breed there any longer.
New tree named ... in time for its headstone
18 Sep 2018
A tree species discovered in Cameroon nearly 70 years ago has been named -just in time to etch that name on its headstone.
Rich countries pushing dirty energy in Africa
25 Jul 2018
WEALTHY governments have been accused of promoting fossil fuel development in Africa at the expense of clean energy.
South Africa sets draft climate laws
19 Jun 2018
South Africa will set carbon targets for each sector of the economy every five years, under a draft climate law out for public consultation.
Giant baobabs die suddenly after thousands of years
14 Jun 2018
Climate change is the suspect in the abrupt deaths in the past decade of some of Africa’s 2500-year-old baobab trees.
DRASTIC PLASTIC: Kenya grounds the flying toilet
27 Apr 2018
KENYA'S tough plastics laws appear to be working. Waterways are clearer, the food chain is less contaminated – and there are fewer “flying toilets”.
Six rangers die in gorilla sanctuary ambush
12 Apr 2018
Six rangers have been ambushed and killed in a Democratic Republic of the Congo park that is home to silverback gorillas.
How Cape Town did what California couldn't do
4 Apr 2018
A six-car police convoy skidded to a halt outside a Cape Town house where a trickle of hose water splashed on to a flower.
MONSTER ON THE MOVE: The Sahara desert is getting bigger
3 Apr 2018
The Sahara dessert is getting bigger, turning green vegetation dry and soil once used for farming into barren ground in areas that can least afford to lose it.
UN forest project doing more harm than good
16 Mar 2018
The harm a UN forest project in Africa is doing to local people is greater than the good it is managing to achieve for them, researchers say.
Illegal cocoa farming destroys African forests
24 Jan 2018
Côte d’Ivoire’s brown gold has gradually destroyed the country’s national parks and protected forests.
Victory for forests as nations vow to stop death by chocolate
10 Nov 2017
Ghana and the Ivory Coast are formulating plans to immediately put a stop to all new deforestation after an investigation found that the cocoa industry was destroying their rainforests.
Morocco to invest millions in solar projects
4 Oct 2017
Morocco is getting ready to launch a €200 million ($NZ326m) programme to spark investment in solar power projects in the agricultural sector by 2021.
Chocolate industry drives rainforest disaster in Africa
15 Sep 2017
The world’s chocolate industry is driving deforestation on a devastating scale in West Africa.
Kenya gets tough on plastic bags: four years or $40,000
29 Aug 2017
Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000.
Kenya’s disappearing glaciers spread violence below
3 Aug 2017
Those who rely on Mount Kenya’s glaciers for water have turned against one another as the rivers fed by the mountain dry up.
Warmer seas fuel dangerous ‘weather bomb’ in New South Wales
3 Jul 2025
If the storm shapes up as predicted, we can expect to see damage to houses and trees as well as significant beach erosion – especially in heavily populated areas exposed to the storm’s southern flank.
Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ blows US emissions goal by 7bn tonnes
Tue 8 Jul 2025
President Donald Trump’s dismantling of climate policy means the US will add an extra 7bn tonnes of emissions to the atmosphere from now until 2030, compared to meeting its former climate pledge under the Paris Agreement.
China solar and wind installations break more world records
Mon 7 Jul 2025
China is leading the world in new solar and wind installations and doing so at a record-shattering pace.
EU countries seek more cuts to deforestation rules
Wed 9 Jul 2025
From December, the world-first deforestation law will require operators placing goods including soy, beef and palm oil, onto the EU market to provide proof their products did not cause deforestation.
Net-zero much cheaper than thought for UK – and unchecked global warming far more costly
Wed 9 Jul 2025
Reaching net-zero will be much cheaper for the UK government than previously expected – and the economic damages of unmitigated climate change far more severe.
Is Mark Carney turning his back on climate action?
23 Jun 2025
The G7 summit in Alberta, hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney, has ended with only passing mention of fighting climate change, including a statement on wildfires that is silent on the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Türkiye's Parliament adopts first-ever climate law
Wed 9 Jul 2025
Promising a wide range of provisions and increased vigilance against climate change, the new law is to provide action plans on a national and local scale, while bolstering Türkiye’s 2053 climate goals and protecting the country from environmental disasters.
Nearly a third of Tuvaluans have applied for climate migration visa
27 Jun 2025
With their country threatened by sea level rise, the people of Tuvalu have been offered an escape route through an agreement with Australia, and many are contemplating leaving their home.
Melting glaciers and ice caps could unleash wave of volcanic eruptions, study says
Wed 9 Jul 2025
Research in Chile suggests the climate crisis makes eruptions more likely and explosive, and warns of Antarctica risk.
In Latin America, the energy transition stirs a rise in human rights lawsuits
Tue 8 Jul 2025
A new report shows that more than half of the 95 energy transition-related lawsuits recorded globally since 2009 took place in Latin America and the Caribbean.
UN development conference backs innovative ways to boost climate finance
Mon 7 Jul 2025
Leaders push for better financial systems at the Financing for Development summit to help poor nations cope with climate and economic shocks.
