International: South America
Patagonia's underwater defense against climate change
17 May 2023
Chile's Patagonia is known for its mountains and hiking paradise but it is also home to the largest continuous kelp forest in the world.
Caribbean island's quest to become the world's first climate-resilient nation
21 Apr 2023
The Caribbean island of Dominica is one of the world's most at-risk places from climate change. Can it fulfil plans to become the world's first climate-resilient nation?
Brazilian Govt eyes permanent climate emergency for over 1000 cities
28 Mar 2023
Brazil's Minister of Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva Sunday admitted that President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva's administration was considering the possibility of declaring a state of climate emergency in 1,038 municipalities mapped as most vulnerable, Agencia Brasil reported.
Brazil hit by deadly floods and landslides
22 Feb 2023
Hundreds of rescuers searched on Monday for survivors of landslides and flooding that killed at least 40 people along the coast of Brazil’s southern state of Sao Paulo following a huge weekend downpour.
Calls for action as Brazil Yanomami indigenous people face crisis
27 Jan 2023
Brazilian officials have said that the Yanomami indigenous people are living in dire conditions, as illegal gold miners threaten them with violence and block the delivery of goods such as food and medicine to their embattled region.
Forest equity: what indigenous people want from carbon credits
16 Dec 2022
In a world where carbon credit markets are taking advantage of Indigenous people and their forests, the United Nation is losing its leadership on combating climate change, says Indigenous leader Levi Sucre Romero.
Lawyers press International Court to nvestigate crimes against humanity in Brazil’s Amazon
10 Nov 2022
Even as environmentalists cheer the ouster of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as a turning point for the Amazon rainforest, new information filed Wednesday with the International Criminal Court suggest that the battle to protect the region and its inhabitants is far from over
Lula victory boosts climate effort hopes
1 Nov 2022
The victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s Brazilian presidential election was greeted with relief by world leaders desperately looking for some good news on climate change.
There’s only one choice in Brazil’s election — for the country and the world: Nature
28 Oct 2022
When Brazil elected Jair Bolsonaro as its president four years ago, this journal was among those that feared the worst. “The election of Jair Bolsonaro is bad for research and the environment,” we wrote (Nature 563, 5–6; 2018).
As climate risks intensify in Brazil, election rivals offer few solutions
19 Oct 2022
“People’s post-traumatic stress levels are extremely high,” says Rafaela Facchetti, a researcher at Brazil’s National School of Public Health, or ENSP.
Successes and struggles: Brazil’s 20-year Amazon reforestation carbon sink project
14 Oct 2022
The Peugeot-ONF Forest Carbon Sink project, implemented more than 20 years ago in northwestern Mato Grosso state, within the “arc of deforestation” of the Brazilian Amazon, has achieved significant ecological restoration and carbon sequestration results.
Beef in the time of net zero: Reducing livestock emissions in Latin America
13 Oct 2022
Beef production accounts for almost 60% of emissions from agriculture and land use change in Latin America, according to a recent study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). However, its researchers suggest it is possible to reduce these emissions through new production models and changes in diets.
The return of Aztec floating farms
11 Oct 2022
In Mexico City, a 700-year-old Aztec farming technique is giving a sustainable edge to modern agriculture. Chinampas, or "floating gardens", are ancient engineering wonders. These man-made island-farms are the last vestiges of a massive 14th-Century land reclamation project of the Aztec Empire that continues to feed the people of Mexico City even today.
New Brazilian Congress not likely to address climate
5 Oct 2022
Brazil has a major role to play in addressing climate change as home to the world’s largest rainforest, but after Sunday’s election, the subject is less likely to come up than ever.
Reducing beef’s carbon footprint is key to achieving net-zero in Latin America and the Caribbean
28 Sep 2022
In Latin America and the Caribbean, one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in the region — and its best hope for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 — remains the food system.
Puerto Rico is in the dark again, but solar companies see glimmers of hope
23 Sep 2022
Much of Puerto Rico is still without power after Hurricane Fiona battered the island on Sept. 19. The storm laid bare how vulnerable the territory's power system still is five years after Hurricane Maria plunged it into an 11-month blackout — the longest in American history — and led to the deaths of almost 3,000 people. Yet, some see hope.
Mangroves keep carbon in the soil for 5,000 years
21 Sep 2022
On top of all the other dazzling biology, mangrove forests are massive carbon sinks. According to new research on a Mexican mangrove forest, they can keep carbon out of the atmosphere for millennia.
As demand for electric cars grows, Chileans face the effects of lithium mining
19 Sep 2022
The South American country of Chile has become a center of lithium mining, which has boomed as demand for electric car batteries has risen. But what are the environmental costs?
Global pact sought to preserve 80% of Amazon forest
12 Sep 2022
Scientists warn that the Amazon is close to a tipping point
‘Gigantic missed opportunity’: Chile rejects green constitution
6 Sep 2022
Chile rejected a new constitution on Sunday which, if accepted, would have significantly expanded environmental rights and recognised the urgency of climate action.
Why lithium power politics are playing out very differently in Chile and Bolivia
26 Aug 2022
The people of Bolivia and Chile imagine a different kind of extraction: one that is controlled by those who live by the resources and one that does not destroy the earth.
Peru's capital Lima backs Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
25 Aug 2022
City lawmakers in Lima, Peru on Monday unanimously passed a motion calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, a proposed global mechanism for tackling the source of most of the greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling the climate emergency.
In Guatemala, Indigenous is ingenious when it comes to climate change
10 Aug 2022
On International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, World Food Programme agronomist Deborah Suc tells Simona Beltrami she’s lost her shyness for sticking up for others – and the environment.
Chile’s lithium provides profit to the billionaires but exhausts the land and the people
3 Aug 2022
The Atacama salt flat in northern Chile, which stretches 1,200 square miles, is the largest source of lithium in the world. We are standing on a bluff, looking over la gran fosa, the great pit that sits at the southern end of the flat, which is shielded from public view.
Battered by climate change, Latin America must brace for worse
25 Jul 2022
Floods, heat waves and the longest drought in 1,000 years: Latin America is grappling with devastating climate change impacts that will only get worse, a World Meteorological Organization report warned Friday.
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon hits record for first half of 2022
12 Jul 2022
Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest reached a record high for the first six months of the year, as an area five times the size of New York City was destroyed, preliminary government data showes.
In Ecuador's Amazon, indigenous forest defense gains legal ground
23 Jun 2022
Deep in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, indigenous leader Marcelo Lucitante deftly climbs a tree and attaches a camera trap, camouflaged among thick jungle foliage, to record footage of trespassing illegal gold miners.
Colombia's new vice president is a climate activist
21 Jun 2022
Environmental activist Francia Marquez will become Colombia’s first Black vice president in a government that was elected on a platform of radical change.
'We beg God for water': Chilean lake turns to desert, sounding climate change alarm
14 Jun 2022
The Penuelas reservoir in central Chile was until twenty years ago the main source of water for the city of Valparaiso, holding enough water for 38,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. Water for only two pools now remains.
Munich Re starts carbon removal venture
3 Jun 2022
Munich Re has announced the launch of TreeTrust, a corporate venture that brokers and structures high-quality afforestation projects for carbon removal.
Climate change effect on Peruvian glaciers debated in German court
30 May 2022
German judges and experts have arrived at the edge of a melting glacier high up in the Peruvian Andes to examine a complaint made by a local farmer who accuses energy giant RWE of threatening his home by contributing to global warming.
Brazil to serve 10 million plant-based meals to students every year
21 Apr 2022
More than 170,000 students in Brazil are set to receive healthy, sustainable school meals, packed with plant-based foods.
Deforestation of Brazil's Indigenous lands a threat to country's climate target
20 Apr 2022
Indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon are under constant pressure, and deforestation of these areas has accelerated in recent years.
The quest to build a tiny Bolivian EV
19 Apr 2022
Bolivian startup Quantum Motors makes tiny EVs aimed at the Latin American masses. Will they buy it?
Chile's new constitution likely to enshrine rights of nature
5 Apr 2022
Chile’s constitutional convention, underway in Santiago since July 4, 2021, is the first time a country has re-written its foundational document in the wake of the Paris Agreement and comes as the world reckons with three interconnected environmental crises: climate change, biodiversity loss and toxic pollution
Brazil unveils incentives to spur biomethane output
23 Mar 2022
Brazil's government has unveiled a series of incentives to spur the production and sustainable use of biomethane, a fuel that can be obtained from recycling urban and rural waste, and that can replace natural gas, diesel and gasoline.
Amazon rainforest nears tipping point that may see it become savannah
8 Mar 2022
The Amazon rainforest is nearing a tipping point that will see it transform into savannah, according to researchers who have found that the biodiversity hotspot has lost resilience in the past two decades.
Chile creates national park to save glaciers
7 Mar 2022
Chile said Saturday it is creating a vast national park to protect hundreds of glaciers that are melting due to climate change.
Panama enacts a rights of nature law
28 Feb 2022
PANAMA is the latest country to recognize the legal rights of nature, giving environmentalists a new tool to fight ecological harm.
Amazon deforestation: Record high destruction of trees in January
15 Feb 2022
The number of trees cut down in the Brazilian Amazon in January far exceeded deforestation for the same month last year, according to government satellite data.
‘We need politicians and experts’: how Chile is putting the climate crisis first
8 Feb 2022
Hidden behind the Andes in a quiet corner of South America, a formidable generation of former student leaders are putting together one of the world’s most exciting progressive movements.
When carbon credits drive people from their homes
13 Dec 2021
The Mayo River begins in the tropical cloud forests of Northeastern Peru. Where the Andean foothills meet the Amazonian plains, bromeliads, ferns, and mosses grow under palms, tropical hardwoods, and the liana vines that climb their trunks.
Brazil's Suzano CEO says $12-$13 carbon price could support forest regeneration
2 Dec 2021
Brazilian pulp and paper maker Suzano's (SUZB3.SA) chief executive Walter Schalka said on Wednesday that a market price of $12-$13 dollars per tonne for carbon could support the regeneration of one hectare of natural forest.
Chile wants to export solar energy to Asia via 15,000km submarine cable
16 Nov 2021
The Chilean government is planning to build a submarine cable to export photovoltaic energy to China, according to Chilean solar energy association.
How one woman protected millions of acres
28 Oct 2021
The first thing Kristine McDivitt Tompkins had to do when she arrived in Chile more than three decades ago was tear down fences. Demolishing 700 kilometers of barbed wire in the rough terrain that she and her husband bought was back-breaking work, but overcoming barriers in the minds of the locals was much harder. “
World’s first carbon-neutral fuel plant breaks ground in Chile
17 Sep 2021
Work has started on a pioneering wind farm on the Magellan Straits in southern Chile that will produce green hydrogen and help Porsche produce e-fuels, with Chilean energy minister Juan Carlos attending the groundbreaking ceremony.
Costa Rica’s environment minister's plans for a green economy
1 Sep 2021
Costa Rica's environment minister Andrea Meza has ambitious plans for the country’s fight against climate change. But between a warming planet and limited time in her role, she’s on a tight deadline.
Will chocolate survive climate change? Actually, maybe
1 Sep 2021
The forecast has been bad for domesticated cacao. But some environments in Peru might hold the key to the future of the world’s sweet tooth.
Medellin strives to become Latin America’s first ‘eco-city’
1 Sep 2021
The Colombian city, notorious decades ago for its crime and violence, is reinventing itself as an eco-city.
The killing of environmental activists continues five years after Berta Cáceres's murder
30 Aug 2021
The Indigenous activist in Honduras had won the Goldman prize for opposing the Agua Zarca Dam. But it didn’t protect Cáceres in one of the world’s most dangerous countries.
The case for Australian carbon tariffs
Thu 19 Feb 2026
OPINION: It may seem a niche issue but sorting the issue of carbon leakage from emissions-intensive facilities is needed to put industrial climate policy on a firm footing.
California, Connecticut preparing 'attack' against Trump's repeal of basis of US climate regulation
Fri 20 Feb 2026
California and Connecticut are working together on a multi-state "plan of attack" against President Donald Trump's repeal of the foundation of federal climate regulation of vehicles, the states' attorneys general told Reuters on Tuesday.
As Trump retreats from climate goals, China is becoming a green superpower
Thu 19 Feb 2026
How the world's biggest carbon emitter is now at the helm of a renewables revolution.
EU countries back stronger price curbs on new carbon market
Fri 20 Feb 2026
European Union countries on Wednesday backed plans to strengthen price curbs in the bloc's upcoming carbon market, EU diplomats told Reuters, in response to concerns from some governments that the policy could raise fuel bills.
Britain strengthens ties with California as new clean energy and climate agreement signed
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Britain has forged a deeper alliance with California on clean energy and climate action, as Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new agreement aimed at boosting transatlantic investment and environmental protection.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
Tue 17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
Modi's rooftop solar push slowed by reluctant lenders, states
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to accelerate the rollout of rooftop solar power is falling short of targets despite heavy subsidies due to loan delays and limited support from state utilities, vendors and analysts say.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Warming climate threatens Greenland's ancestral way of life
12 Feb 2026
The Arctic region is on the frontline of global warming, heating up four times faster than the rest of the planet since 1979, according to a 2022 study in scientific journal Nature, causing the sea ice to retreat.
Africa leads growth in solar energy as demand spreads beyond traditional markets, report says
16 Feb 2026
A report shows that Africa has emerged as the world's fastest-growing solar market even as global growth slowed last year, driven by a 60% surge in imports of solar panels from China.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
12 Feb 2026
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
