August 29, 2024 The newly elected head of the body that regulates deep sea mining has pledged to reform the organisation, which has faced major criticism in recent weeks.Leticia Carvalho was elected as the next secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority at a meeting earlier this month.Before the meeting, media reports detailed a sometimes-vicious fight for the role between Carvalho and the incumbent, Michael
August 29, 2024 The Chinese research vessel Deep Sea No. 1 set off from Qingdao in eastern China early this month, carrying the manned submersible Jiaolong and headed for a deep-sea scientific expedition in the western Pacific Ocean, a China News Service report says.The expedition involves international scientists for the first time and aims to study the biodiversity and environment of typical deep-sea habitats. Jiaolong, a China-developed
The small Caribbean island is struggling to deal with environmental and economic damage from algae inundation. By Julian Reingold, August 28, 2024Crane Beach in south-east Barbados is struggling to deal with vast influxes of sargassum (Image: Lautaro Isern / Dialogue Earth)Sargassum inundates Barbados in the summer, covering beaches, docks and coral reefs.Emerging from the sea a light orange colour, the seaweed turns brown once
The compensation fund could help fishers from small island and coastal states, but many challenges remain. By Daniel Cressey, July 25, 2024A fisher on a beach in southern Jamaica. Countries like it could benefit from the loss and damage fund, which aims to offer compensation for harm incurred from climate change, but experts fear calculating claims may prove challenging (Image: Ron Giling / Alamy)Hundreds of millions of dollars have been
August 29, 2024 Flooding has affected the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin, north-west China, with videos on social media showing submerged roads.The inundations were triggered by high temperatures, snowmelt, and heavy rainfall since July, according to the Ministry of Water Resources. These conditions caused Tarim River tributaries to overflow, prompting the Xinjiang Water Resources Department to activate a flood emergency
It will be tough to ensure the “fuel-switch” changes are genuinely low-carbon, economic and sustained, writes economist Zhang Shuwei. By Zhang Shuwei, August 19, 2024A worker checks processed material at a biomass-fuel producing company in Qingtongxia, north-west China. Biomass is to be blended with coal in Chinese power plants to reduce coal’s carbon intensity (Image: Yang Zhisen / Imago / Alamy)One obvious response to the climate crisis
