China makes underwhelming energy pledge ahead of COP26
President Xi Jinping is attempting to wean the world’s biggest polluter off coal, with a target of peaking China’s carbon emissions in 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. Is this bold enough? In the run up to COP26, pressure is mounting against China to make some drastic commitments. If reports...
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Paris Hilton is lobbying for youth home reform
The abuse survivor condemned a ‘systemwide lack of transparency and accountability’ in the troubled teen industry and is part of a push to change laws governing congregate care facilities. From boot camps to boarding schools, congregate care facilities are often marketed as treatment for a broad range of adolescent behavioural...
US plastics could reportedly create more emissions than coal by 2030
The American plastics industry is being described by climate experts as ‘the new coal,’ as emerging reports show a release of 232 million tons of greenhouse gases per year. By this stage you’re probably sick to the back teeth, like we are, of the daily doom scrolling through despondent climate...
COP26 can save us from more than just a warming world
A new policy brief published by The Lancet suggests that although it is regarded as an environmental problem, climate change is ‘first and foremost’ a health crisis. By now, we already know the massive impact COP26 could have on the trajectory of the human species. It’s been labelled as the...
COP’s biggest moments that caused public stir and grabbed headlines
As the 26th annual COP approaches, it’s time to run back major moments from prior summits that caused real public stir and the movements which preceded them. If you’re reading this now, chances are you’re relatively clued up on COP26 already thanks to the constant headlines popping up across major...
Unregistered IVF clinics on the rise in Nigeria
The demand for in-vitro fertilisation is growing, but unregulated clinics handling egg donation is making the process financially exploitative for Nigerian women. In Nigeria, the human egg donation industry is booming. Despite having a high fertility rate, an estimated one in four Nigerian couples depend on in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) to start...
Exploring the failures of past COP meetings
Global climate summits feel like they hold the key to saving our planet, but they haven’t always been the most successful. When studied retrospectively, a clear set of issues emerge. Despite global leaders openly discussing the dangers of climate change since the 1980s, most have failed to implement solutions to the problem on a large scale. We’ve had four decades of alarming data and scientific warnings – yet no tangible...
What are the biggest achievements from previous COPs?
With COP26 about to begin, it’s worth reminiscing over the biggest and best achievements of the initiative so far. There’s plenty to shout about. I’m sure that you’ve probably heard of COP 26 by now, the latest climate change summit between major world leaders set to take place from the end of October into November. It’s a long running event that usually takes place annually – though we’ve had...
How Slovenia is assuming the lead on environmental action in Europe
Ljubljana, the country’s capital city, has been car-free for well over a decade. Given the initiative’s success, will it be long before other nations follow suit? With COP 26 just days away, heads of state, diplomats, and activists are gearing up to discuss how we’re going to prevent the average global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. During this crucial moment for efforts to address the threats of climate...
Sponsors raise doubts about the success of COP26
Million-pound corporate sponsors of the world’s most important climate summit have complained that the event has been grossly ‘mismanaged’ with plans coming together at the ‘very last minute’. With COP26 kicking off in Glasgow in less than two weeks, concerns are mounting over whether or not the event will be able to run smoothly. Major sponsors of the climate summit such as NatWest, Microsoft, and Unilever have made serious complaints regarding...
