Is London’s dream of ‘swimmable rivers’ a safe one?
Mayor Sadiq Khan has made a bold pledge that rivers across the capital will be swimmable within 10 years. But local authorities are concerned the plan is a threat to public safety. In 2023, Sir Saqiq Khan announced plans to ‘turbocharge’ restoring London’s rivers and waterways, part of a broader...
Current in Planet
Inside the ‘moonshot’ plan to rewild an area larger than London
As The National Trust marks its 130-year anniversary, it has announced a decade-long plan to rewild an area bigger than the size of Greater London. The UK’s National Trust is the biggest conservation charity in Europe, with 5.37 million members, 10,000 staff, and thousands of volunteers. Entering 130 years in operation,...
Will Trump successfully reverse Biden’s offshore drilling ban?
President Biden’s bold move to ban offshore drilling in federal waters has sparked a fierce reaction from President-elect Donald Trump, who previously pledged to undo the move. The past few days have been a field day for climate action enthusiasts thanks to Biden’s new environmental policy. For the longest...
Tropical cyclone Chido wreaks havoc in Mozambique
The tropical cyclone Chido wreaked havoc in northern Mozambique affecting more than 180,000 people, and once again showed how climate change decimates the continent. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN, OCHA) report, the organization confirms that the cyclone has killed at least...
The richness of Congo Basin biodiversity revealed in new report
In this astonishing report of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Congo Basin, often known as the 'Lungs of Africa', yet again is hailed for its ecological importance. In the last decade, scientists have revealed over 700 more species of animals and plants that were previously unknown to the rest...
What’s sun blocking and why are scientists warning against it?
The controversial technology, which is intended to limit the effects of climate change by reflecting sunlight back into space, might not be such a great idea after all. As we know, hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists expect our planet to breach the internationally agreed 1.5C threshold by 2027...
What happens when wildlife becomes an online sensation?
Social media is posing a new and increasing threat to vulnerable species and habitats around the world as nature enthusiasts calling attention to rare biodiversity on their platforms are unintentionally sending viewers flocking to snap their own photos of already-endangered flora and fauna. On social media, gatekeeping is standard practice. Yet as much as this irritates netizens – rightly so when it involves an item of clothing or value-for-money...
Britain leads the world for climate protest crackdowns
‘Freedom of speech’ is a tetchy subject in the UK, and yet a new study has revealed that Britain leads the world for police crackdowns on climate activism. Britain has taken the lead in cracking down on climate activism, with research showing UK police arrest environmental protesters at nearly three times the global average. Around 17% of protests in the UK end in arrests, compared to a global average of just...
UN says 80% of Earth’s land is drying
This year's UNCCD COP16 summit dubbed 'Our Land, Our Future,' highlights the pressing need to tackle growing land degradation worldwide. The latest UN report reveals that over three-quarters of the Earth's land has already dried up for good. The United Nations presented disturbing findings on Monday at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification - UNCCD COP16 summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - that about 77.6% of Earth's land has...
Why has the price of coffee hit an almost fifty-year high?
Coffee prices have been on a steady incline for the last few decades, but in 2024 the price of the world’s most popular bean variety has increased by 70 percent. What’s behind this rapid change? Feeling scammed whenever you pay your local coffee shop £3.40 for your flat white? Well hold on, because that figure might just rise in the coming months. New reports have revealed that prices for Arabica coffee...
