Environment

SYDNEY — Heavy rainfall is bringing more dangerous flooding to Australia. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for Western Australia, and officials say once-in-a-century flooding has hit areas in the north of the state. The Australian military has been called in to help rescue residents in Fitzroy Crossing, a remote town of […]

ST. LOUIS — President Joe Biden’s administration Friday finalized regulations that protect hundreds of thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways, repealing a Trump-era rule that federal courts had thrown out — that environmentalists said left waterways vulnerable to pollution. The rule defines which “waters of the United States” are protected by the Clean Water […]

In 2022, photographers with The Associated Press captured signs of a planet in distress as climate change reshaped many lives. That distress was seen in the scarred landscapes in places where the rains failed to come. It was felt in walloping storms, land-engulfing floods, suffocating heat and wildfires no longer confined to a single season. […]

NEW YORK — Scientists have uncovered new clues about a curious fossil site in Nevada, a graveyard for dozens of giant marine reptiles. Instead of the site of a massive die-off as suspected, it might have been an ancient maternity ward where the creatures came to give birth. The site is famous for its fossils from […]

GENEVA — The World Health Organization says climate change is behind an unprecedented surge in the number of cholera outbreaks around the world this year. At least 30 countries have reported outbreaks of the deadly disease this year, about a third higher than normally seen. Philippe Barboza, WHO’s team leader for cholera and epidemic diarrheal diseases, […]

JOHANNESBURG — A South African researcher has developed a way to remove contaminants from water used in mining that could help clean up the dirty industry. The award-winning ion exchange method not only cleans the water but captures polluting metals that can then be re-purposed. At a Johannesburg laboratory, researchers from the University of the […]

MONTREAL — Industry executives have joined activists and negotiators from nearly 200 countries at this month’s U.N. nature summit in Montreal, where negotiations on a global pact to protect nature could lead to tougher disclosure requirements for businesses. Sectors such as mining, agriculture, oil and fashion are under scrutiny at the COP15 talks, due to their […]

MONTREAL — High-stakes biodiversity talks opened in Montreal on Wednesday, amid calls for a “peace pact with nature” to save the planet’s species and ecosystems from irreversible human destruction. Delegates from around the world gathered for the December 7-19 COP15 meeting to try to reach a new deal for nature: a 10-year framework aimed at saving […]

PARIS — Companies exporting products like chocolate, timber and palm oil will soon face tough new European Union regulations to ensure these goods aren’t linked to deforestation. The measures are a first for Europe and the world — and may set a global precedent. Environmentalists are hailing the groundbreaking legislation endorsed by the European Union early […]

BRUSSELS — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday the bloc must act to address “distortions” created by Washington’s $430-billion plan to spur climate-friendly technologies in the United States. The European Union must “take action to rebalance the playing field where the IRA [Inflation Reduction Act] or other measures create distortions,” von der Leyen said […]