Biggest science news of 2021: COP26 Glasgow climate summit lays the groundwork for a decade of action

Within days of the dramatic closing of November’s COP26 climate summit, the Glasgow Climate Pact was already having an impact Environment 15 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan COP26 president Alok Sharma was visibly emotional in the summit’s closing moments REUTERS/Phil Noble JUST days after it was agreed on by nearly 200 countries at the COP26 … Read more

Cryptocurrencies: Ethereum delays emissions-slashing upgrade again

Ethereum is using almost as much electricity as Ecuador, according to a new analysis, and a long-awaited upgrade to slash its energy use has been delayed once again Technology 15 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes A coal-fired power plant in Germany Hans Blossey/Alamy A long-awaited upgrade to the Ethereum network which developers promise will slash … Read more

Thwaites glacier could break free of Antarctica by 2030

Antarctica’s Thwaites glacier could break free of the continent within 10 years, which could lead to catastrophic sea level rise and potentially set off a domino effect in surrounding ice Environment 13 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan Thwaites glacier on the West Antarctic ice sheet NASA/OIB/Jeremy Harbeck The front of a “doomsday glacier” in Antarctica … Read more

Thwaites glacier could break free of Antarctica by 2030

Antarctica’s Thwaites glacier could break free of the continent within 10 years, which could lead to catastrophic sea level rise and potentially set off a domino effect in surrounding ice Environment 13 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan Thwaites glacier on the West Antarctic ice sheet NASA/OIB/Jeremy Harbeck The front of a “doomsday glacier” in Antarctica … Read more

Arctic: Region may switch from snow to rain-dominated by 2060

Parts of the Arctic are now predicted to be rain-dominated as early as 2060, two decades faster than previously expected Environment 30 November 2021 By Adam Vaughan Icebergs are seen from NASA’s Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) research aircraft on September 7, 2021 near Upernavik, Greenland Mario Tama/Getty Images Climate change could see the Arctic switch … Read more

UK Net Zero Strategy: Government refuses to share details of what impact its carbon emissions plans will have

The UK government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has turned down a freedom of information request that would allow independent scrutiny of its plan for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions Environment 1 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, UK Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images The UK government … Read more

Methane is much worse than CO2 – here’s what we should do about it

Methane is an underappreciated but potent greenhouse gas. How we deal with it will have a massive impact on averting the worst consequences of climate change Environment 1 December 2021 By Graham Lawton The biggest source of methane is agriculture, mainly from livestock Jo-Anne McArthur on Unsplash After a year of weather extremes, there can … Read more

Methane’s climate impact was just one truth finally accepted at COP26

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque via Alamy One of the positives to come out of last month’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow was official recognition of the central role that climate science must play both in understanding and solving the problem. That might seem an odd thing to say – surely science has always been at the heart … Read more

Plastic food packaging gets a bad rap, but does it always deserve it?

By James Wong DigiPub/Getty Images Social media can be a powerful force for positive change, especially when it comes to environmental issues. A seemingly perfect example is the drive to stem the tide of single-use plastic, particularly when it comes to food packaging. Huge campaigns – including organised groups descending on supermarkets to strip and … Read more

Impossible Foods in talks with UK farmers to swap livestock for trees

Exclusive: CEO of plant-based “meat” firm plans to show economic and climate change benefits of planting trees on land used for cattle and sheep production Environment 2 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan Pat Brown with Impossible Foods’ plant-based burger ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images The chief executive of Impossible Foods is in talks with UK … Read more