Australia-US minerals deal underpinned decision to allow Alcoa to keep clearing WA forest, document reveals

China's Xinhua news agency has just published this editorial cartoon in response to Trump's rejection of climate policies. It is pretty clear that China views this as a HUGE geopolitical fumble by the US leaving the field clear for China's to win the global race to clean-tech hegemony

18°47'06.5"S, 22°41'38.8"E Botswana, 2024 Life in the ‘wildlife corridor’ unfolds, exploring shifting traditions, conflict mitigation, and community–conservation balance with the Eretsha village dance group and herding programmes. Photographer: Verity FitzGerald (verityfitzgerald.com)

NEWS DIGEST | Geopolitics of Venezuela’s Oil + Minerals Venezuela’s oil is back in focus—but minerals matter too. Rare earths face limits: China processes most; mining threatens Indigenous lands and forests. Stability hinges on transition, accountability. Sources: @cnn.com @newsweek.com

IRAN | Revolution, Repression, Resistance Since 1979, Iranians have cycled through hope, betrayal, and revolt. A stolen revolution, eroded freedoms, economic collapse, and recurring uprisings—this isn’t chaos. It’s continuity. What’s still erased? 💬 #Iran #SystemicViolence #HumanRights #Resistance

NEWS DIGEST | Ice Outside The Law Humans have laws about land and sea — but not about sea ice. As the Arctic melts and shipping, drilling and new commercial routes expand, the region is entering a legal vacuum: one where frozen water isn’t clearly governed by existing treaties. #SystemicChange

NEWS DIGEST | 2025: The Year in Climate Policy failures, natural disasters, and a warming future defined the year, serving as both a recap and a warning about the stakes for the next decade. 💬 What defined 2025 for you? Full report by @insideclimatenews.org insideclimatenews.org/news/2812202...

Prints for Lanka is a photo & art print fundraiser with 50 Sri Lankan and international artists. Every print supports families affected by Cyclone Ditwah, centring women and children. Sale ends 31 Dec 🤍 printsforlanka.com

As an expert, I agree: “Experts say the impact of climate change will be far worse for biodiversity than any individual renewable energy project.” www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...

Surging demand for construction sand threatens Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake. Research shows Mekong sand mining has deepened channels and halved wet-season flows into Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, the river’s “heartbeat,” underscoring urgent calls for coordinated basin governance.

NEWS DIGEST | South Sudan Floods This digest traces how climate change interacts with conflict, underdeveloped infrastructure, and restricted aid access - turning floods into a long-term emergency rather than a short-term shock. Read complete reporting by @apnews.com apnews.com/article/sout...

The Arctic Ocean acts to stabilize the AMOC New paper in #ScienceAdvances by researchers from @bjerknes.uib.no and @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social showing how ongoing Atlantification and sea ice loss leads to a strengthening of the Arctic overturning circulation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Sweden has approved the Nunasvaara South graphite mine on Sámi winter grazing land. The company says design changes and seasonal shutdowns will limit harm, but herders fear displacement, criticize weak safeguards, and say the EU fast-track bypassed meaningful consultation.

OPEN CALL | 'How do you experience climate as it interacts with the built environment?' Join the 'Built Environment' series to explore how constructed spaces relate to climate. Share a photo that highlights this connection in everyday life. Deadline: 10th Jan, 2026 Submission Form: bit.ly/3YOYJQ1

Record heat was tied or set in over a dozen states Sunday. More are expected today. Daily records are at risk during this holiday week. Climate Shift Index shows this 15°-25°F+ above average December warmth has a strong climate change fingerprint...and in some places would be rare without it.

Just before the Xmas break🎉 In @journalofecology.bsky.social and led by Anvar Sanaei, we provide insight into #trait coordination across 90 common and future European #tree species👇 doi.org/10.1111/1365... @agwirthweigelt.bsky.social @unileipzig.bsky.social @uni-freiburg.de

NEWS DIGEST | Heating Cities With Data Centres Finland is capturing waste heat from underground data centres and feeding it into district heating networks — turning server heat into a shared urban resource. #AI #DataCentres #HeatIslands #UrbanResource

The climate headwinds have felt stronger and uniquely destructive this year. However, at Project Drawdown, we are NOT slowing down our work on climate solutions - we are stepping up in a big way. There is no scientific or ethical reason to stop fighting for the future! 💚 if you agree!

It's official: We'll surpass 1.5 C. This major climate target has been dead for years. This year, people are finally acknowledging it. So, what happens now? @umairfan.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4726...

A people centered climate transition could generate a net gain of up to 375M jobs in the next decade. 🏗️👷 New analysis from WRI Climate and Systemiq outlines a 10 point Action Agenda to put jobs, skills, and equity at the core of the new economy: bit.ly/4pGZ5Ef

The country’s biggest magnesium producer went bankrupt. Who’s going to clean up the $100M mess? US Magnesium, on the shores of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, left a legacy of environmental problems. grist.org/accountabili... #Utah #Toxic #SaltLake #Environment

During the Amazon’s 2023 heat wave, half of monitored lakes topped 37°C, a study finds. In Tefé Lake, record 41°C waters killed more than 200 river dolphins and thousands of fish — a stark warning as Amazon lakes warm by 0.6°C per decade.

🗞️ ISSUE 07 | Icarus Complex Annual Magazine Check out the latest publication by Icarus Complex Magazine, an independent media exploring the systemic roots of the climate crisis: in-depth stories + creative solutions from around the world. #Publication #ClimateJournalism #ClimateStories Link:

NEWS DIGEST | Sumatra Floods Extreme rainfall, landslides, and river surges hit the western Sumatra provinces (Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra). The floods have killed around 950 people and left hundreds missing. Sources: @climatechangenews.com @japantimes.co.jp @antaranews #ClimateShift

In 2024, nearly 8.1 million hectares of forest were permanently lost around the world — an area roughly half the size of England. Experts say the world is far off track to meet a target pledged four years ago during COP26 to halt and reverse global deforestation by 2030.

For 15 million people, the Rio Grande River is indispensable. Unfortunately, it is also vulnerable. This summer, the river ran dry, threatening the livelihoods of farmers who grow vital crops for the U.S. food system. We need to protect this river for the communities and ecosystems it supports.

[FOUNDER'S BRIEF - @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social] In 2012, Mongabay shifted from ads to a nonprofit model. Mongabay Indonesia showed that journalism could drive real transparency and impact. Leaving ads behind let us focus on public-interest reporting, collaboration and global reach — not clicks.

Hurricane season is over. Here’s why the US never got hit. For the first time in a decade, the country avoided landfall, thanks to an atmospheric anomaly. But this hurricane season was exceptional in other bad ways, too. grist.org/science/hurr... #Weather #Disaster #Hurricanes

Want to feel hopeful about climate action? Look to local politics. 75% of the commitments that the US made at the Paris climate agreement can be reached entirely without federal support. I dug into this for @us.theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

As I say here, this is not about saving the planet. The planet will be orbiting the sun long after we’re gone. The question is, will there be a healthy, thriving human society on that planet? The answer to that question is very much up for grabs at this point.

Indigenous women leaders are key defenders of their territories, biodiversity and ancestral knowledge. Three women from Peru, Mexico and Colombia share how they restore ecosystems, care for communities and protect Amazonian life for future generations.

Just a short boat ride from Belém where #COP30 took place, resides the quilombola community of Menino Jesus. Like other forest dwellers, they lacked significant representation at COP30, despite being one of the groups most impacted by climate change & industrial expansion. https://bit.ly/4pKEajf

Why did the Colorado River Indian Tribes declare the river a legal person? @ianjames.bsky.social spoke with Chairwoman Amelia Flores: www.latimes.com/environment/...

For me, 2025 has felt like a particularly heavy year ... and you might feel the same. So as we head into the holiday season, I wanted to share a few recommendations — books, podcasts, and newsletters — that encourage me, make me think, and remind me how hope begins with action.

NEWS DIGEST | Indigenous Cultural Burns As wildfires intensify, two essential traditions, Cultural and Prescribed burns, offer a powerful path to healthier forests and stronger communities. Full article by @insideclimatenews.org: insideclimatenews.org/news/2911202... #Wildfires #CulturalBurns

The Arctic is worth protecting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fpvH1jpjg

One small Indigenous territory is currently the site of roughly 70% of deforestation in Indigenous territories across the Brazilian Amazon due to illegal mining over the last two years, according to government data.

The stretch of the Rio Grande running through Albuquerque has run dry twice since 2022, after not doing so for decades, impacting all forms of life that depend on its flows.

People living along polluted Thames file legal complaint to force water firm to act

COP30 resulted in "an agreement that does not remotely align with science and leaves millions of people in frontline communities 'exposed to the worst impacts and with few options for their survival,' said @oxfam.org.br ED @vivianasantiago.bsky.social." www.thenation.com/article/envi...

Reducing nature into only numbers we risk losing what matters most. “Our planet’s biodiversity is not a collection of interchangeable parts that can be easily valued and traded like stocks or shares. It is the intricate, evolved web of life that sustains us all.” www.forestsnews.org/92372/our-fo...

The climate crisis won’t wait and neither will we. With this team, we’ll meet it head-on.

“People asking about climate are like, What do we do? Actually, the answer is to be more human. We have to understand that the climate movement’s strength comes from being a moral and a human movement.” Rhianna Gunn-Wright & @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social Full read: hammerandhope.org/article/clim...

The Cloud Isn’t Weightless Words by Teodor Georgiev August 12, 2025 icaruscomplexmagazine.com/the-cloud-is...

ARTICLE | The Cloud Isn't Weightless 'Digital activities account for 40% of the CO₂ emissions we can emit without triggering global warming’ — a reminder that online life has an offline cost. Words by Teodor Georgiev @biofuelwatch.bsky.social Full article: bit.ly/4pul1lw

New global wetlands data is now live on the UN Biodiversity Lab Governments, researchers & planners can track wetland extent, condition & restoration priorities, a key step for climate mitigation & resilient landscapes. 🔗: https://bit.ly/3Km5dm1 #Trees4Resilience

As climate change talks took center stage at COP30, a growing number of countries have integrated ocean-based solutions into their national climate commitments. A new report found that 92% of coastal and island nations’ updated climate plans now include ocean-related measures.

NEWS DIGEST | Iran's water crisis Drought, overuse, and poor planning have pushed Iran to the brink, with empty reservoirs & salty farmland. Officials recognize mistakes, such as placing industries in arid areas & over-extracting aquifers for crops like rice & watermelon. #ClimateJustice #Iran

Climate misinformation is everywhere. This guide equips journalists (and anyone around the Thanksgiving dinner table) to recognize and refute key myths and report the truth.