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Six bn tonnes of sand extracted from world's oceans each year: UN
Some six billion tonnes of sand and other sediment is extracted from the world's seas and oceans every year, the UN said Tuesday, warning of the devastating toll on biodiversity and coastal communities.

Calls for reform of global finance system dominate Africa climate talks
UN chief Antonio Guterres joined African leaders on Tuesday in demanding urgent reforms to the "outdated and unfair" global financial system, speaking at a landmark climate summit in Kenya aimed at showcasing the continent's green potential.

G20 per capita coal emissions growing: research
G20 per capita coal emissions continue to rise despite climate pledges and transition efforts by some members of the group of major economies, new research showed Tuesday.

African leaders to push for finance at climate summit
African leaders and global policymakers gather on Tuesday in Kenya for a climate summit aimed at showcasing the continent as a destination for investment in efforts to combat global warming.

S.African rhino farm, world's largest, bought by NGO
The largest rhino farm in the world, which is home to 2,000 animals and located in South Africa, has been bought by the NGO African Parks, the organisation said Monday.

S.African rhino farm, world's largest, bought by NGO: statement
The largest rhino farm in the world, which is home to 2,000 animals and located in South Africa, has been bought by the NGO African Parks, the organisation said Monday.

Invasive species problem will be 'worse before it gets better'
On land and in the sea, invasive species are destroying ecosystems, spreading disease and causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage every year, according to a landmark report Monday from the UN-backed science advisory panel for the UN Convention on Biodiversity.

EU chief warns wolf packs 'real danger' in Europe
Brussels launched a review Monday of laws protecting wolves from hunters and farmers, as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen argued that packs threaten livestock and perhaps even people.

Belgium struggles with spread of 'invasive' raccoons
Belgian forest ranger Thierry Petit can barely keep pace with call outs to deal with raccoons, a North American species branded an invasive threat to Europe's indigenous wildlife.

Global tensions risk clean energy progress: IEA chief
The head of the International Energy Agency on Monday urged the United States and China to align on key issues at the COP28 climate summit later this year, warning that "geopolitical fractures" risk holding back the switch to clean energy.

Tesla, Chinese EV brands jostle for limelight at German fair
One of the world's biggest auto shows opened in Munich on Monday, with Tesla ending a 10-year absence to jostle for the spotlight with Chinese rivals as the race for electric dominance heats up.

Can Africa grasp its green-powered potential?
No continent has been hit harder by climate change than Africa, and yet none has more potential for a future centred on green energy, a top expert has told AFP in an interview.

Helping or hindering? US scientists debate how to save giant sequoias
When ferocious wildfires tore through California's prized giant sequoia forests, they killed towering trees that have lived there for thousands of years -- and perhaps changed the nature of the groves forever.

Cute but calamitous: Australia labours under rabbit numbers
With their outsized ears and fluffy fur, rabbits are often seen as cute and harmless. Yet the creature is behind one of the globe's most harmful biological invasions, ravaging Australia, whose efforts to limit the problem have tended only to make things worse.

Minnows blamed for algae-filled French, Spanish lakes
Perched 1,800 metres (about 6,000 feet) near France's border with Spain lies the emerald Areau lake -- whose colour experts blame on minnows used by anglers as live bait.

Heat records topple across sweltering Asia
Temperature records are being toppled across Asia, from India's summer to Australia's winter, authorities said Friday, in fresh evidence of the impact of climate change.

Mont Blanc: The Holy Grail of ultra-trail running
More than 2,000 runners will on Friday set off for the 20th edition of the Mont Blanc Ultra Trail, a hellish 170-kilometre trail run in weather that is already turning wintry.

Brazil high court resumes key Indigenous lands case
Brazil's Supreme Court resumed hearings Wednesday in a closely watched case on whether to restrict native peoples' rights to claim their ancestral lands, a key buffer against climate change.

Climate change boosts risk of extreme wildfires 25%: study
Climate change has sharply boosted the risk of fast-spreading wildfires, according to a Californian study published Wednesday that offers lessons for prevention after recent disasters in Canada, Greece and Hawaii.

IMF warns climate shocks may increase conflict deaths
Climate change threatens to exacerbate conflict in fragile nations across the globe and lead to increased deaths, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report published Wednesday.

Oil firms pay Insta, TikTok influencers for ads
Oil companies are paying popular influencers to pump their gas on social media, sparking a backlash from some climate-conscious fans for promoting planet-warming fossil fuels among young people.

Norway opens world's biggest floating wind park
Norway inaugurated the world's biggest floating wind park in the North Sea on Wednesday, an emerging technology considered promising for the transition from fossil fuels to green energy.

French heatwave sets new late-summer record
Temperatures in France hit an all-time high for late summer on Tuesday, the weather authority said, as the country continues to swelter under a punishing heatwave.

China's sushi fans flounder over Fukushima water release
At his restaurant in central Beijing, controversy over the release of Fukushima wastewater has left Yao facing a choice: continue stocking his popular Japanese tuna and risk the ire of some consumers or source it from other countries where price and quality could vary.

Final preparations under way for Fukushima water release
Final preparations to discharge waste water from the crippled Fukushima power plant in Japan were under way Wednesday, its operator said, a day before the scheduled release into the Pacific Ocean.

Greek firefighters battle major blazes on multiple fronts
Greek firefighters on Wednesday struggled to contained uncontrolled fires throughout the country for a fifth day, several of them bordering an acrid, smoke-filled Athens.

Elusive Japanese 'Ninja' bear killed
Hunters in Japan's remote north have killed an elusive and infamous brown bear nicknamed "Ninja" that attacked at least 66 cows, officials said Tuesday.

Crying wolf to save livestock and their predator
Using a powerful torch, Aliki Buhayer-Mach momentarily drenches a nearby mountain top in light, straining to see if wolves are lurking in the shadows.

Japan to start releasing Fukushima water on Thursday
Japan will begin releasing cooling water from the stricken Fukushima power plant on Thursday, 12 years after one of the world's worst nuclear disasters.

Ecuador votes to halt oil drilling in Amazon reserve
Ecuadorans have voted to stop an oil drilling project in an Amazon reserve, according to the results Monday of a referendum hailed as a historic example of climate democracy.

Spain PM hopes Tenerife wildfire will stabilise 'in coming days'
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Monday he hoped a wildfire that has forced thousands of people to evacuate on the holiday island of Tenerife will be stabilised "in the coming days".

France sizzles in late summer heatwave
Tens of millions of people in France sweated through a late summer heatwave on Monday, with record temperatures expected in the wine-growing Rhone valley region and a forest fire also blazing in the southeast.