Environment

High stakes and faint hopes on eve of UN summit in Brazil

The US will be the ghost at the feast as nations gather for a summit that has never been more urgent in the wake of Hurricane Melissa

Britain can’t afford to delay its green energy transition

Stalling our transformation of the grid will only harm the environment, raise costs, and risk jobs

The prizewinning author who almost lost his nerve

Sunil Amrith explains how he wrote The Burning Earth, a ‘magisterial’ study of mankind and its relationship with nature

Climate cost debate rages on

Opinion in Europe is divided on EU directives on corporate sustainability reporting

Fossil fuel companies are slashing their renewable investments

The trend could hinder the transition to net zero

Why Churchill’s birthplace lies at the heart of UK energy battle

Row over plans to build 2 million panels on land around Blenheim Palace has become symbolic of a national struggle

Profile: Zack Polanski, Green party leader

The former actor and hypnotherapist has swept in on a tide of leftwing populism that will worry Labour

My week as a vespillo burying beetle

Each week, Simon Barnes hears what the past seven days have been like for a member of the animal kingdom

Swamp life takes hold in Windermere

Other countries can keep their lakes clean. Why can’t Britain?

Spanish blazes foretell a fiery future

Resilience and public awareness can mitigate against raging wildfires. But climate change is the elephant in the room

‘I don’t see the world, I hear it’: My week as a Ganges river dolphin

Each week, Simon Barnes hears what the past seven days have been like for a member of the animal kingdom

My week as a marmalade hoverfly

‘Keep away, I’m dangerous, my stripes exclaim. But I’m no wasp’ – Simon Barnes hears what the past seven days have been like for a member of the animal kingdom

UN delegates battle to make life a little less plastic

A landmark treaty on plastic pollution could be a saviour to the world’s ecosystems. But there might be unintended consequences

World divided as plastics push elephants closer to extinction

A UN treaty to ban single-use products is facing resistance from nations including the US, India and Russia

The treaty that could end the plastic deluge

The man behind landmark research into microplastics thinks a possible UN pact might help us clean up our act

My week as a crane

After a 500-year absence, we're dancing our way back into Britain

New BP chair will cement move out of green energy

Albert Manifold is likely to be sympathetic to changes demanded by US activist investor Elliott Management

Drift in the Rift: a slow safari in Tanzania

Human connection and foraged honey are at the heart of a ‘slow safari’ in Tanzania’s Rift Valley