In January 2022, Beijing’s environmental protection bureau made international news when it announced that the city, home to 21 million people, has met its national air quality standards for the first time.

In a world where climate change-induced environmental emergencies, such as floods, extreme temperatures and fires, are increasingly becoming the norm, the future can often look uncertain.

This future is particularly uncertain for children, youth and future generations, who experts recognize as the most vulnerable group to the impacts of climate change.

In a milestone for the environment, Europeans purchased more electric cars than those powered by diesel last month. According to recent data, over 20 per cent of new cars sold in Europe and the United Kingdom (UK) in December 2021 were electric. Meanwhile, the sale of diesel vehicles in the European Union (EU) slipped below 19 per cent.

Chemicals and waste management, marine litter and a green recovery from COVID-19 are some of the issues the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) will address when it convenes for the second part of its fifth session. Environment ministers are also expected to adopt a declaration on strengthening actions for nature to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Activism works. That is the key takeaway for one Scout and Guides leader in eastern India’s Bihar State.

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December.

We live on a blue planet, with oceans and seas covering more than 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface. Oceans feed us, regulate our climate, and generate most of the oxygen we breathe.

With just one month to go until World Environment Day on 5 June, which will focus on solutions to plastic pollution, we look back at how a mountain advocate raised the alarm on the tide of waste inundating fragile ecosystems.

The ocean is home to coral reefs, the longest mountain chain in the world, ocean trenches and over 220,000 known species. It is also home to around 75 -199 million tons of plastic pollution.

By 2040, if changes aren’t urgently made, plastic pollution flowing into the ocean may increase from approximately 11 million metric tons a year to up to 37 million metric tons a year.