Digest archive
Search every story
Climate
Pilgrim recounts extreme heat and struggle for shade during hajj
Original report:
Zirrar Ali’s account of performing hajj with his elderly father describes temperatures above 51°C, exhausting journeys and a desperate search for shade. The Guardian testimony highlights how extreme heat complicated both religious observance and caring for a vulnerable relative.
Climate
Brazil outlines fossil fuel transition options without binding deadlines
Original report:
Brazil published a global fossil fuel transition roadmap in November 2026, proposing measures countries could adopt without waiting for new technology. The guidance prioritised implementation, but a climate scientist warned that its lack of timelines left the required pace unclear.
Climate
India’s Climate Progress Was Uneven, December 2023 Assessment Found
Original report:
A December 2023 analysis published by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy found India had surpassed an earlier non-fossil power capacity target. But expanding clean energy fast enough and meeting its forest carbon-sink commitment remained substantial challenges.
Climate
India’s Gas Ambitions Faced Policy Barriers, 2021 Analysis Argued
Original report:
India’s plans to expand natural gas use alongside renewables faced tax, financing and enforcement obstacles, an October 2021 Energy for Growth Hub analysis argued. It identified cooking, transport and smaller industries as potential markets, rather than a broad power-sector shift from coal.
Climate
Warming seas could unbalance UK marine food webs, study warns
Original report:
A four-year study reported in November 2026 projected that warming could increase fish diversity while reducing plankton diversity around the UK and north-east Atlantic. Researchers warned that these uneven changes could undermine marine ecosystems and threaten food security by 2050.
Climate
McLachlan challenges Coalition climate rollback as break with conservative values
Original report:
Writing in the Guardian, Andrew McLachlan argues that the Australian Coalition’s proposed dismantling of climate targets, incentives and oversight contradicts conservative traditions. He calls for reforming existing institutions rather than abolishing them, while noting that many changes would require Senate support.
Climate
UK aid cuts hit Commonwealth countries and nature funding
Original report:
UK bilateral aid to Commonwealth countries with existing programmes is projected to fall sharply by 2028-29, according to analysis reported by the Guardian. Nature protection funding also faces restrictions, drawing criticism from charities as Commonwealth leaders meet in Antigua.
Climate
Penguin guano fuels algae that accelerate Antarctic snowmelt, study finds
Original report:
Researchers studying snow along the West Antarctic peninsula found that penguin droppings nourish green algal blooms, which absorb more solar energy than red algae. The process is not yet included in Antarctic melting projections, according to the report.
Climate
UK energy bill would expand Ofgem powers over brokers and executive bonuses
Original report:
Energy brokers and comparison services would come under Ofgem oversight through a planned UK bill targeting mis-selling and hidden commissions. The regulator would also gain powers to restrict executive payouts, alongside measures addressing rental energy efficiency and fracking.
Climate
UN warns adaptation funding for poorer nations remains far below needs
Original report:
Financial support for climate adaptation in developing countries has barely grown, despite mounting needs, a UN report says. The poorest nations received less funding in 2024 than in 2022, while wealthy countries remain behind their promised pace of support.
Climate
Australians grow more pessimistic despite steady social cohesion, survey finds
Original report:
Economic pressures dominate Australians’ concerns in the 2026 Scanlon report, with pessimism about the country’s future rising. The social cohesion index remains unchanged, however, and broad support for multiculturalism persists alongside increasingly negative attitudes toward some religious and migrant groups.