‘Planetary boundaries’ necessary for flourishing of life have been massively breached, scientists warn

The planetary life support systems relied upon by humans have deteriorated to their worst levels ever recorded amid ongoing pollution and habitat destruction, according to a key yet grim annual update by scientists. 

Of the nine “planetary boundaries” that help determine whether life can flourish on Earth, seven are being breached at their highest ever levels of transgression, according to the latest planetary health check, a process that was established in 2009…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/21/planetary-boundaries-breached-scientists-warn-climate-crisis

 

‘Jaw-dropping’ El Niño bursts through temperature record months before peak

‘Godzilla-level’ phenomenon is supercharging the climate crisis and will have a huge impact on communities across the world…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/21/super-el-nino-temperature-record

 

Destroyed crops, riverbed cyclists and a ‘Rock of Starvation’: how drought has devastated the Danube

The Guardian travelled 100 miles along the EU’s longest river, where some residents are struggling to secure drinking water…

https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/aug/16/danube-drought-destroyed-crops-rock-of-starvation-climate-crisis

 

‘Unprecedented, dangerous territory’: US north-west reckons with a summer of historic wildfires

Extreme conditions in Washington and Oregon have fueled fast-moving fires, leaving the region draped in toxic plumes – and the danger isn’t over…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/us-wildfires-pacific-north-west

 

Human-driven climate crisis fuels Canada’s deadly wildfires, study finds

Current blazes roaring across country more than twice as likely to occur because of fossil fuel-driven global heating…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/06/canada-wildfires-climate-crisis

 

Climate crisis poses growing threat to ‘core financial stability’, official at EU's bank warns

Ecosystem services are defined as any benefit that can be drawn from a natural structure or process – for example, water can be used as a raw material, an energy source through hydropower, or for transportation. It is also a habitat for marine life critical for food production, and a basis for recreational services. 

“Nature-related risks can pose material economic and financial risks, including through their impacts on credit risk, growth, inflation and – over the long-term – potential financial instability,” Elderson said...

 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/01/ecb-climate-wildfires-global-economy-stability

 

‘It’s too fast, too big’: speed of climate crisis is devastating crops, say farmers

Drought and extreme heat are killing plants, driving up prices while also making some farms economically unviable…

 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/31/speed-of-climate-crisis-devastating-crops-say-farmers

 

‘Extremely scary findings’ show climate crisis is supercharging Europe’s wildfire weather

Latest study says global heating has made hot, dry and windy conditions in Spain at least 20 times more likely…

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/31/wildfires-extreme-weather-europe-spain-france-climate-crisis-analysis

 

Trump hands Xavier Becerra a climate dilemma - POLITICO

If he coasts to victory in November, as expected, Xavier Becerra will face competing pressures: delivering on the affordability message that propelled him through the primary while fending off President Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on California’s climate agenda...

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/31/xavier-becerra-california-climate-goals-trump-01018137

 

The rightwing campaign to control how US judges view the climate crisis

As cities and states sue big oil for billions in damages over allegations that it covered up the dangers of its products, rightwing organizations are attempting to discredit the wave of litigation. They claim the lawyers behind it are teaming up with an environmentally focused legal education non-profit to bias federal judges against oil companies. 

But it is actually fossil fuel-backed organizations that are attempting to sway the judiciary in their favor, one of those law firms is countering. Evidence of this includes judicial seminars hosted by one such group featuring pro-industry speakers such as the current energy secretary, Chris Wright, in his former occupation as a fracking executive…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/10/judges-climate-crisis-energy-secretary

 

‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level, study finds

The process of relocating people from New Orleans should start immediately, as the city has reached a “point of no return” that will see it surrounded by the ocean within decades due to the climate crisis, a stark new study has concluded.

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/04/new-orleans-sea-levels-relocation-climate-crisis

 

Red-state Republicans seek climate ‘liability shield’ for fossil fuel industry

If enacted, Utah and Oklahoma measures would restrict litigation against oil companies over role in climate crisis…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/13/republicans-climate-liability-shield-fossil-fuel-industry

 

More than 200 environmental groups demand halt to new US data centers

Exclusive: Congress urged to act against energy-hungry facilities blamed for increasing bills and worsening climate crisis…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/us-data-centers

 

 

 

Trump orders agencies to ‘sunset’ environmental protections

He ordered agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Energy Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Fish and Wildlife Service to amend regulations so that they expire by October 2026...

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5242921-trump-executive-order-environmental-protections-sunset/ 

 

EPA Plans to End Greenhouse Gas Reporting for Most Polluters — ProPublica

Climate experts expressed shock and dismay at the move. "It would be a bit like unplugging the equipment that monitors the vital signs of a patient that is critically ill," one said...

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-epa-greenhouse-gas-reporting-climate-crisis 

 

Days of severe storms leave 18 dead as rising rivers threaten US south and midwest

In Kentucky, downtown Frankfort, the state's capital, was inundated. 

"As long as I've been alive – and I'm 52 – this is the worst I've ever seen it," said Wendy Quire, the general manager at the Brown Barrel restaurant… 

The ongoing, global climate crisis is bringing heavier rainfall and related flood risks to most parts of the US, with the upper midwest and Ohio River valley among the regions most affected, according to Climate Central, an independent non-profit that researches weather patterns…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/06/deadly-severe-storms-rising-rivers-flooding-south-midwest

 

Fury as US argues against climate obligations at top UN court

 "Once again, we witness a disheartening attempt by the US to evade its responsibilities as one of the world's largest polluters," said Vishal Prasad, director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change. "The US is content with its business-as-usual approach and has taken every possible measure to shirk its historical responsibility, disregard human rights and reject climate justice."…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/04/us-climate-crisis-legal-court

EPA chief vows to take on Republican-led states over rollback of climate rules

Regan cited a litany of regulatory, as well as legal, accomplishments made under Biden, such as the establishment of more stringent emissions rules for cars, trucks and power plants, key sources of pollution in low-income, Black and Hispanic communities, as well as specific actions to tackle a drinking water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, and raw sewage in Alabama. A beefed-up environmental justice office, with 200 staffers, now sits in the heart of the EPA apparatus...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/18/epa-michael-regan-republicans-climate-crisis

State poised to become first in US to charge big oil for climate damage

Mihaly said supporters had worked to build a "robust record to demonstrate that there's a rational basis for this law", adding that the Vermont attorney general, Charity Clark, supported the bill and said her office was "ready to proudly defend the law"...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/09/vermont-charge-oil-industry-climate-crisis

The climate crisis explained in 10 charts

From the seemingly inexorable increase in atmospheric CO2 to the rapid growth in green energy, we explore the data as Cop28 begins…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/30/the-climate-crisis-explained-in-10-charts-co2-green-energy-cop28