Climate change

Analysis of the science, politics and economics of the climate


Latest stories

offshore wind turbines and oil tankers in Aberdeen

Aberdeen shows why the UK’s clean-energy transition will be messy

The jobs in renewables can’t come fast enough to replace those related to oil and gas

Feeding Reindeer on a Sami Farm

Europe wants Sweden’s minerals. That’s more bad news for the Sami

Weak legal protections are pushing reindeer-herders to the brink


An illustration of industrial buildings with smoking chimneys creating a smog in the air which blends into circuit board-like patterns.

AI models are helping dirty industries go green

Mining companies and steelmakers are feeling the benefits


AI models can help generate cleaner power

Energy companies are using them to increase efficiency and spot problems

How AI could help the climate

The technology could help decarbonise the industries that have proved the hardest to clean up

Negotiators must prepare for a chaotic COP in Brazil

The climate meeting will be hot, humid and uncomfortable. That might help




Politics

An illustration of a plug and a socket separated but a fence with barbed wire.

Why don’t more countries import their electricity? 

The economics make sense, but the geopolitics are nerve-racking


illustration of a world map outlined by a single red electrical cord, with a plug at one end and a socket at the other

To make electricity cheaper and greener, connect the world’s grids

Less than 3% of the world’s power is internationally traded—a huge wasted opportunity


Much of the damage from the LA fires could have been averted

The lesson of the tragedy is that better incentives will keep people safe



Business and finance

A man carries a gas cylinder near a gas distribuitor in Yumbo, department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia.

The green promises of Colombia’s president ring ever more hollow

Costly imported gas? Sure! Big gas discovery? Great!

TVs on seat backs in a plane.

Carbon emissions from tourism are rising disproportionately fast

The industry is failing to make itself greener


An illustration showing the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and the costs associated with it.

The energy transition will be much cheaper than you think

Most analysts overestimate energy demand and underestimate technological advances


King coal is dirty, dangerous—and far from dead

Rumours of its rapid demise have been greatly exaggerated



Science and data

Navy submarine

Climate change may make it harder to spot submarines

The sound of their engines will not travel as far

The rising Earth is about five degrees above the lunar horizon.

Global warming is speeding up. Another reason to think about geoengineering

Reducing sulphur emissions saves lives. But it could also be hastening planetary warming


Sun glint on the Caspian Sea.

Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why

Paradoxically, cleaner emissions from ships and power plants are playing a role


What has four stomachs and could change the world?

Technology is transforming cattle farming, but not fast enough



Latest coverage

Science & technology

Scientists are getting to grips with ice

Climate change is making water freeze in unexpected ways

The Americas

Negotiators must prepare for a chaotic COP in Brazil

The climate meeting will be hot, humid and uncomfortable. That might help

China

China could greatly reduce its reliance on coal. It probably will not

Even though solar and wind power are growing at a blistering pace

Middle East & Africa

The sea is swallowing an African island

In Sierra Leone, adjusting to a warmer climate is getting harder

Britain

The rise of the Net-Zero Dad

Middle-aged men care less about the problem. But they love the solution 

Finance & economics

The Arctic: climate change’s great economic opportunity

An enormous prize is on offer. When might it be grasped?

Graphic detail

Which parts of the world are becoming more prone to wildfires?

Two maps explain why fire seasons are lasting longer and becoming more dangerous

Leaders

Much of the damage from the LA fires could have been averted

The lesson of the tragedy is that better incentives will keep people safe

United States

How will calamity change Los Angeles?

Short-sighted policies amplified the destruction. Will LA–and California–learn from their mistakes?

Graphic detail

How to make sense of 2024’s wild temperatures

Our climate team highlight four charts and two maps

United States

Los Angeles against the flames

Always vulnerable, the city is increasingly susceptible to fire

The Americas

Failure to prepare for climate change is costing Honduras dear

Weeks after the most recent storm, the country is still in emergency mode