Resource consumption has grown exponentially over the past: between 1970 and 2010, the quantity of extracted materials has tripled. Not only the overall amount...
Finding domestic alternatives for rare earths has become a matter of national security, according to a recently released Pentagon report. The United States’...
The shift to a low-carbon economy is not only underway, it is accelerating. What does a rapid energy transition mean for the countries that supply the inputs...
A new report analyses how the transition to a low-carbon economy – and the minerals and metals required to make that shift – could affect fragility, conflict...
Mine closures have caused social and political turmoil in many regions, for example in South Africa. But there are ways of planning and managing the phase-out...
Scientists across the globe are developing live dashboards to study the natural world in unprecedented detail - ushering in a new age of opportunities and...
Environmental peacebuilding strives to reduce conflict risks associated with natural resources and to enable societies to profit fully from their natural...
EU and island leaders are calling for more ambition at the International Maritime Organization, while major emerging economies resist a tough cap on emissions...
Representatives from around the world are meeting in Bonn this week to discuss progress towards the goals of the Paris climate agreement. A large part of this...
Climate change remains a serious threat to mankind despite the moment of hope after the successful conclusion of the COP21 last December with the Paris...
The Earth’s front-line defenders are disappearing at an astonishing rate. On average three environmental activists were killed each week in 2015, according to a...
Women make up between 40 to 50 percent of the artisanal mining workforce in Africa compared to a world average of 30 percent, says Southern Voices Network...
Plastics have boosted our economy because they are versatile, cheap and durable. Yet, thanks to these same traits, in the course of establishing a US$750...
While natural resource development can generate economic success, it can also increase the likelihood of conflict, particularly in Africa. Ongoing violence in...
California has been at the forefront of the modern environmental movement that, in its most iconic form, we associate with hippies and alternative lifestyles...
In 2010-11 Australia’s coal-rich Queensland region was hit hard by flooding events of historic proportions. They were the result of one of the strongest La Niña...
Mission Innovation is an initiative by twenty leading countries to double their Research & Development budgets for clean energy innovation in the next five...
Thousands of abandoned gold mines are scattered across South Africa, polluting the water with toxics and filling the air with noxious dust. For the millions of...
In May 2011, two weeks before I was scheduled to start research in the region, a Mongol herder named Mergen was hit by a mining truck while protecting his...
China’s economic slowdown is proving especially painful for countries that depend on Chinese investment. The Chinese are set to invest less in foreign countries...