Observations from the Little Bunker
A systematic observation of climate change, extreme weather events, and their cascading effects on society
🌍 Latest Environmental Observations
A New Tool Could Help Track Deep-Sea Mining Activity
Countries are still debating whether to mine the seafloor for minerals, but exploratory efforts have already begun.By Kiley PriceAs demand for critical minerals surges around...
Journal retracts weed killer study backed by Monsanto, citing ‘serious ethical concerns’
Highly cited paper was used as evidence that the widely used herbicide Roundup is safe
Trade-off between water-saving and cooling objectives: restricting irrigation increases the number of hot days
Irrigating urban greenery can be an effective strategy to mitigate heat. However, as drought-heatwave combined events become more prevalent, cooling efforts may be compromised by...
IEA: Slow transition away from fossil fuels would cost over a million energy sector jobs
A slower shift to clean energy could leave the world with 1.3 million fewer energy sector jobs by 2035 compared with a scenario in which...
South Australian bus ads misled public by claiming gas is ‘clean and green’, regulator finds
Ads to be removed from Adelaide Metro buses after advertising regulator rules they breach its environmental claims codeSign up for climate and environment editor Adam...
These Countries Are Adopting Electric Vehicles the Fastest
Electric vehicle sales have been growing exponentially due to falling costs, improving technology and government support. Globally, 22% of passenger vehicles sold in 2024 were...
DeBriefed 5 December: Deadly Asia floods; Adaptation finance target examined; Global south IPCC scientists speak out
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change. This week Deadly floods in Asia MOUNTING DEVASTATION: The...
IPCC opens registration of experts to review the first draft of the Methodology Report on Inventories for Short-lived Climate Forcers
GENEVA, December 5 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) opened this week registration for experts to serve as Expert Reviewers on the First-Order...
UNFCCC carbon trading could undermine global climate action
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 05 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02517-5Recent United Nations policymaking on international emissions trading fails to reconcile longstanding flaws that could jeopardize the...
Temporary carbon dioxide removals to offset methane emissions
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 05 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02487-8Methane emissions have a large short-term impact on temperature, which can be potentially offset by nature-based solutions...
Effects of EU policy and climate change on future delivery of nutrients to European freshwater and seas
In Europe, excessive nutrient pollution in freshwater and marine ecosystems poses a significant threat to human uses of water resources and disrupts aquatic ecosystems, compromising...
Air quality impacts of electricity purchase and air travel by organizations
Organizational climate actions often prioritize greenhouse gas reductions without considering other impacts such as improved air quality from reduced fossil fuel use. While air quality...
Structural lock-ins in tourism decarbonization and the alternative
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 05 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02502-yDecarbonization of the tourism sector faces challenges of structural lock-ins. This Comment challenges the conventional narratives of...
Reducing the large short-lived impact of methane emissions with temporary carbon removals
Nature Climate Change, Published online: 05 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41558-025-02511-xWe consider potential non-permanence of carbon removal not as an obstacle but as a feature to focus...
Global Scientists Anticipate Less Reliance on the United States in Future Carbon Monitoring
With Trump’s budget knife still poised over NOAA’s climate research operations, international researchers see a reduced role for the nation that pioneered CO2 measurement.By Marianne...
Virginia Regulators Approve First New Gas Plant Since Passage of Clean Economy Act
Dominion Energy presented the Chesterfield peaker plant as an answer to ensuring grid reliability. Some residents and clean energy advocates disagree.By Charles PaullinDominion Energy’s proposal...
Homeowners Sue Oil Companies as Climate Damage Drives up Insurance Rates
The class-action lawsuit is the first of its kind to target Big Oil over rising home insurance costs.By Dana DrugmandTwo homeowners in Washington state who...
After COP30, Indigenous advocates celebrate gains while warning of unfinished work
If there is one image that encapsulates COP30, this year’s global climate change conference in Belém, Brazil, it might be this: Indigenous activists, in traditional...
Weather disasters and their underreported transboundary impacts on Amazonian communities
In the Amazon, climate and land use change are expected to intensify risks from weather disasters, posing major challenges to people and ecosystems. Yet, how...
Estimates of global surface water dynamics harnessing near real-time land cover observations and open science geospatial capabilities
Spatio-temporal changes to our world’s surface water resources are escalating. Translating how these changes impact communities and ecosystems requires time-varying data of Global Surface Water...
What I saw reporting on the American lives cut short by killer heat
In this week’s newsletter: Coroners can’t agree on how to count heat fatalities – and the dismantling of climate investments is leaving fragile communities exposed•...
Stay Updated
Subscribe to our RSS feed for the latest climate observations and environmental news.