Our latest coverage of climate change
Analysis of the science, politics and economics of the climate
Climate change affects everything from geopolitics to economies to migration. It shapes cities, life expectancies and wine lists. And because it touches everything The Economist reports on, we examine it from every angle imaginable. Register to receive The Climate Issue, our fortnightly newsletter
Latest stories
2023 was the hottest year ever
And 2024 could be warmer still
Wind turbines are friendlier to birds than oil-and-gas drilling
Contrary to what opponents of wind farms fear
The dwindling of the Panama Canal boosts rival trade routes
But they may end up more complementary than competitive
Saudi Arabia has an unlikely solar star
ACWA Power has green ambitions beyond its desert home
The energy transition could make India even more unequal
Rich Indian states are sunny and windy, while poor ones have lots of coal
Can the carbon-offset market be saved?
Market prices have crashed
Politics
In a first, COP28 targets the root cause of climate change
Now to turn diplomacy into action
How the Mediterranean could become a green-energy powerhouse
And what could hold it back
In Europe, green policies rule while green politicians struggle
Reshaping the continent’s economy is easier than winning votes
Green protectionism will slow the energy transition
Expanding renewable-power capacity is becoming ever harder
Rainforests provide a public good. The world should pay to conserve them
An ambitious Brazilian plan launched at the COP could help
What the world must do to tame methane
The world needs a deal during COP28 to limit a nasty source of emissions
Business and finance
The renewables business faces a make-or-break moment
Supply-chain dysfunction, rising interest rates and protectionism are making life tough
Could carbon credits be Africa’s next big export?
African leaders are eyeing carbon markets as a source of scarce capital
The false promise of green jobs
Modern industrial policy has a tension at its heart
How carbon prices are taking over the world
A quarter of global emissions are now covered, and the share is rising fast
Green protectionism comes with big risks
Some analysts worry that new laws could slow the green transition
Science and data
How the Mediterranean could become a green-energy powerhouse
And what could hold it back
Politics and technology are pushing oil firms to cut methane
When it comes to climate change, methane is low-hanging fruit
Do rising methane levels herald a climate feedback loop?
A scientist notes ominous similarities to the ends of previous ice ages
Carbon-dioxide removal needs more attention
It is vital to climate stabilisation, remarkably challenging and systematically ignored
Solar geoengineering is becoming a respectable idea
One way to fix an accidentally altered climate is to alter it again deliberately
Sodium batteries offer an alternative to tricky lithium
Lithium is relatively scarce and mostly refined in China. Sodium is neither
Climate videos
Ocean “dead zones”
How chemical pollution is suffocating the sea
Many parts of the ocean are being starved of oxygen. This threatens marine life and adds to climate change
Climate change
Was COP26 a success?
Our correspondent runs through the most important takeaways from the UN climate conference
The future of food
Eating our way to a more sustainable future
Insects, lab-grown meat and vertically-farmed produce could all be on our plates
The green transition
How can the world’s energy be decarbonised?
We answer your questions on how the sector can become more sustainable
Understanding climate change
Why people struggle to understand climate risk
The confusion inherent in a hotter world
Climate adaptation policies are needed more than ever
People are already suffering from catastrophic losses as a result of extreme weather events like cyclone Amphan
The world’s energy system must be transformed completely
It has been changed before, but never as fast or fully as must happen now
Damage from climate change will be widespread and sometimes surprising
It will go far beyond drought, melting ice sheets and crop failures
Humanity’s immense impact on Earth’s climate and carbon cycle
Much needs to be done for the damage to be reversed
How modelling articulates the science of climate change
From paper and pencil to the world’s fastest computers