Biographical comedy-drama reminds us that everyone can make a difference By Alberto Sclaverano The 2000 movie Erin Brockovich  is based on a true story that happened in the early 1990s in California. An unemployed single mother with three children and a lot of money problems to care about, discovered one of greatest fraud against consumer’s rights and people’ health in recent US history. Brockovich brought to light what the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) did to the r

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists Lessons Learned from the Lead-Acid Battery The atrocities of unregulated lead-acid battery recycling across Africa were recently investigated in a New York Times article. This account brought due attention to a pollution problem that has also resulted in a public health disaster here in the United States . Steps should be taken to clean up this industry, and lessons from this failure can help ensure better outcomes in other essential eff

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists On December 15, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released its  quadrennial report  on World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development. What follows is a lightly-adapted version of the contribution on climate disinformation I was invited and honored to make. It seems especially salient towards the end of 2025, in which the Trump administration has removed access  to climate information,  repla

Source: Tyndall Centre Fossil fuel CO2 emissions hit record high in 2025 Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to rise by 1.1% in 2025 – reaching a record high, according to new research by the Global Carbon Project. The 2025 Global Carbon Budget projects 38.1 billion tonnes of fossil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions this year. Decarbonisation of energy systems is progressing in many countries – but this is not enough to offset the growth in global energy dem

Source: Factum Is the 70% Renewable Pledge a Goal Too Far? Sri Lanka’s national commitment to generate 70% of its power from renewable sources by 2030 stands as one of the region’s most ambitious policy goals. It reflects both a necessary response to global climate obligations and a pragmatic strategy for national energy security, particularly given the acute vulnerability to global fuel price volatility exposed by recent economic crises. However, an analysis of the current s

Source: Factum Why Sri Lanka Must Treat Adaptation as Urgently as Mitigation Sri Lanka’s climate strategy, historically weighted toward mitigation, can no longer afford to treat adaptation as secondary. For years, Sri Lanka’s climate narrative has centred on reducing national emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and aligning with global decarbonisation targets. However, the scale and speed of the destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah in No

By Alberto Sclaverano “Dramedy” about extreme environmental activism helps us to reflect on what it really means to fight for social justice The 2018 Icelandic-Ukrainian film Woman at War  ( Kona fer í stríð ), made by Icelandic actor and director Benedikt Erlingsson, who also co-wrote and co-produced the movie, is an interesting exercise in mixing comedy, musical, and drama, in order to deliver a social message.  After having premiered in the Critics’ Week section at the 201

By Alberto Sclaverano  Film review A modern reboot of the 1980s exploitation cult film, has a strong ecological message In the fictionalized town of St. Roma’s Village, single janitor Winston Gooze (played by Game of Thrones  star Peter Dinklage) works for the corrupt pharmaceutical company BTH (Body Talk Healthstyle) owned by evil businessman Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon). During the years, BTH has polluted the environment, poisoned the water and the woods around St. Roma’s, a

By Alberto Sclaverano  A 1970’s sci-fi classic says a lot about the climate crisis even today Douglas Trumbull's directorial debut, the 1972 science fiction film Silent Running , is now regarded as a small classic, or even a “hidden gem”, from the early 1970s American cinema. What makes it unique is the central role played by the ecological and environment-related themes in the plot. The sci-fi adventure denounces humans’ reckless behavior against the environment, and it for

The University Agency for Environmental News and Communication Bringing together universities from around the world Belém, Brazil – November 12, 2025, 9:30 a.m. Italian Pavilion “Made of Future” – PV-A08, Blue Zone Event proposed by IULM University with IPS Academy / CitiPlat AIUNCA, the International University Agency for Environmental News and Communication, will be officially presented at COP30 within the international spaces dedicated to innovation, sustainability, and in

Source: Pajhwok An efficient way to water large areas with less water Experts and experienced farmers say the drip irrigation system should be promoted to irrigate large areas with minimal water, and they urge the government and aid agencies to raise public awareness in this regard and provide farmers with the necessary support. The climatic conditions of land are rapidly changing; in some areas, with rising temperatures causing droughts. While in others they lead to severe s

Source: Pajhwok Acute drought in parts of Afghanistan has psychologically impacted farmers who face serious economic hardships; with some even forced to leave their areas. They are urging the government and the international community for help. Experts say the government and the international community must provide necessary assistance to affected farmers, distribute drought-resistant crop seeds, and lift sanctions on Afghanistan so that the Afghan government can access finan

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists Nations will soon be gathering in Belém, Brazil for the annual UN climate “conference of the parties”— COP30 —against a backdrop of incredibly challenging geopolitical and climate realities. Grossly insufficient action from world leaders has already resulted in worsening climate extreme events and has put the crucial, science-informed goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels out of reach . As I write this, Jam

Source: Pajhwok Climate change has also adversely affected the health sector in Afghanistan and has led to an increase in some diseases. Analysts say that people should be made aware of this issue and the government and the international community should take necessary measures. The Earth’s climate is undergoing rapid transformation. Global warming causes droughts in some regions and triggers severe storms, heavy rainfall and floods in others. Glaciers are melting at alarming

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists Next week, COP30 —or the UN Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—returns to my home country of Brazil, in Belém. The UNFCCC is the treaty adopted by most of the world’s countries in 1992 to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations and prevent dangerous human-induced interference with the climate system. Longer ago than I like to think about… I was actually in Brazil for the UN’s C

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists The US government’s move to enact the fossil fuel industry’s agenda by basing climate and energy policy on official disinformation could cause us to despair. As my colleague Carlos Martinez recently wrote, “99% of the peer-reviewed scientific literature substantiates… human-caused climate change and its impacts.” But apparently, we must keep fighting the same lies, misrepresentations, and mischaracterizations—straight out of the dis

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists Ask a Scientist: How Do We Solve California’s Water Shortage Crisis? California’s megadrought seems as endless as the Mojave Desert. Between killer heat and growing wildfires, the state experiences some of the harshest effects of climate change. Although California is leading in clean energy policies needed to tackle the worst impacts, water management is still a real problem—for everyone in the country. That’s because the United State

Source: Factum Over the next few years and decades, South Asia is expected to bear the brunt of climate change. In this Paper, authored by Gothamie Weerakoon, PhD of the United Kingdom and Adnan Remat of Pakistan, we explore potential impacts from nitrogen pollution, one of the leading, most distinct contributors to the climate crisis in the region. A Briefing Paper by Factum: South Asia Nitrogen – Briefing Paper

Source: Tyndall Centre New high-resolution simulations suggest that while the frequency of severe hailstorms could drop across most of Europe by 2100, southern and Mediterranean regions may face a rise in the largest, most damaging hailstones. Severe hailstorms cause major and costly damage to agriculture, property, and infrastructure. A new study in Nature Communications suggests that by 2100, Europe may see fewer severe hailstorms overall, but a growing risk of the most ext

By Alberto Sclaverano  2016 How to Let Go of the World (And Love All the Things Climate Can't Change)  is a curious climate crisis-themed documentary.  It is directed by Josh Fox, a director and environmental activist who received an Academy Award nomination for his 2010 documentary film Gasland , a critique of the excesses of the US drilling activities all around the country, and the damage it has sometimes created to local communities. He produced and starred in How to Let