There are many changes afoot in the environmental and sustainability world; it is important to stay informed and up to date!
We have pulled together topical news stories from some of the most trusted sources such as BBC, Guardian, UN News and Science Daily. The news stories regularly update and are not stored here so you might want to check back regularly to avoid missing interesting stories.
Keeping an eye on news stories may also help you:|
- work out what interests you most
- be inspired with the great progress that others are making
- give you further ideas for actions.
- maintain momentum on your Eco journey through a regular check-in, giving you time to reflect.
It is highly recommended that you develop a sceptical mindset when following the news and ideally look at multiple sources. News reports may be biased and influenced by vested interests, and they often reinforce the unsustainable practices that much of our society has been built around. A sceptical mindset will also help you to avoid being overly influenced by product adverts and marketing, which can encourage unsustainable buying habits.
The first step on the EcoTracker Framework is “Learn”. This will empower you to effectively reduce your environmental impact.
- Natural Resources Wales says short-necked oil beetle has been found in country for first time in nearly 60 yearsA rare beetle has been rediscovered in Wales after nearly 60 years, conservationists have said.The short-necked oil beetle, driven to the brink of extinction in Britain due to habitat loss over the course of the 20th century, […]
- Cop17, focused on protecting nature and restoring ecosystems, concludes on Saturday with critics saying system allows ‘one idiot’ to stall progressCalls are growing for major reforms to UN biodiversity summits as countries fail to deliver on their promises to halt the destruction of the natural world, with governments likely on track to continue their record […]
- Allerton Project attracts abundant wildlife and its success can offers clues to reversing the sharp drop in populationsFarmer Alastair Leake is standing in a field of sprouting winter wheat, pointing at his experiment. One side was ploughed before planting, with green shoots breaking through neat rows of upturned soil. On the other, the crop was […]
- In Pittsburgh, Pennsylviania, a post-industrial site gets a second life Continue reading…
- A temporary injunction in the coastline battle for beaches to be publicly accessible, not sealed off for private developments, is just a step in fighting what islanders call a tourism model that disadvantages JamaicansWhen the Australian human rights lawyer Eva Buzo emerged from the sea on to the shores of One Man Beach in Montego […]
- Slimbridge, Gloucestershire: A chance meeting led me and my partner into an afternoon of discovery and generosity that is nothing like a certain YouTube documentary on birding“What did you just see?” a bearded man asked, through the open window of his old Mini Cooper.“Just some crows in that tree.” Continue reading…
- Dolly Parton, tulips and outback life all feature in the best images captured across the country in OctoberApartments, community centres and a pink outdoor toilet: Australia’s 2026 National Architecture award winners – in pictures Continue reading…
- More than 100,000 species are traded globally, whether illegally smuggled, sold as ornaments or in fisheries, timber and fashion industries, study findsThe number of plant and animal species in use or sold in the wildlife trade is more than twice as high as previously thought, researchers have discovered.A study, published in Science Advances, warns that […]
- Congress must act to ensure that families are able to heat their homes before the start of the seasonHeating oil may be the clearest warning yet of how the war in Iran is deepening the US’s energy affordability crisis. Families who heat their homes with oil are facing bills that could be 50% higher this […]
- Freakish frocks and ghoulish guises: last-minute Halloween costumes that won’t haunt the environmentKeen to join in the revelry but don’t have a costume? You can still fashion a get-up without buying – or wasting – anythingChange by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprintGot a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.comThe thrill […]
- Staff at Plymouth's aquarium pay tribute to a sand tiger shark believed to be almost 30 years old.
- A number of birds are also injured after the spill from the oil tank earlier this week.
- Markus and Mo weighed about 70kg (11st) at birth, and now weigh about 500kg (78st) each.
- It was feared The Short-Necked Oil Beetle had become extinct in Wales after recent surveys
- The popular attraction in County Down has been forced to close while efforts continue to remove oil from the pond.
- The popular attraction in County Down has been forced to close while efforts continue to remove oil from the pond.
- Two men from the Armagh Planetarium and Observatory have had asteroids named in their honour in recognition of their work.
- Two men from the Armagh Planetarium and Observatory have had asteroids named in their honour in recognition of their work.
- The Herts and Middlesex Trust says it is "thrilled" the new wetlands are helping species thrive.
- A Halloween-themed protest against fossil fuels has targeted the first minister's residence in Edinburgh.
By sharing your “personal eco-progress-story” with others, you and others are much more likely to be inspired and motivated to complete further actions. Why not share interesting news stories with them too?!
- Scientists may have solved a 66-million-year-old mystery: how crocodiles survived the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. A sweeping analysis of fossils and ancient climates suggests that their preference for warm environments placed them in tropical refuges that remained habitable even after the catastrophic impact.
- Earth is warming faster than ever recorded, with scientists detecting a major acceleration in global temperatures since around 2015. A new study reveals that the warming rate has surged to approximately 0.35°C per decade, nearly double the average pace observed from 1970 to 2015. After removing natural climate fluctuations, researchers confirmed the acceleration with more […]
- Ancient ice discovered high in Tibet may be more than 128,000 years old, preserving an extraordinary record of Earth's climate that scientists previously thought had been lost. The discovery reveals a rare glimpse into the last ice age and could reshape our understanding of how glaciers survive dramatic changes in global climate.
- Scientists have discovered that magma deep inside Earth can store surprising amounts of extra oxygen, potentially revealing a hidden contributor to our planet's oxygen-rich atmosphere. The findings suggest that ancient volcanic eruptions may have helped transform Earth's atmosphere billions of years ago, with implications for understanding life on other planets.
- Scientists have uncovered a surprising connection between Earth's opposite poles that may help explain how the planet plunged into past ice ages. New research suggests that as massive ice sheets expanded across the Northern Hemisphere, they cooled Atlantic Ocean waters that eventually traveled south toward Antarctica. This cooling may have disrupted Southern Ocean circulation, allowing […]
- Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier may be melting twice as much as previously predicted, even without additional global warming. Scientists discovered that warm ocean water is penetrating miles beneath the ice, weakening its foundations and accelerating its retreat. A new model predicts that the glacier could add up to 30 millimeters to global sea levels by 2100, […]
- At the halfway mark to 2030, countries meeting in Armenia have agreed a roadmap to accelerate action for nature, after a global review found the world off track to meet its biodiversity targets.
- From salmon spawning grounds in Canada to coral reefs in Indonesia, ecosystems around the world are being restored at an unprecedented rate.
- The ocean absorbs around 30 per cent of human-caused carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and 90 per cent of excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases. But climate change has already reduced its capacity to absorb carbon by approximately six per cent, a new UN report warns ahead of the COP31 climate conference in November.
- Climate inaction continues to harm and kill people in all countries with a record 710,000 estimated deaths globally from heat in 2023, a UN-partnered report warned on Wednesday. For the first time, more than seven in 10 fatalities were attributable to human-caused climate change.
- On 29 October 2012, Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York City, unleashing a devastating storm surge that flooded homes, subways and tunnels, knocked out power and sparked deadly fires.
- Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other major greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by burning fossil fuels reached record highs in 2025, locking in more long-term global warming, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.
- Scientists may have solved a 66-million-year-old mystery: how crocodiles survived the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. A sweeping analysis of fossils and ancient climates suggests that their preference for warm environments placed them in tropical refuges that remained habitable even after the catastrophic impact.
- Earth is warming faster than ever recorded, with scientists detecting a major acceleration in global temperatures since around 2015. A new study reveals that the warming rate has surged to approximately 0.35°C per decade, nearly double the average pace observed from 1970 to 2015. After removing natural climate fluctuations, researchers confirmed the acceleration with more […]
- Ancient ice discovered high in Tibet may be more than 128,000 years old, preserving an extraordinary record of Earth's climate that scientists previously thought had been lost. The discovery reveals a rare glimpse into the last ice age and could reshape our understanding of how glaciers survive dramatic changes in global climate.
- Scientists have discovered that magma deep inside Earth can store surprising amounts of extra oxygen, potentially revealing a hidden contributor to our planet's oxygen-rich atmosphere. The findings suggest that ancient volcanic eruptions may have helped transform Earth's atmosphere billions of years ago, with implications for understanding life on other planets.
- Scientists have uncovered a long-lost volcanic system in Iran that dates back roughly 100 million years, revealing a hidden chapter in Earth's tectonic history. The discovery sheds new light on the disappearance of an ancient ocean and the powerful geological forces that reshaped the Middle East.
- Scientists have uncovered a surprising connection between Earth's opposite poles that may help explain how the planet plunged into past ice ages. New research suggests that as massive ice sheets expanded across the Northern Hemisphere, they cooled Atlantic Ocean waters that eventually traveled south toward Antarctica. This cooling may have disrupted Southern Ocean circulation, allowing […]