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Showing 9 of 503 news items in Climate Action

Climate ActionApril 30, 2026

Report links human exploitation to climate change

Excerpt from antiguaobserver.com A new report on the intersection of climate change and human exploitation in Antigua and Barbuda was launched yesterday, revealing how climate-related disasters are creating dangerous vulnerabilities for local communities. The research, conducted by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Free the Slaves, warns that the loss of livelihoods due to climate impacts is pushing vulnerable populations toward exploitation. Former senator Bakesha Francis James, speaking at the launch, explained the critical connection between environmental crises and human rights violations. “Climate change is often discussed in terms of rising temperatures, extreme weather events and environmental degradation but what is sometimes less visible, yet no less urgent, are human consequences,” Francis James said. “Climate shocks and slow onset environmental changes can deepen existing inequalities, strain livelihoods and increase vulnerability to exploitation including human trafficking and forced labor. These risks are not abstract; they affect real people, real families, and real communities.”

Climate ActionApril 30, 2026

New research uses fibre optic cables to predict glacier loss in Greenland

Excerpt from dailyuw.com Gradual loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) holds global significance: it exacerbates sea level rise, alters ocean circulation, and threatens Arctic ecosystems. But melt is difficult to quantify. It’s a nonlinear process driven by myriad feedback loops, or reinforced outcomes, and the majority occurs below the ocean’s surface. In the past, GrIS loss monitoring has been limited to computer simulations and Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR), which uses sound waves to measure glacier thickness. A 2019 study directed multibeam SONAR at glacier fronts, combined with several other technologies, to simulate a projected loss rate. This projection underestimated ice loss by two orders of magnitude. As glacier loss occurs, the glacier itself is exposed to overall lower elevations, which contain warmer air. This exacerbates melt and creates a positive feedback loop. Still, above surface observations are only 10% of the story. Approximately 90% of GrIS is below the surface, and submarine feedbacks are largely unknown.

Climate ActionApril 30, 2026

How an Atlantic island narrowly escaped 'stealthy' eruption

Photo Credit and Excerpt from phys.org Thousands of earthquakes affecting Portugal's São Jorge Island in the Azores in March 2022 were triggered by a vast sheet of magma (molten rock) rising from more than 20km below Earth's surface and stalling just 1.6km beneath the island, according to a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers. Much of this ascent occurred with little seismic activity, with most earthquakes occurring after the magma stopped ascending. The magma rose over just a few days—there was enough of it to fill 32,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, the study suggested.

Climate ActionApril 30, 2026

The unusual ways Fijians predict when a cyclone is approaching

Photo credit: Frankie Adkins via BBC.com Excerpt from bbc.com It's July, a month when Fijian farmers begin watching wild yams closely. "If they see wild yam vines creeping along the ground, there's going to be a hurricane in between November and April – the hurricane season," says farmer Marika Radua. If the vines shoot upwards, it's unlikely a hurricane will hit, he says. In the dense jungle on Vanua Levu, Fiji's second largest island, Radua's farm is a riot of green. Every plant has its place – from rows of delicate lettuce, to sturdy taro and cassava. For years, Radua has read the signs in nature to know when, and where, to plant his crops to ensure they thrive each season. Yam vines are natural indicators of extreme weather, according to Fijian traditional ecological knowledge. This environmental knowledge comprises ancient traditions held and practiced by indigenous peoples. When the vines hug the ground, "they are already trying to protect themselves from the wind. It's nature," Radua says. Many Fijians – especially those from older generations who are more likely to use traditional farming methods – believe other organisms act as natural weather forecasts, such as bananas, bees and breadfruit.

Climate ActionApril 21, 2026

The Pacific is where climate leadership will be made – or lost

Excerpt and Photo Credit: lowyinstitute.org In the lead-up to COP31 this year, global climate diplomacy faces a credibility test – and it is unfolding in the Pacific. Across much of the world, fossil fuel concerns have reasserted themselves. Rising energy costs, security anxieties, and domestic pressures are reshaping national priorities particularly in the context of global energy volatility linked to geopolitical fragmentation and oil market shocks. In recent weeks, climate leadership risks have been framed as conditional – something to be advanced when circumstances allow – raising deeper questions of climate justice. In this context, climate leadership is not judged by ambition alone, but by whether commitments hold under pressure.

Climate ActionApril 21, 2026

Why the Isle of Eigg hatched a plan to grow its own trees

Excerpt and Photo Credit from bbc.com A tiny Hebridean island is growing tens of thousands of trees to create a sustainable supply of wood for fuel and to support natural habitats. Eigg has no mains power and its population of about 80 people rely on small renewable electricity schemes and stoves to light and warm their homes. Over about the last five years, islanders have planted more than 50,000 trees grown from seeds collected from the island's woods and a forestry plantation. The saplings, which are said to be well adapted to the island's windy weather, have also been sent off to other islands including Uist and Barra.

Climate ActionApril 15, 2026

Climate activist seeks funding for 12,000km walk from Malta to India

Excerpt from maltatoday.com.mt Jaydip Lakhankiya was studying hotel management when a discussion on sustainable tourism intrigued him and led him down a rabbit hole of research on climate change. His thirst for knowledge quickly turned into a yearning for activism and sowed the seed of an idea to become the first person to walk from Malta to India. I meet Jaydip in a quiet coffee shop where he sets out to explain the “mad idea” of travelling 12,000km to the other side of the world on foot to raise awareness on climate change.

Climate ActionApril 1, 2026

UM Computer Scientists Land Grant to Improve Models of Melting Greenland Glaciers

Excerpt and Photo Credit from umt.edu MISSOULA – The melting Greenland ice sheet and glaciers contribute significantly to global sea level rise. Now two University of Montana researchers are using advanced neural networks, machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve climate models to better predict the threat to coastal areas. Assistant Professor Jacob Downs and Associate Professor Doug Brinkerhoff are faculty members in UM’s Department of Computer Science. They earned a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to train neural nets on historical data, which should build capacity to project future glacier evolution. Neural networks are highly flexible computational models loosely inspired by the human brain, Downs said. Just as human brains use interconnected neurons to process information, these networks transform complex data to detect underlying patterns.

Climate ActionMarch 25, 2026

Micronesia advances disaster readiness with its first sovereign humanitarian warehouse in Palikir

Excerpt from islandsbusiness.com POHNPEI, Federated States of Micronesia – Last month, leaders gathered in Palikir for the groundbreaking of the Federated States of Micronesia’s (FSM) first sovereign humanitarian warehouse, a facility designed to strengthen the country’s ability to organise, manage, and move relief supplies in anticipation of and during the early stages of disaster response. His Excellency Wesley W Simina, President of FSM, the Honourable Stevenson A Joseph, Governor of Pohnpei and leaders of FSM, joined by Dr. Paula Vivili, Director-General of the Pacific Community (SPC), and Her Excellency Jenny Grant, Australian Ambassador to FSM, took part in the ceremonial digging and consecration of the land. The warehouse will be constructed on government-allocated land, aptly located behind the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Emergency Management (DECEM) office in Palikir. The proximity of the warehouse to the country’s central emergency coordination hub at DECEM will allow for activation, decision-making and dispatch to occur from one locality. This integrated set-up is intended to shorten the time required to organise and move items to communities across all four states. The President of FSM, H.E. Simina, said, “Our responsibility is to protect lives and support communities when hardship strikes. This warehouse will help us organise and deploy essential supplies more efficiently across our states. By placing this capability beside DECEM, we are strengthening a national system that serves every community, including those most distant and most affected.” SPC Director-General, Paula Vivili said, “SPC acknowledges the Government’s strong commitment to national readiness through the allocation of land and the leadership of His Excellency President Wesley W Simina to proactively strengthen approach to disaster preparedness.” He added, “Through the work with DECEM and our humanitarian partners, we are supporting a system that prepositions supplies and logistics where activation and decision making occur, so that communities receive help more quickly and in a more coordinated manner.” Australian Ambassador to FSM, Her Excellency Jenny Grant, said, “Today’s groundbreaking is not simply about concrete and steel. It is about a shared commitment to a resilient Blue Pacific.”