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Showing 9 of 503 news items in Climate Action

Climate ActionMarch 25, 2026

The growing allure — and danger — of glacier tourism

Excerpt from grist.org Upstairs, right outside my toddler’s room, hangs this striking, blue-blue print of an Icelandic glacier ice cave: the Crystal Ice Cave, circa 2015, long since vanished. My friend Þorri took the image and gifted it to me during one of my many stays over the last 20 years. My son visits the print often. When he was about a year-and-a-half, he pointed to it and confirmed, “blue.” Add two more years and the name of the glacier, “Breiðamerkurjökull,” rolls off his tongue. Lately, just like he asks about my husband and me and our cats and the mailbox and the couch, he asks about the glacier in the picture. How is Breiðamerkurjökull feeling today? Sad? Hungry? Happy? OK? \ This gets fraught quickly. I’m a writer and a glacier scientist — I’ve spent the bulk of my career working on, in, and around this particular glacier system, trying to understand what is happening to it, how people and communities respond to its changes, and how the future of this glacier impacts humanity worldwide.

Climate ActionMarch 19, 2026

An Island Is Exposing a Massive Change in Earth’s Climate Engine

Excerpt from ittn.ie Macquarie Island sits in the remote Southern Ocean roughly halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica. Visitors arriving on this narrow and windswept island quickly notice the abundant wildlife. Elephant seals lie across dark coastal beaches, king penguins move in groups up green slopes, and albatrosses glide over the open, treeless highlands. A closer look, however, reveals that the landscape is shifting. Parts of the island’s slopes are becoming increasingly waterlogged, and distinctive megaherbs such as Pleurophyllum and Stilbocarpa are gradually disappearing from areas where they once thrived. For years, researchers suspected that rising rainfall was responsible for these ecological changes. New research published in Weather and Climate Dynamics now confirms that increasing precipitation is a major factor. The findings also suggest that the changes seen on this isolated UNESCO World Heritage site reflect a much larger climate story unfolding across the Southern Ocean.

Climate ActionMarch 19, 2026

3 Lessons From Dominica’s Race To Be The First Climate-Resilient Nation

Excerpt from forbes.com Dominica, a small Caribbean island nation, has faced several extreme climate events in the last few years. Tropical Storm Erica in 2015 and Hurricane Maria in 2017 have both caused extensive damage to housing, infrastructure and agriculture, requiring years of recovery and rebuilding efforts. Hurricane Maria alone caused around $930.9 million worth of damage across Dominica, according to the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. This included a 100% loss of power and 90% of buildings being damaged or destroyed, among other infrastructure impacts. Dominica’s agricultural sector was severely harmed as well, which resulted in high food insecurity and vulnerability for more than 24,000 people.

Climate ActionMarch 18, 2026

Small Islands, big signals: Africa leading on climate-nature delivery through NDCs

Excerpt from panda.org February brought powerful winds across the South-West indian Ocean. Once again, the cyclone season exposed how vulnerable island economies are. Storm surges, damaged ports and power outages disrupted tourism, fisheries, inter-island transport and trade. For Africa's Small island Developing States, climate colatility is not abstract. Even small shifts in weather can move quickly from coastlines to household budgets and national accounts. Extreme weather events are often treated as anomalies. Yet they tell a clear and repeated story. Cyclones, heavy rain, and storm surges all show the same pattern: climate volatility creates real economic costs. The best way to reduce these risks is not reactive spending after disaster strikes. It is to implement national climate plans with urgency and focus. The plans exist. The targets are clear. What matters now is implementation – a step that unlocks real benefits. And delayed action comes at a cost.

Climate ActionMarch 11, 2026

Iceland saw record temperatures last year. So why are scientists predicting a ‘deep freeze’?

Excerpt from euronews.com According to the Icelandic Met Office, the national average temperature last year was 5.2°C. This is a 1.1°C increase from the average for the years 1991-2020 and the highest since records began. Temperatures were “well above average” for almost every month of the year, particularly during spring. In fact, in mid-May, a 10-day heatwave baked the country, with temperatures reaching a scorching high of 26.6°C at Egilsstaðir Airport. Annual rainfall was below average for the past 10 years across most of the country, but it still exceeded the 1991-2020 average in many locations. For every 1℃ rise in air temperature, the atmosphere can hold around seven per cent more moisture, which can lead to more intense and heavy rainfall.

Climate ActionMarch 11, 2026

Historic Pacific Islands Guidance on Climate Relocation Released

Excerpt from news.fundsforngos.org On March 4, 2026, Pacific Island governments launched the world’s first regional guidance on climate-related relocation grounded in human rights principles. The initiative aims to provide a framework for communities forced to move due to rising seas, coastal erosion, and extreme tides, ensuring that relocations are conducted with respect for human dignity and self-determination. The guidance was unveiled as Pacific leaders convened in Nadi, Fiji, to discuss pairing this landmark framework with the financial and technical support necessary for its effective implementation.

Climate ActionMarch 11, 2026

Indonesia revokes forest and mine permits over role in deadly Sumatra landslides

Photo Credit and Excerpt from news.mongabay.com The Indonesian government has revoked the permits of 28 companies over environmental violations that authorities say exacerbated the deadly floods and landslides that struck the island of Sumatra in late 2025. The revocations follow an audit carried out by a government task force responsible for forest area enforcement after disasters triggered by Cyclone Senyar in November 2025, which killed about 1,200 people across Indonesia’s main western island. The audit found that the 28 companies had violated various rules, including the 2009 law on environmental protection, and bore responsibility for environmental damage linked to the disasters. Authorities still haven’t disclose detailed findings or evidence for each case.

Climate ActionMarch 2, 2026

From repair to reinvention: Jamaica’s defining post-hurricane choice

Excerpt from jamaica-gleaner.com In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, the public conversation has centred on an understandably sensitive issue: should Jamaicans pay more to rebuild? Roads were washed away, schools closed their doors, small businesses absorbed losses they were never structured to withstand, and several parishes continue to assess damage that will take months – if not years – to fully repair. The instinct is to debate taxation. But the more meaningful question is not whether recovery costs money. It always does. The real issue is how Jamaica chooses to finance reconstruction – and what standard of rebuilding it is prepared to accept. Over the past decade, Jamaica made deliberate progress in reducing its debt-to-GDP ratio and stabilising its macroeconomic position. That discipline matters. It restored investor confidence and reduced the country’s exposure to external shocks. A sharp return to heavy borrowing would risk weakening those gains. At the same time, avoiding difficult fiscal decisions in the name of political comfort is not a strategy either. Every country that experiences severe disruption – whether through conflict, pandemic or natural disaster – must recalibrate. Recovery requires capital. The method of mobilisation determines whether a nation stabilises or slips into repetition.

Climate ActionMarch 2, 2026

Why location matters for the Pacific Pre-COP

Excerpt from lowyinstitute.org When Australia bid to host the 2026 annual global climate change negotiations COP31, it envisioned a Pacific partnership that would centre climate dialogue around the concerns of vulnerable island nations. After Türkiye refused to withdraw its competing bid, Australia compromised. Türkiye would host the formal conference, while Australia presided over negotiations. Australia has also committed to support a Pacific-hosted Pre-COP meeting, a two-to-three-day preparatory gathering where ministers and senior officials from up to 50 different delegations shape expectations for the main conference. Now, Fiji and Palau are competing to be the venue for these talks. Both nations bring extensive climate credentials, but to maximise this opportunity for the benefit of the region, logistics and symbolic impact must be considered.