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
Fewer people are dying in floods in China
Money, dams and better planning are helping; climate change is not
How the world depends on small cobalt miners
The metal is key to the global energy transition. But its artisanal market is broken
Which European countries know the least about climate change?
A new survey finds people underestimate the scientific consensus
More Brazilians are dying in floods and downpours
It’s not just the water that is killing them
The North Sea has fuelled Britain for 50 years. What next?
Its long-term future is as a high-tech carbon dump
Politics
A plan to revive South Korea’s nuclear-power sector faces obstacles
But it could help wean the country off fossil fuels
Gulf states have spent billions to build cities in the sea
They are expensive, often bad for the environment, and may end up underwater
Vietnam is leading the transition to clean energy in South-East Asia
But it still needs to wean itself off coal
A Peruvian farmer takes on Germany’s largest electricity firm
The outcome of the climate lawsuit will have global implications
Australia’s election sets a heartening precedent on climate change
Maybe in America, too, greening politics seems impossible…until it isn’t
Business and finance
The rights and wrongs of investing in natural gas
Should multilateral development banks finance gas projects?
The property industry has a huge carbon footprint. Here’s how to reduce it
Some buildings should be retrofitted, others torn down
The crypto crash will shake up attempts to rescue old power plants
It could put some less efficient ones out of business
What’s gone wrong with the Committee to Save the Planet?
Anti-woke warriors attack three juicy targets
The construction industry remains horribly climate-unfriendly
Governments are falling well short in their efforts to turn things around
Britain’s overstretched electricity grid is delaying housing projects
The grid needs to be expanded to cope with the demands of net zero
Science
Electrifying everything does not solve the climate crisis, but it is a great start
The transition still needs plenty of assistance
The first underground warren for disposing of spent nuclear fuel
Finland leads the way. Sweden and others may follow
Carbon-dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit another new record
The relentless rise is caused by burning fossil fuels
Corals are threatened by global warming
A bit of pre-emptive tinkering by people might help to save them
Those in peril in the sea
A mix of natural resilience and human ingenuity can save endangered ecosystems
Plant-based proteins are no longer a side dish in diets
Their makers’ place as the main course is another matter
Climate videos
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
Was COP26 a success?
Our correspondent runs through the most important takeaways from the UN climate conference
Eating our way to a more sustainable future
Insects, lab-grown meat and vertically-farmed produce could all be on our plates
Who should fix climate change?
Governments, companies or individuals?
How can the world’s energy be decarbonised?
We answer your questions on how the sector can become more sustainable
Understanding climate change
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
Why tackling global warming is a challenge without precedent
The first of six weekly briefs looks at the history of efforts to limit greenhouse-gas emissions