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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/energy/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 04:30:16 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>News on Energy</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/energy/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Venezuela’s historic oil deal with the US reignites environmental, human rights concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/venezuelas-historic-oil-deal-with-the-us-reignites-environmental-human-rights-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/venezuelas-historic-oil-deal-with-the-us-reignites-environmental-human-rights-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Sep 2026 08:30:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/15175444/Clouds-form-over-pumpjacks-and-power-transmission-towers-on-Lake-Maracaibo-in-Cabimas-Venezuela-Tuesday-Sept.-1-2026.-AP-PhotoAriana-Cubillos-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329807</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, International Trade, Natural Resources, Oil, Oil Drilling, Oil Spills, Politics, Pollution, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In late August, the U.S. announced a historic oil deal that gives it access to more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves in Venezuela, with investment of up to $100 billion in new oil infrastructure across the country. The deal has been billed as a way to secure “energy dominance” for the U.S. while [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In late August, the U.S. announced a historic oil deal that gives it access to more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves in Venezuela, with investment of up to $100 billion in new oil infrastructure across the country. The deal has been billed as a way to secure “energy dominance” for the U.S. while driving Venezuela’s economic recovery. But observers say they’re concerned about the climate impact of fossil fuels, the deal’s lack of transparency, potential oil spills and other environmental risks. “Economic recovery cannot come at the expense of human rights relating to the environment,” said a Sept. 9 joint statement from the Venezuelan Program for Education-Action on Human Rights (Provea) and Clima21, an environmental NGO. “No economic interest takes precedence over the constitutional and internationally recognized right to a healthy, safe and sustainable environment.” The deal is structured through private company North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), the second-largest Venezuelan oil producer, which has “100-year concessions for 17 oil fields,” according to the U.S. government. The U.S. has a “35% equity stake” in the company and can purchase 20% of its production, with a right of first refusal for the remaining 80% throughout the 25-year agreement. It’s part of an attempt by the U.S. to increase involvement in Venezuela following a January military operation to remove President Nicolás Maduro, who has been accused of narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking. Throughout 2026, U.S. officials have visited Venezuela to discuss investment in the country’s natural resources, most notably oil and gas. Venezuela has one&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/venezuelas-historic-oil-deal-with-the-us-reignites-environmental-human-rights-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/venezuelas-historic-oil-deal-with-the-us-reignites-environmental-human-rights-concerns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329807</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Dhaka’s waste-to-energy project faces opposition from pollution-weary residents</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/dhakas-waste-to-energy-project-faces-opposition-from-pollution-weary-residents/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/dhakas-waste-to-energy-project-faces-opposition-from-pollution-weary-residents/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Sep 2026 16:30:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Eyamin Sajid]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/15152846/Aminbazar-landfill-Photo-07-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329776</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Energy, Environment, Health, Pollution, Recycling, Solutions, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At years old, Yeasmin Begum has lived near the Amin Bazar landfill on the outskirts of Dhaka her whole life. She says the stench often triggers allergies, including colds and coughing. “Sometimes it is quite difficult for us to breathe when waste collectors burn the waste under the open sky. Smoke and ashes envelop our [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At years old, Yeasmin Begum has lived near the Amin Bazar landfill on the outskirts of Dhaka her whole life. She says the stench often triggers allergies, including colds and coughing. “Sometimes it is quite difficult for us to breathe when waste collectors burn the waste under the open sky. Smoke and ashes envelop our home and surroundings,” she says. That’s a problem that could get worse under a plan by municipal authorities to burn trash on a much larger scale. A so-called waste-to-energy project would incinerate up to 3,0000 metric tons of trash daily to heat a boiler, which would then produce steam to drive a turbine, thereby generating electricity. This would be the first-ever waste-to-energy project in Bangladesh, part of an effort to tackle the increasing volume of municipal waste. But the 42.5-megawatt North Dhaka project has raised concerns among nearby communities that have long suffered from exposure to polluted air, water, and soil. Dhaka North City Corporation is the municipal authority overseeing the project, which is owned by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation. Some of the total $467 million in total funding has been pledged by multilateral lenders including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank, both headquartered in China. The project is due to be completed by December 2028, four years later than initially planned. For nearby residents like Yeasmin, the prospect of thousands of tons of municipal waste every being burned every day, potentially releasing toxic substances like heavy metals and dioxins,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/dhakas-waste-to-energy-project-faces-opposition-from-pollution-weary-residents/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/dhakas-waste-to-energy-project-faces-opposition-from-pollution-weary-residents/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329776</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>10 promising ways to ‘green’ offshore wind</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/10-promising-ways-to-green-offshore-wind/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/10-promising-ways-to-green-offshore-wind/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Sep 2026 09:00:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/14162042/Image_1_Offshore_wind_farms_photographed_at_the_Port_of_Noshiro_at_sunset_20220728-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329636</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Marine, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Oceans, Offshore Wind, Renewable Energy, Solutions, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Read the stories in Mongabay&#8217;s series on offshore wind energy: Part One, Part Two and Part Three. Offshore wind has enormous potential as a source of renewable energy and is tipped to greatly expand in the next few decades. As this clean energy drive gathers pace, experts underline that new wind farms must be developed [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Read the stories in Mongabay&#8217;s series on offshore wind energy: Part One, Part Two and Part Three. Offshore wind has enormous potential as a source of renewable energy and is tipped to greatly expand in the next few decades. As this clean energy drive gathers pace, experts underline that new wind farms must be developed responsibly to minimize harm to ecosystems and support biodiversity. Mongabay spoke to experts to identify promising solutions that can make offshore wind farms work with nature, rather than against it. 1. Marine spatial planning during site selection The best way to avoid negative impacts of offshore wind farms is to carefully select sites using marine spatial planning. “That’s step one,” Marjolein Kelder, senior project manager at The Rich North Sea, a Netherlands-based nonprofit, told Mongabay in an interview. “Don&#8217;t put wind farms in your ecologically most valuable areas or in bird migration corridors.” Spatial planning can ensure ecosystems are preserved, account for the needs of coastal communities, and reduce conflicts with other uses of marine areas, like fisheries and shipping. Organizations are also developing “sensitivity” maps for species of birds and bats to aid planning. 2. Nature-friendly structures Research shows that wind farms can act as refuges for some marine species. Modifying wind farm structures can provide additional important habitat for fish and other marine life. Strategies include deploying artificial reefs, installing or using existing intentional gaps called water replenishment holes that are built into turbine foundations to allow the flow of water, deploying steel&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/10-promising-ways-to-green-offshore-wind/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/10-promising-ways-to-green-offshore-wind/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329636</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Offshore wind may be good for the climate but can it be good for the ocean, too?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/offshore-wind-may-be-good-for-the-climate-but-can-it-be-good-for-the-ocean-too/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/offshore-wind-may-be-good-for-the-climate-but-can-it-be-good-for-the-ocean-too/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2026 16:38:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/08151406/1-Greater-Gabbard-offshore-wind-farm-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=329102</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Biodiversity, Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Marine, Marine Conservation, Natural Resources, Oceans, Offshore Wind, Renewable Energy, Seabirds, Wildlife, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is Part Three in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part One describes the sector’s untapped potential and gaps between installed energy generation capacity and climate goals. Part Two describes challenges the sector faces in scaling up to meet climate goals. Offshore wind farms are growing in number, with many [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is Part Three in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part One describes the sector’s untapped potential and gaps between installed energy generation capacity and climate goals. Part Two describes challenges the sector faces in scaling up to meet climate goals. Offshore wind farms are growing in number, with many experts saying this renewable source of energy is vital to tackling climate change. But many of the same experts caution that responsible construction is required to avoid potentially large impacts on marine ecosystems as farms proliferate in the coming years. On one hand, offshore wind farms can provide an ecological boon by acting as de facto marine reserves that limit fishing, including harmful practices like bottom trawling. They can also be refugia for fish like sharks and rays, crustaceans and other species, as their structures act as artificial reefs. But offshore wind farms also have a host of negative impacts across their life cycle, from construction to decommissioning. Birds and bats risk collision with offshore wind turbines and loss of habitat to farms, while some marine mammals avoid wind farms or change behavior due to their presence. Bass Rock, Scotland, is home to the world’s largest colony of northern gannets (Morus bassanus). The offshore Berwick Bank Wind Farm is expected to have a significant impact on populations of seabirds like the gannets, as well as guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills and puffins. Image by Stephen Magee/RSPB. Over the past two decades, offshore wind farm numbers have increased, particularly&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/offshore-wind-may-be-good-for-the-climate-but-can-it-be-good-for-the-ocean-too/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-329102</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On renewable energy, it’s time to debunk the ‘transition minerals’ narrative (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/on-renewable-energy-its-time-to-debunk-the-transition-minerals-narrative-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/on-renewable-energy-its-time-to-debunk-the-transition-minerals-narrative-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2026 15:18:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shaan Sood]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/18094245/copper-bearing-ore-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328582</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Business, Clean Energy, Commentary, Critical Minerals, Energy, Energy Transition, Environment, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Mining, Natural Resources, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[There is an insidious lie that has taken root in the energy transition narrative pushed by the world’s most powerful financial, political, and environmental institutions: we need to massively scale up “critical mineral” mining to secure a green future. The World Bank claims that production of key minerals will need to increase by 500% by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[There is an insidious lie that has taken root in the energy transition narrative pushed by the world’s most powerful financial, political, and environmental institutions: we need to massively scale up “critical mineral” mining to secure a green future. The World Bank claims that production of key minerals will need to increase by 500% by 2050 for the energy transition. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 250 new mines are needed to meet emissions targets (80 new copper mines, 70 new lithium mines, 70 new nickel mines, and 30 new cobalt mines). WWF says we need to dramatically increase the supply chain for a wide range of materials, including “transition minerals” as they’re also sometimes called. We are told that mineral extraction’s countless environmental harms — the streams contaminated by toxic runoff, the razed forests, the degraded air quality, the dying wildlife — are the necessary costs of the transition to renewable energy. Lithium pools in Salinas Grandes, Argentina. Image by Pedro J Pacheco via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED) But as we at the Oakland Institute show in a new report, “transition minerals” are misnamed. The vast majority are used in industries that are either unrelated — or in direct opposition — to the clean energy transition. This trend shows no signs of changing: artificial intelligence and heightened military spending are, in fact, increasing the demand for these minerals in industries driving ecological destruction. Scaling up mining as recommended by international organizations would&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/on-renewable-energy-its-time-to-debunk-the-transition-minerals-narrative-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328582</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mexico-Brazil oil deal raises concern for ecosystems and energy transition</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mexico-brazil-oil-deal-raises-concern-for-ecosystems-and-energy-transition/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mexico-brazil-oil-deal-raises-concern-for-ecosystems-and-energy-transition/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2026 10:02:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Daniel Shailer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/10060125/AP24088006980479-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328312</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Latin America, Mexico, North America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Ecosystems, Energy, Energy Transition, Fossil Fuels, and Oil]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Environmental organizations have raised concerns that a recent partnership between the state petrochemical companies of Brazil and Mexico will commit both nations to decades of fossil fuel production, increase the risk of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, and displace coastal communities with industrial expansion. On June 23, Brazil’s Petrobras and Mexico’s Pemex announced [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Environmental organizations have raised concerns that a recent partnership between the state petrochemical companies of Brazil and Mexico will commit both nations to decades of fossil fuel production, increase the risk of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, and displace coastal communities with industrial expansion. On June 23, Brazil’s Petrobras and Mexico’s Pemex announced a two-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) outlining their collaboration. The document itself was not published, but in a short press release, the companies describe cooperating to “increase production in deepwater” and “mature fields … in the Gulf of Mexico”. The agreement also refers to ancillary fossil fuel products such as fertilizers, biofuels and carbon capture, according to the release. Mexico extracts the majority of its fossil fuels from the southern Gulf of Mexico, but has seen production declining in recent decades. Although the partnership is aimed to increase the country’s energy sovereignty, energy researchers and environmentalists say questions remain about the terms of the deal and its repercussions. “This is an effort from the Mexican administration to increase oil barrels, but at what cost,” Renata Terrazas, vice president, Mexico, of marine environmental group Oceana, said to Mongabay over video call. “Right now we’re just guessing. There’s no transparency about what this actually means, and that’s one of the things that we fear the most.” The partnership comes after Pemex suffered two major safety incidents this spring. In February, an exploratory natural gas well near Las Choapas, Veracruz, exploded and continued to release smoke and gas&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/mexico-brazil-oil-deal-raises-concern-for-ecosystems-and-energy-transition/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328312</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal’s flood disaster puts its hydropower-first strategy, exports to the test</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2026 16:12:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rudra Pangeni]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/02160152/nepal-flood-2026-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328384</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Disasters, Energy, Environment, Flooding, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Industry, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, and Rivers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal&#8217;s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The Aug. 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and which knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Nepal&#8217;s long-held policy of harnessing hydroelectricity and using it for economic growth has met new challenges: potential catastrophic floods in the snow-fed rivers amid rising global temperatures. The Aug. 26 floods that originated on the Nepal-China border, and which knocked out around 10% of installed power from the national grid, has prompted a debate on whether Nepal should rethink its overall strategy or just adopt better-engineered plants. Amid this, the flood could jeopardize the country&#8217;s clean energy targets and push it to adopt more solar power. Immediate impacts The flashflood crippled a combined installed generation capacity of 281 megawatts, including a solar power plant, and damaged four other under-construction projects, totaling a capacity of 700 MW. One of the oldest hydroelectric plants, the 14.1-MW Devighat Hydroelectric Plant, commissioned 42 years ago, was wiped out. Further downstream, the flood badly damaged a 25-MW solar power plant, according to data compiled by Mongabay from official sources. Similarly, with a hub of a transmission line washed away on the Trishuli River’s banks, another 150 MW of power from different power plants is cut off from the national grid system. Transmission lines, including a substation on the Trishuli riverbank, were also destroyed. While officials are assessing the damage, estimates put losses at hundreds of billions of Nepali rupees, according to media reports. They say they can’t yet provide timelines for when the affected projects will resume generation. Around 983 engineers and workers are feared trapped inside the tunnels or power houses and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/nepals-flood-disaster-puts-its-hydropower-first-strategy-exports-to-the-test/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328384</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Logging operations uncovered at Cambodian senator’s dam in the Cardamoms</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Sep 2026 01:30:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/10/09140647/Lutrogale_perspicillata_-_Jurong_Eco_Garden-harrison-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328129</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Cambodia, Global, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Carbon Credits, Carbon Market, Carbon Sequestration, climate finance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corruption, Crime, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Energy, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forestry, Forests, Governance, Habitat Loss, Hydroelectric Power, Illegal Logging, Logging, Natural Resources, Old Growth Forests, Rainforests, Selective Logging, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“They are clearing the forest for the reservoir,” said Phan, a resident of O’Soam commune in Cambodia’s western province of Pursat. “These days, every few days, there is only one timber truck because it is the raining season, but during the dry season, there are three or four timber trucks [per day].” Phan, who spoke [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“They are clearing the forest for the reservoir,” said Phan, a resident of O’Soam commune in Cambodia’s western province of Pursat. “These days, every few days, there is only one timber truck because it is the raining season, but during the dry season, there are three or four timber trucks [per day].” Phan, who spoke to Mongabay by phone, requested that neither his full name nor his village name be published for fear of retribution from the developers of the 70-megawatt (MW) Stung Russei Chrum Kandal hydropower dam, also known as the Middle Russei Chrum River dam. Construction on the dam, which spans the Russei Chrum River in neighboring Koh Kong province, began in 2023 inside Phnom Kravanh National Park, one of Cambodia’s largest protected rainforests. The dam is one of many being built in the Cardamoms as Cambodia pushes for “clean” energy security, but recent satellite imagery indicates that large-scale logging is happening beyond the authorized construction sites. This map shows where the two dams are being built inside Cambodia&#8217;s protected Kravanh National Park. Image by Emilie Languedoc/Mongabay. Access to the site, Phan added, has been restricted and checkpoints are closely guarded by armed men in Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) uniforms. “We used to enter for fishing and laying fishing equipment, yet we are not allowed to enter anymore,” he said. “They have checkpoints, they have troops — they say the troops came to protect the forests. But the company set them up as security guards; we cannot&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/logging-operations-uncovered-at-cambodian-senators-dam-in-the-cardamoms/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328129</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, communities build their own micro-hydropower plant</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-ecuadors-intag-valley-communities-build-their-own-micro-hydropower-plant/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-ecuadors-intag-valley-communities-build-their-own-micro-hydropower-plant/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Sep 2026 12:55:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/01123136/HidroAguagrun-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328157</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Development, Energy, Environment, Hydroelectric Power, Indigenous Peoples, Natural Resources, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, one of the major watersheds that supply the country’s Imbabura province in the north, 19 families from four communities are developing a 300-kilowatt (kW) run-of-river hydropower plant — a project that generates electricity by capturing the Aguagrún River’s natural flows without the construction of a large dam or water storage reservoir. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Ecuador’s Intag Valley, one of the major watersheds that supply the country’s Imbabura province in the north, 19 families from four communities are developing a 300-kilowatt (kW) run-of-river hydropower plant — a project that generates electricity by capturing the Aguagrún River’s natural flows without the construction of a large dam or water storage reservoir. Engineers say this makes them less environmentally impactful. The families, which are from the communities of Cerro Pelado, Chinipamba, Nangulvi Bajo and Barcelona, own 90% of the HidroAguagrún project. Registered as a business since 2022, half of the revenue raised from selling electricity to the national grid will go directly into a trust for conservation activities, such as the protection of cloud forests. The idea to create a small hydropower plant came from a general concern among the families about water availability in the region and the impact of the climate crisis, said Jorge Guachagmira, the president of the Río Aguagrún Renewable Energy Production Association, which represents the 19 families of the micro-basin and surrounding areas. “We live in a remnant of the natural world, and our daily activities are affected by the expansion of the exploitation frontier, such as agriculture, livestock farming, logging or deforestation of natural ecosystems,” he told Mongabay in a video call. “By expanding the agricultural frontier, we are generating greater water insecurity, water instability and climate instability.” The community of Barcelona, which depends on the Aguagrún River micro-basin within the Cotacachi canton, Imbabura province, Ecuador. Image by Denis Laporta. Ecuador,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-ecuadors-intag-valley-communities-build-their-own-micro-hydropower-plant/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/in-ecuadors-intag-valley-communities-build-their-own-micro-hydropower-plant/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328157</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Gulf of Mexico’s unique Orca Basin shouldn&#8217;t become a carbon dump (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gulf-of-mexicos-unique-orca-basin-shouldnt-become-a-carbon-dump-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gulf-of-mexicos-unique-orca-basin-shouldnt-become-a-carbon-dump-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Aug 2026 20:56:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Craig R. McClain]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/31185024/Screenshot-2026-08-31-at-2.48.36-PM-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=328050</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Business, Carbon Sequestration, Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea, Deep Sea Mining, Ecosystems, Environment, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal, Marine Conservation, Mining, Natural Resources, Oceans, Renewable Energy, Research, and Science]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It’s 3 a.m. and I am standing on the deck of a research vessel, staring into water so dark it looks solid. I feel what I felt standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, watching the sun set: there are places in this world deserving of our reverence, our protection, and our humility. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It’s 3 a.m. and I am standing on the deck of a research vessel, staring into water so dark it looks solid. I feel what I felt standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, watching the sun set: there are places in this world deserving of our reverence, our protection, and our humility. The Orca Basin is one of those places. I have spent years working in the deep Gulf of Mexico, lowering instruments into the dark, pulling up sediment cores that smell of sulfur, watching remotely operated vehicle (ROV) footage of a seafloor that most people will never see, and few even know exists. Lying roughly 168 miles (270 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast, beneath more than a mile (2.2 km) of water, the Orca Basin is one of the most extraordinary environments on the planet. It is a lake on the seafloor, where the water is so salty and so dense that it resists mixing with the overlying seawater, and has occupied a vast depression on the gulf floor for thousands of years. Spanning roughly 154 square miles (nearly 400 km2), its salinity runs nearly 10 times that of normal seawater. With no oxygen, no multicellular animals venture below its ghostly boundary, where normal ocean gives way to something ancient and strange. When descending ROV cameras near the surface of the Orca Basin’s salty water, the interface shimmers like heat rising from sunbaked asphalt — a mirage a mile underwater. Map of the Orca Basin in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/gulf-of-mexicos-unique-orca-basin-shouldnt-become-a-carbon-dump-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-328050</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In South Africa, renewable energy latest part of timber industry’s green efforts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-south-africa-renewable-energy-latest-part-of-timber-industrys-green-efforts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-south-africa-renewable-energy-latest-part-of-timber-industrys-green-efforts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Aug 2026 10:09:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mkhululi Chimoio]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/26100828/HarvestingTimber_MpumalangaSouthAfrica_YorkTimbersFairUse-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327323</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Emission Reduction, Energy, Environment, Forests, Governance, Renewable Energy, Timber, and timber trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — York Timber Holdings signed a 10-year renewable electricity agreement with electricity trader Discovery Green for power for its Jessievale sawmill in June 2026. Renewables will now make up approximately 90% of the mill’s electricity use, and the agreement is a trend that is spreading amongst commercial users in South Africa. “The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — York Timber Holdings signed a 10-year renewable electricity agreement with electricity trader Discovery Green for power for its Jessievale sawmill in June 2026. Renewables will now make up approximately 90% of the mill’s electricity use, and the agreement is a trend that is spreading amongst commercial users in South Africa. “The 10-year agreement gives York Timbers access to renewable electricity at scale, while improving long-term certainty regarding electricity costs,” said Linmari Pelser, the company’s group risk and compliance officer. Discovery Green is a subsidiary of one of South Africa’s largest health insurance schemes; Discovery’s renewable energy division works with companies that want to increase energy efficiency and shift to renewables, including “wheeling” agreements like the one with York Timber. Under the agreement, York Timber’s electricity will still arrive over the same infrastructure, but Discovery Green will coordinate the equivalent amount of power being fed into the national grid from a range of solar and wind producers across the country. York Timber also operates a 700 kW solar farm at the mill. Pelser said the agreement will reduce the sawmill’s greenhouse gas emissions, while reducing its exposure to electricity tariff hikes and potential future carbon-based costs, such as South Africa’s Carbon Tax. This tax on greenhouse gas emissions was introduced in 2019, and generous allowances that allowed most polluters to pay only a fraction of their assessed costs are scheduled to be lifted this year. Dan Ginsberg, head of actuarial and research and development at Discovery Green,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-south-africa-renewable-energy-latest-part-of-timber-industrys-green-efforts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/in-south-africa-renewable-energy-latest-part-of-timber-industrys-green-efforts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327323</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Plans of Peru’s new administration spur concern among environmentalists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/plans-of-perus-new-administration-spur-concern-among-environmentalists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/plans-of-perus-new-administration-spur-concern-among-environmentalists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Aug 2026 09:38:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/17050949/peru_221217-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=327225</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Crime, Development, Energy, Energy Security, Energy Transition, Environmental Policy, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Organized Crime, Politics, Pollution, Renewable Energy, and Violence]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi from the Popular Force Party was sworn in as the new president of Peru on July 28. Fujimori, who has pledged to tackle insecurity using greater force and militarization, narrowly defeated her left-wing opponent Roberto Sánchez by fewer than 50,000 votes on June 7. The new president has promised to expand [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi from the Popular Force Party was sworn in as the new president of Peru on July 28. Fujimori, who has pledged to tackle insecurity using greater force and militarization, narrowly defeated her left-wing opponent Roberto Sánchez by fewer than 50,000 votes on June 7. The new president has promised to expand fossil fuel production and mining across the country, raising concerns among environmentalists and Indigenous leaders about the future of the Peruvian Amazon, as well as its international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — a national climate action plan under the Paris Agreement. The country submitted its first NDC in 2016, which was then updated in 2020 and 2025. In its plan, it has committed to diversify renewable energy sources, strengthen sustainable transportation, reduce deforestation, protect natural areas and support Indigenous and local communities, among other mitigation priorities. Experts, environmentalists and Indigenous leaders expressed concerns about the government’s plans, particularly Fujimori’s promise to expand the exploration and exploitation of energy resources, such as the promotion of new lots in the Amazon and the northern coast. Peru&#8217;s President Keiko Fujimori, center, poses for a group photo with members of her cabinet at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo) “The current government is a bit pragmatic in its decisions because they are really driven by wanting development without considering the consequences for the Amazonian peoples,” Matsés Indigenous leader Leo Chuma Teca Beso told Mongabay&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/plans-of-perus-new-administration-spur-concern-among-environmentalists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/plans-of-perus-new-administration-spur-concern-among-environmentalists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-327225</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil’s unique data center boom rides on clean power despite social burden</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-unique-data-center-boom-rides-on-clean-power-despite-social-burden/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-unique-data-center-boom-rides-on-clean-power-despite-social-burden/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Aug 2026 09:00:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francisco AmorimLaís MartinsNaira Hofmeister]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/21192238/Headerfeat-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326903</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Caatinga, Cerrado, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Artificial Intelligence, Data centers, Energy, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Technology, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Corporations benefit from wasted energy, while locals pay for grid upgrades and endure noise and water threats.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The global appetite for artificial intelligence is pushing Brazil to lead an unprecedented move in the world regarding data centers. While around the globe, big tech struggles to find energy to power the infrastructures that store and process data, in Brazil the story is just the opposite: Data center proposers come from the power industry itself — more precisely, renewable energy. An exclusive analysis conducted by The Intercept Brasil and Mongabay (read it in Portuguese) revealed that 65% of the requests to connect data centers to the main power grid originated from renewable energy companies — considering only plans presented to the Ministry of Mines and Energy through December 2025. By that date, 68 connection requests had been reported across 37 Brazilian municipalities. A combination of factors explains this phenomenon, starting with the extraordinary amount of electricity required to power data centers. The International Energy Agency projects that global data center energy consumption will double in the coming years, potentially reaching 945 TWh by 2030 — equivalent to Japan&#8217;s total consumption — with artificial intelligence accounting for 40% of that figure. With a predominantly renewable energy mix, Brazil has become an attractive destination for data centers. “We are a vast source of opportunities for those looking to invest in the decarbonization of energy mixes,” proclaimed Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, in January 2025 during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland — a trip undertaken with the mission of promoting Brazil to global investors, particularly those in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/brazils-unique-data-center-boom-rides-on-clean-power-despite-social-burden/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326903</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wind energy surplus fuels unregulated data centers in Brazil&#8217;s dry land</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/wind-energy-surplus-fuels-unregulated-data-centers-in-brazils-dry-land/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/wind-energy-surplus-fuels-unregulated-data-centers-in-brazils-dry-land/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Aug 2026 09:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Laís Martins]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/21204526/Headerfeat-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326800</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, Caatinga, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Conservation, Data centers, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Human Rights, Law, Natural Resources, Protected Areas, Regulations, Renewable Energy, Resource Conflict, Technology, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A renewable boom brought high rents and noise, and now, a shadowy tech expansion is arriving unannounced.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[GENTIO DO OURO, Brazil — From the main square in Gentio do Ouro, in northern Bahia state, you&#8217;ll see what appears in almost every small Brazilian town: The city hall, a bank branch, a bandstand and a sign with the town’s name. What distinguishes this landscape is on the horizon: Regardless of which direction you look, you&#8217;ll see giant windmills used to generate energy. The town was put on the wind turbine map more than 15 years ago, and now has 28 active wind farms, according to data from the Energy Transition Observatory. The turbines, however, don&#8217;t make Gentio do Ouro, on the outskirts of the beautiful landscapes of the Chapada Diamantina mountains, a sustainable hub. In the main square, a sculpture of a gold nugget is a nod to mining, an activity that runs strong in the region. And yet another outside influence is gaining traction: A plan to make this peaceful town a data center backyard. Similar to factories, these facilities process everything that is done on the internet — using lots of energy, benefiting few people, hiring even less and bringing about a new wave of environmental impacts. Although it has only 11,000 citizens, Gentio do Ouro is targeted by 12 requests to connect data centers to the energy grid. At the front of this race are the same companies that filled the region with wind turbines, impacting threatened biomes and even disturbing the sleep of the wind farms’ neighbors. One of the main streets in Gentio&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/wind-energy-surplus-fuels-unregulated-data-centers-in-brazils-dry-land/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326800</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indonesia leads global tally of abuses linked to Chinese transition-mineral investments</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 10:59:25 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/01140403/image_processing20240603-2-tg8aa4-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326494</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, North Maluku, Southeast Asia, and Sulawesi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Batteries, Conflict, Critical Minerals, Electric Cars, Energy, Energy Transition, Health, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Law, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Social Conflict, Transportation, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia recorded more allegations of human rights and environmental abuses linked to Chinese investments in transition minerals than any other country between 2023 and 2025, a new report says. It identifies the vast majority of problems with the country’s rapidly expanding nickel industry. The report by the Business &#38; Human Rights Resource Centre [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — Indonesia recorded more allegations of human rights and environmental abuses linked to Chinese investments in transition minerals than any other country between 2023 and 2025, a new report says. It identifies the vast majority of problems with the country’s rapidly expanding nickel industry. The report by the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRC) documented 323 publicly reported allegations across 24 countries during the three-year period, plus three confidential cases involving attacks on human rights defenders. That brings the total to 326 allegations for 2023-2025. The number of recorded allegations has also risen each year, from 51 in 2021 to 148 in 2025, bringing the five-year total to 434. That increase doesn’t necessarily mean the number of abuses themselves have tripled, as changes in reporting, monitoring, and the database can affect the figures. Still, the rising trend comes as investment in the minerals used in electric vehicles, batteries, and renewable energy technologies expands rapidly, raising risks for workers, Indigenous peoples, local communities, and the environment. The report also documented 18 attacks against human rights defenders across all 24 countries between 2023 and 2025, including cases involving judicial harassment, violence, and intimidation. Indonesia Of the 323 allegations analyzed in detail, 96 were in Indonesia, the highest of any country. The Democratic Republic of Congo was second with 52, followed by Myanmar with 36, Serbia with 32, and Zimbabwe with 20. Ninety of the 96 Indonesian allegations involved nickel. Of those, 71 concerned nickel processing, 17 nickel extraction, and two&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/indonesia-leads-global-tally-of-abuses-linked-to-chinese-transition-mineral-investments/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326494</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite energy crisis, Bangladesh’s factories are slow to adopt solar power: Study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2026 07:37:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Md Asaduz Zaman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/18072353/solar-power-energy-bangladesh-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326474</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Business, Developing Countries, Development, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Transition, Environment, Industry, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, and Sustainable Development]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh’s energy system is facing intense pressure from the country’s ongoing fuel crisis and rising electricity bills. Yet thousands of garment factories&#8217; rooftops that could be fitted with solar panels remain largely unused. Renewable energy such as solar could be a potential solution to the escalating crisis, but has been overlooked for many years despite [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh’s energy system is facing intense pressure from the country’s ongoing fuel crisis and rising electricity bills. Yet thousands of garment factories&#8217; rooftops that could be fitted with solar panels remain largely unused. Renewable energy such as solar could be a potential solution to the escalating crisis, but has been overlooked for many years despite Bangladesh having sufficient amounts of sunshine. Rather, the country relies almost entirely on grid electricity, which is mostly generated from imported fossil fuels. More than two-thirds or 69% of factories have still not adopted renewable energy technologies (RET), according to a recent study funded by the International Growth Centre (IGC). “Only 31% of factories have adopted RET (predominantly rooftop solar), with very low average capacity,” the study says. “Half of all solar installations do not even contribute to production processes.” This analysis is based on a survey of 661 factories in the cities of Gazipur and Savar, located close to the capital Dhaka, conducted by Atonu Rabbani of Dhaka University and a BRAC University research team and completed in October 2025. Bangladesh’s garment sector has more than 3,320 active factories. Of these, more than are located in Savar and Gazipur. The study focuses on these two industrial hubs using the Mapped in Bangladesh (MiB) database and samples more than 650 factories out of 1,937 in the two cities. A separate study conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) finds that solar adoption is mostly seen in large and environmentally certified factories (LEED-certified). Large factories&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/despite-energy-crisis-bangladeshs-factories-are-slow-to-adopt-solar-power-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326474</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Concerns grow over ‘green’ biomass power in Japan after spate of accidents</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/concerns-grow-over-green-biomass-power-in-japan-after-spate-of-accidents/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/concerns-grow-over-green-biomass-power-in-japan-after-spate-of-accidents/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Aug 2026 15:45:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nithin Coca]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/12124729/220115_Night_view_of_Handa_Biomass_Power_Plant-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326053</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, East Asia, and Japan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Corporate Environmental Transgressors, Corporations, Disasters, Energy, Environment, Industry, and Natural Resources]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For the past decade, Japan has been expanding the use of woody biomass for power generation to replace or be mixed and burned with coal. The country is now the second-largest wood pellet consumer in the world after the U.K. But there are concerns that burning wood pellets or palm kernel shells to generate electricity [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For the past decade, Japan has been expanding the use of woody biomass for power generation to replace or be mixed and burned with coal. The country is now the second-largest wood pellet consumer in the world after the U.K. But there are concerns that burning wood pellets or palm kernel shells to generate electricity might not be safe. In the past few years, there have been at least 14 fires, explosions and accidents at biomass power plants across Japan. These incidents, combined with rising prices, pollution concerns and growing opposition are leading some to question the future of Japan&#8217;s large-scale biomass plants, an estimated 34 of which produce 3.5 gigawatts of power. For many living near the plants or pushing Japan to decarbonize, this would be welcome as accident and pollution concerns grow. “Explosions at biomass power plants in Japan have been occurring too frequently, and despite this, regulations are being applied leniently,” An Nakane, a campaigner with Friends of the Earth Japan, told Mongabay. “The government should urge operators to formulate business plans that take into account the safety of nearby residents.” Tanks storing palm kernel shells and wood pellets at a biomass power plant in Japan&#8217;s Okinawa. Image by Annelise Giseburt for Mongabay. Why Japan has so many accidents Japan expanded the use woody biomass as an alternative to coal by including it alongside solar and wind in its clean energy feed-in-tariff program. This move came despite concerns that wood pellet production often rests on the destruction&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/concerns-grow-over-green-biomass-power-in-japan-after-spate-of-accidents/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/concerns-grow-over-green-biomass-power-in-japan-after-spate-of-accidents/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326053</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Urban heat islands have solutions; many tropical cities can’t afford them</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/urban-heat-islands-have-solutions-many-tropical-cities-cant-afford-them/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/urban-heat-islands-have-solutions-many-tropical-cities-cant-afford-them/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2026 00:34:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Adam Litchkofski]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/12214622/5-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326095</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, China, East Asia, Global, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jakarta, Nigeria, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Tropics, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Biodiversity, Cities, Climate, Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservation, Development, Disasters, Earth Science, Economics, El Nino, Energy, Environment, Extreme Weather, Fossil Fuels, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Heatwave, Impact Of Climate Change, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Planetary Boundaries, Planetary Health, Plants, Poverty, Public Health, Research, Science, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Temperatures, Trees, Tropical Conservation Science, urban ecology, Weather, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Urban heat islands pose a growing global health threat. But in tropical cities, the peril is surging. Already burdened by hot-humid equatorial weather, global warming, intense poverty, rapid urbanization, and a lack of cooling infrastructure, tropical city officials now face a powerful 2026-2027 El Niño that could put millions of vulnerable urban dwellers at risk. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Urban heat islands pose a growing global health threat. But in tropical cities, the peril is surging. Already burdened by hot-humid equatorial weather, global warming, intense poverty, rapid urbanization, and a lack of cooling infrastructure, tropical city officials now face a powerful 2026-2027 El Niño that could put millions of vulnerable urban dwellers at risk. Heat islands form because artificial surfaces, like roads and rooftops, trap heat by day and release it by night, never giving highly-urbanized spaces time to cool. When climate change-induced heat domes stall over cities, temperatures can soar for weeks into the triple digits. Every “city has a rhythm, it has a metabolism,” Matthias Roth, a National University of Singapore researcher, told Mongabay in a video interview. “The metabolism of each city — especially how incoming solar energy is divided between heating surfaces, warming the air, evaporating water, and being stored in the ground and buildings — influences how much energy heats up buildings, surfaces, and air. The prevalence of concrete and asphalt and the absence of vegetation creates a heat island.” But not all tropical urban heat islands (UHIs) are created equally, with the severity of their heat burdens dependent on innovative city planning and the financial clout to keep pace with global warming. In wealthy Singapore (which has devoted high levels of funding to curb UHI effects), air temperatures can still swell; compact high-rise building complexes there can see outdoor temperatures 4.3° Celsius (7.9° Fahrenheit) above rural areas. But in poorer cities, like Lagos,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/urban-heat-islands-have-solutions-many-tropical-cities-cant-afford-them/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/urban-heat-islands-have-solutions-many-tropical-cities-cant-afford-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326095</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Environmental activists in Kenya concerned over billionaire&#8217;s planned oil refinery</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/environmental-activists-in-kenya-concerned-over-billionaires-planned-oil-refinery/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/environmental-activists-in-kenya-concerned-over-billionaires-planned-oil-refinery/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Aug 2026 11:06:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Amina Chombo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/05101433/Aliko-Dangote-768x441.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325399</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Development, Economics, Energy, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Natural Resources, Oil, Oil Drilling, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Billionaire Aliko Dangote’s choice of Lamu, Kenya, for his oil refinery project, estimated to cost $17 billion, has elicited mixed reactions, with environmental activists warning of its potential risks to the local ecosystem and the community’s livelihoods, while the government is playing up its economic benefits. The Nigerian business tycoon’s decision to locate the refinery [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Billionaire Aliko Dangote’s choice of Lamu, Kenya, for his oil refinery project, estimated to cost $17 billion, has elicited mixed reactions, with environmental activists warning of its potential risks to the local ecosystem and the community’s livelihoods, while the government is playing up its economic benefits. The Nigerian business tycoon’s decision to locate the refinery in Lamu, follows months of speculation about whether the project will go ahead in Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania. Devakumar Edwin, Dangote Industries Limited’s vice president, who is in charge of the oil and gas division, told Reuters that the project, with a capacity to refine at least 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, would be completed within three years. The crude oil is expected to come from within the East Africa region. If completed, the Lamu project would work like a similar one owned by Dangote Industries in Lagos, Nigeria, which can refine at least 650,000 barrels of crude oil in a day. It is currently the biggest oil refinery in Africa. Speaking earlier in July, Kenyan President William Ruto said Kenya had struck a deal with Dangote to have the project in Lamu. He said the project would benefit East and Central Africa, as well as create at least 60,000 jobs for Kenyans during its construction and then operation. Kenyan President William Ruto speaking at State House in Nairobi on July 8, 2026. Image courtesy of Public Service Commission. Concerns about environmental impact Meanwhile, environmental activists have called for transparency and sufficient involvement&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/environmental-activists-in-kenya-concerned-over-billionaires-planned-oil-refinery/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/environmental-activists-in-kenya-concerned-over-billionaires-planned-oil-refinery/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325399</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate shocks hit hydropower in Southern Africa, reviving interest in coal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 14:19:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chisapi Kumbutso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31093919/The_Kariba_Dam_wall_from_the_middle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325029</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Science, Coal, Development, Economics, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Natural Resources, Research, Solar Power, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA —For years, Zambia and Zimbabwe have boasted of enviable success in harnessing hydropower. More than 80% of Zambia’s power supply and about half of neighboring Zimbabwe’s supply came from hydropower sources in 2024. But climate change has continued to expose the fragility of this dependence. Successive droughts, linked to the 2023-24 El Niño, caused [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA —For years, Zambia and Zimbabwe have boasted of enviable success in harnessing hydropower. More than 80% of Zambia’s power supply and about half of neighboring Zimbabwe’s supply came from hydropower sources in 2024. But climate change has continued to expose the fragility of this dependence. Successive droughts, linked to the 2023-24 El Niño, caused water levels in Lake Kariba, formed by a dam on Zambezi River, to drop, drastically reducing electricity generation. It precipitated one of the region’s worst energy crises in decades. Against this backdrop, coal re-emerged as an attractive, although controversial, option. According to the Global Energy Monitor&#8217;s Boom and Bust Coal 2026 report, Zambia and Zimbabwe accounted for more than two-thirds of all new coal power proposals announced in Africa in 2025. Some energy experts argue that coal offers the quickest route to stabilizing electricity supplies and sustaining industrial growth, particularly for the mining sector. Electricity systems in Zimbabwe and Zambia power mining activities, industries and help meet the needs of growing urban populations. However, others warn that expanding coal-fired power risks locking both countries into decades of carbon emissions at a time when renewable energy technologies — especially solar — are becoming increasingly affordable. For Zimbabwe, however, coal has never completely disappeared from that country&#8217;s energy landscape. Power Shift Africa Campaigns Manager Kudakwashe Manjonjo said Zimbabwe&#8217;s reliance on coal is rooted in history. “Zimbabwe has always been a significant coal-producing country. I live in Hwange, home to one of the largest coal mines on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325029</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wind farms join bottom trawlers and oil rigs in a protected North Sea sandbank</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Jul 2026 20:28:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christina Egerstrom]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/30200540/Joost-van-Uffelen-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324903</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean and Europe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Environment, Fishing, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Molluscs, Natural Resources, Oceans, Offshore Wind, Saltwater Fish, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the North Sea, the vast, shallow sandbank known as Dogger Bank was once among the most productive marine nurseries in Europe. The area stretches across U.K., Dutch, German and Danish waters, and is home to a vast array of marine life, including sharks, rays, dolphins, long-lived shellfish, anemones, corals, sand eels, and seabirds, prompting [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the North Sea, the vast, shallow sandbank known as Dogger Bank was once among the most productive marine nurseries in Europe. The area stretches across U.K., Dutch, German and Danish waters, and is home to a vast array of marine life, including sharks, rays, dolphins, long-lived shellfish, anemones, corals, sand eels, and seabirds, prompting experts to call it the ecological heart of the North Sea. While much of Dogger Bank has been protected for its unique seabed habitat, destructive industrial activities like oil and gas extraction as well as fishing practices like bottom trawling have continued, even in the protected zones. Now, conservationists have notched a win with a recent court ruling that curtails bottom trawling in the Dutch protected section of Dogger Bank. But they say the threats continue, notably in the form of major wind farm developments rising in the U.K. protected section. A major difficulty in protecting a place as large as Dogger Bank, which spans 18,765 square kilometers (7,245 square miles), is that it’s divided into three separate marine protected areas (MPAs) managed by three different countries. The German section of Dogger Bank was the first to be protected, as a Natura 2000 site under the European Union&#8217;s Habitats Directive, in 2007. The Dutch section followed in 2009, and the U.K. section in 2012. Since then, the U.K. has left the EU and now manages its Dogger Bank Special Area of Conservation (SAC) as part of its own network of protected areas. (The Danish section&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/wind-farms-join-bottom-trawlers-and-oil-rigs-in-a-protected-north-sea-sandbank/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324903</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Proposed mine expansion raising pollution concerns in Canada and US</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/proposed-mine-expansion-raising-pollution-concerns-in-canada-and-us/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/proposed-mine-expansion-raising-pollution-concerns-in-canada-and-us/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jul 2026 22:31:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/29150845/Image-4-Castle-Mountain-Grasslands-Siobhan-Williams-1-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324789</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Canada, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Freshwater, Governance, Health, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Elk Valley in southeast British Columbia is home to Canada’s four largest coal mines. With a proposed mine expansion moving through environmental assessment, people on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border worry the valley’s decades-old pollution problem could get even worse. Industrial coal mining in the Elk Valley goes back more than 50 years. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Elk Valley in southeast British Columbia is home to Canada’s four largest coal mines. With a proposed mine expansion moving through environmental assessment, people on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border worry the valley’s decades-old pollution problem could get even worse. Industrial coal mining in the Elk Valley goes back more than 50 years. The valley’s mines, currently owned by Elk Valley Resources (EVR), supply 77% of Canada’s metallurgical coal, a grade of coal used in steel making, according to a 2024 report produced for EVR. The vast majority of this coal was exported to Asia. EVR’s largest mine, Fording River Operations (FRO), is expected to run out of coal within a decade. The proposed Fording River Extension (FRX) would open 2,031 hectares (5,019 acres) on Castle Mountain, adjacent to the existing mine, and operate for about 35 years. The FRX is currently moving through a coordinated federal-provincial environmental impact assessment. Three proposed new coal mines, not linked to EVR, are also currently in the environmental assessment process. The Fording River Operations mine, in the Elk Valley, British Columbia. The mountain top removal mining process dramatically alters topography and drainage patterns, and creates large volumes of waste rock. Image by Siobhán Winters/Wildsight. Proponents maintain the FRX is necessary to sustain economic benefits post FRO-closure, such as gross domestic product contributions, payments to governments and jobs. Others question the wisdom of expanding mining whilst unabated pollution threatens ecosystems, wildlife and livelihoods across the region. The Ktunaxa Nation Council, representing Ktunaxa&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/proposed-mine-expansion-raising-pollution-concerns-in-canada-and-us/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/proposed-mine-expansion-raising-pollution-concerns-in-canada-and-us/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324789</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scaling up offshore wind requires overcoming global and local challenges</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scaling-up-offshore-wind-requires-overcoming-global-and-local-challenges/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scaling-up-offshore-wind-requires-overcoming-global-and-local-challenges/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 20:12:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/27121415/human-on-a-windmill-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324590</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Climate, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Natural Resources, Oceans, Offshore Wind, Planetary Boundaries, Renewable Energy, Wind, and Wind Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This is Part Two in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part One describes the sector’s untapped potential and gaps between installed energy generation capacity and climate goals. The last year has highlighted both the vast potential of the growing offshore wind sector, and the major headwinds it must contend with. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This is Part Two in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part One describes the sector’s untapped potential and gaps between installed energy generation capacity and climate goals. The last year has highlighted both the vast potential of the growing offshore wind sector, and the major headwinds it must contend with. On one hand, the United Kingdom, a major offshore wind market, produced nearly 20% of the electricity it generated from offshore wind alone in 2025. Some 3,000 turbines generated enough electricity to power around 15.5 million homes. In 2025, 9.3 GW of offshore wind capacity was connected to the grid. By the end of 2026, it’s estimated that a further 18.8 GW will be added across the world. That would take total global capacity above 100 GW. In contrast to this positive backdrop are signs the industry is in a difficult period. 2025’s installations were dominated by China, at 6.6 GW, with European countries only adding around 3 GW. That’s off pace to meet many countries’ national targets, which must be fulfilled to meet climate goals. The Global Wind Energy Council, a trade industry association based in Portugal, also noted that just 11.4 GW of new projects were awarded contracts in 2025, down from 56 GW in 2024. That follows a series of failed auctions. Some developers also canceled large-scale projects. Notably, in May 2025 Danish developer Ørsted axed its U.K.-based Hornsea 4 project, which would have become one of the largest offshore wind farms in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scaling-up-offshore-wind-requires-overcoming-global-and-local-challenges/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/scaling-up-offshore-wind-requires-overcoming-global-and-local-challenges/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324590</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Major orangutan study finds Sumatran population fell nearly 20% despite slower forest loss</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 08:30:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas JongJunaidi Hanafiah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/01134730/sabah_3983-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324552</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Aceh, Asia, Global, Indonesia, North Sumatra, Southeast Asia, and Sumatra]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Ecosystems, Great Apes, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hydroelectric Power, Mammals, Mining, Orangutans, Peatlands, Poaching, Primates, Renewable Energy, Research, Tropical Deforestation, Wetlands, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The number of Sumatran orangutans has declined by nearly 20% in the past decade and the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan remains perilously close to extinction despite years of conservation efforts, according to a new study. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, also suggests that habitat loss alone cannot explain the species&#8217; [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The number of Sumatran orangutans has declined by nearly 20% in the past decade and the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan remains perilously close to extinction despite years of conservation efforts, according to a new study. The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, also suggests that habitat loss alone cannot explain the species&#8217; decline. While deforestation remains the primary driver, several orangutan populations in Indonesia’s island of Sumatra shrank by a far greater degree than the rate of forest loss might explain, pointing to additional threats such as killing, conflict with humans and habitat fragmentation. The findings come from the first comprehensive reassessment of both Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis) orangutans since the landmark 2016 range-wide survey led by primatologist Serge Wich. The study also signals a notable shift in the Indonesian government&#8217;s public approach to orangutan conservation. Between 2018 and 2022, then environment and forestry minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar repeatedly said &#8220;ground-based evidence&#8221; showed orangutan populations were growing and dismissed projections of continued decline. Those claims were challenged at the time by prominent primatologists, who argued that peer-reviewed research consistently showed that the populations of all three orangutan species, Sumatran, Tapanuli and Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus), were declining and urged the ministry to release the data underpinning its assertions. The dispute escalated when the ministry temporarily barred several of the scientists from conducting research with Indonesia&#8217;s national parks and conservation agencies. The latest assessment of the animals presents a picture that’s markedly different from the previous&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/major-orangutan-study-finds-sumatran-population-fell-nearly-20-despite-slower-forest-loss/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324552</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Thai MP calls for new committee to scrutinize AI data centers’ environmental impact</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Jul 2026 02:48:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gerald Flynn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/10061600/20251222__DATA-CENTER_THAILAND_ANDY-BALL-RESIZED-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324542</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Global, Mekong Basin, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Development, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fish, Fossil Fuels, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Health, Natural Resources, Pollution, Renewable Energy, Saltwater Fish, Software, Technology, Water, Water Pollution, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — An opposition member of Thailand’s parliament has called for the creation of a parliamentary committee on the regulation of data centers. The call comes amid a raft of new project approvals linked to the sector, which requires large amounts of water and electricity. “I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BANGKOK — An opposition member of Thailand’s parliament has called for the creation of a parliamentary committee on the regulation of data centers. The call comes amid a raft of new project approvals linked to the sector, which requires large amounts of water and electricity. “I believe Thailand needs to rethink its overall approach to data center development,” Sahassawat Kumkong, a member of the reformist People’s Party, told Mongabay in an interview. “The objective should not simply be to attract investment as quickly as possible. We also need to ensure that development is environmentally sustainable, that local communities are protected, and that the economic benefits are shared more fairly.” Sahassawat represents Constituency 7 in Chonburi, a coastal province in eastern Thailand where at least 13 data centers are in the construction or planning phases, with four more already operational, according to public records, news coverage and, in some cases, on-the-ground reporting by Mongabay. Part of his responsibility in this role, he said, was to safeguard the interests of his constituents, who largely depend on natural resources that data centers may put under strain. The MP said he intends to do this by forming a parliamentary committee to scrutinize the government’s approval and regulation of data centers. This will involve a comprehensive review of Thailand’s current policy framework, including long-term planning for water and energy resources, stronger environmental safeguards, greater transparency, meaningful public participation and mechanisms to ensure that communities sharing the costs of these projects also share in their benefits,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/thai-mp-calls-for-new-committee-to-scrutinize-ai-data-centers-environmental-impact/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324542</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>California solar project threatens Mojave wildlife corridor, scientists say</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/california-solar-project-threatens-mojave-wildlife-corridor-scientists-say/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/california-solar-project-threatens-mojave-wildlife-corridor-scientists-say/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jul 2026 14:33:37 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hyeyoon Cho]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/09114442/Desert-Solitaire_Bighorn-in-Joshua-Tree-National-Park-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322961</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[California, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Biodiversity, Conservation, Deserts, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Forest Fragmentation, Fragmentation, Habitat, Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Mojave Desert may look like a flat, brown stretch of nothing between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But threading through its rocky mountain ranges is an intricate network of wildlife movement that has sustained desert species for thousands of years. Now, scientists and advocates say a solar project approved by the state of California [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Mojave Desert may look like a flat, brown stretch of nothing between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But threading through its rocky mountain ranges is an intricate network of wildlife movement that has sustained desert species for thousands of years. Now, scientists and advocates say a solar project approved by the state of California threatens to sever it. In April, the California Energy Commission, the state agency that oversees energy infrastructure, voted 4-0 to approve a $700 million, 1,080-hectare (2,670-acre) solar facility proposed by New Jersey-based developer VC Renewables on federal land adjacent to the Mojave National Preserve. The preserve, spanning more than 1.6 million acres, is one of the largest in the U.S. National Park System and is located in Southern California. The project, known as Soda Mountain Solar, sits in the migration corridor that desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) use to move between mountain ranges. This large solar array would also obstruct desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) habitat, which has already undergone significant loss due to climate change and land developments. The energy commission&#8217;s environmental review found the project would cause significant and unavoidable harm to wildlife. Scientists and conservation advocates say the approval threatens one of the last intact desert ecosystems in California. But the commission’s final order memo states that ecological mitigation incorporated into the solar project would reduce the impacts on desert wildlife to “less than significant” and that the commission expects the project will bring more renewable energy to the state. Scientists and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/california-solar-project-threatens-mojave-wildlife-corridor-scientists-say/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/california-solar-project-threatens-mojave-wildlife-corridor-scientists-say/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322961</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Australia expands seismic testing, experts warn of profound effects on sealife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-australia-expands-seismic-testing-experts-warn-of-profound-effects-on-sealife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-australia-expands-seismic-testing-experts-warn-of-profound-effects-on-sealife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jul 2026 18:38:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Theoné van der Merwe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/22140035/b.-%C2%A9Wayne-and-Pam-Osborn-original-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324311</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Australia and Oceania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, Biodiversity, carbon, Conservation, Ecosystems, Energy, Energy Transition, Environment, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Research, Science, Technology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was spring, 20 years ago now, but he remembers it clearly. On the deck of the Geco Resolution, wind tearing spray from the waves, Robert McCauley stood gazing out onto an ocean blackened by night. The ship had been firing seismic airguns all day, thunderous blasts punching through the water and into the seabed. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was spring, 20 years ago now, but he remembers it clearly. On the deck of the Geco Resolution, wind tearing spray from the waves, Robert McCauley stood gazing out onto an ocean blackened by night. The ship had been firing seismic airguns all day, thunderous blasts punching through the water and into the seabed. Over time, the rhythmic boom reverberating through the hull had almost faded into the background. But then night fell, and the sound revealed itself. “Every time the airgun went off, the sea would light up,” McCauley told Mongabay. Each blast was triggering a burst of bioluminescence — dinoflagellates and other microscopic life igniting in unison. “A sheet of light would shoot out, like a wave traveling at the speed of sound. It went out for about a kilometer at least,” he said. As Australia’s leading expert in marine bioacoustics, McCauley, a research scientist at the Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University, was there to study how whales responded to the noise. But watching the bioluminescent glow pulse outward and fade, then pulse again, he found himself wondering less about whales and more about the tiny organisms that sustain them. “It made me think, what’s happening to all those little animals? How are they being stimulated? And what happens if they’re being stimulated every five or 10 seconds, repeatedly?” McCauley wondered. For decades, marine seismic surveys have echoed through the world’s oceans, largely in search of oil and gas. Research has shown the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-australia-expands-seismic-testing-experts-warn-of-profound-effects-on-sealife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/as-australia-expands-seismic-testing-experts-warn-of-profound-effects-on-sealife/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324311</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘We couldn’t breathe’: DRC villagers revive protest against Perenco over pollution</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/we-couldnt-breathe-drc-villagers-revive-protest-against-perenco-over-pollution/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/we-couldnt-breathe-drc-villagers-revive-protest-against-perenco-over-pollution/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Jul 2026 14:54:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elodie Toto]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/21135544/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-11-at-14.51.59-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324228</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Business, Environment, Environmental Law, Finance, Governance, Health, Law, Oil, Oil Drilling, Oil Spills, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“I had diarrhea and dizziness. Food no longer tasted the same. … I wasn’t the only one who noticed it — it was the same for everyone in the village; we couldn’t breathe,” Benoît Packera, secretary of the vigilance committee of Kitombe, told Mongabay. He was recounting what happened in April 2025, when toxic gases [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“I had diarrhea and dizziness. Food no longer tasted the same. … I wasn’t the only one who noticed it — it was the same for everyone in the village; we couldn’t breathe,” Benoît Packera, secretary of the vigilance committee of Kitombe, told Mongabay. He was recounting what happened in April 2025, when toxic gases were released by a Perenco facility in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The committee raised the alarm about the impacts, which led to a parliamentary commission visiting the area and confirming the existence of pollution in a report. Things went quiet for a while. Perenco continued its flaring operations and the residents claimed they did not receive any treatments or compensation. In May this year, Frustrated residents blocked access roads to Perenco facilities, temporarily disrupting oil operations. Kitombe is a village located in the Muanda territory. Besides being the only territory giving the country access to the ocean, Muanda is also home to oil reserves exploited by Perenco REP (Perenco’s subsidiary in the DRC) since the early 2000s, where it extracts around 4,500 barrels of crude oil per day. However, this exploitation has not come without conflict. The company has repeatedly faced allegations of pollution and adversely impacting agricultural yields, villagers say. But on April 12, 2025, tensions reached a breaking point. “It smelled extremely bad and very strong, like rotten eggs. I coughed a lot and felt like vomiting,” Packera recalled. That day, gas was released into the atmosphere from the tank farm,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/we-couldnt-breathe-drc-villagers-revive-protest-against-perenco-over-pollution/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/we-couldnt-breathe-drc-villagers-revive-protest-against-perenco-over-pollution/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324228</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Clean cooking expands at record pace in Africa, but lags behind population growth</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/clean-cooking-expands-at-record-pace-in-africa-but-lags-behind-population-growth/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/clean-cooking-expands-at-record-pace-in-africa-but-lags-behind-population-growth/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jul 2026 16:13:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ini Ekott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/20120122/54990932592_5f43be3de8_b-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=324023</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biofuels, charcoal, Energy, Environment, Finance, Fires, Forests, Natural Resources, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Sub-Saharan Africa is on track to record its fastest-ever annual expansion in access to clean cooking in 2026, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency. But population growth continues to outpace those gains, leaving more than 1 billion people without access to clean cooking. The region is home to the world&#8217;s largest [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Sub-Saharan Africa is on track to record its fastest-ever annual expansion in access to clean cooking in 2026, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency. But population growth continues to outpace those gains, leaving more than 1 billion people without access to clean cooking. The region is home to the world&#8217;s largest population still reliant on firewood, charcoal and kerosene for everyday cooking, according to the IEA. The World Health Organization says household air pollution, much of which is generated by these polluting cooking fuels, is linked to around 2.9 million premature deaths annually, with women and children bearing the greatest burden. The “Clean Cooking in Africa 2026: Progress Report” estimates that around 15 million people gained access to clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa in 2025, about 35% above the average annual gains recorded for the previous five years. If confirmed, this would be the highest annual increase on record. Côte d&#8217;Ivoire, Kenya and Nigeria made the most notable gains. The estimate is based on a mathematical model that combines data on imports of cookstoves (cooking appliances combining a stove and an oven) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), investments in the infrastructure, fuels and technology needed for clean cooking, and policy tracking, rather than household surveys, which remain the most reliable measure of clean cooking access but take years to compile. The IEA said the 2025 figures should, therefore, be treated as preliminary until confirmed by future household surveys. Even so, Fatih Birol, the IEA&#8217;s executive director,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/clean-cooking-expands-at-record-pace-in-africa-but-lags-behind-population-growth/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/clean-cooking-expands-at-record-pace-in-africa-but-lags-behind-population-growth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-324023</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fighting new oil blocks in the Congo Basin: Interview with activist Pascal Mirindi</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fighting-new-oil-blocks-in-the-congo-basin-interview-with-activist-pascal-mirindi/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fighting-new-oil-blocks-in-the-congo-basin-interview-with-activist-pascal-mirindi/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Jul 2026 15:49:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dan Yessa]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/16122152/oil-in-drc-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323702</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Energy, Environment, Fellows, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Mongabay.org, Oil, Oil Drilling, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Pascal Mirindi is a young environmental activist based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, born in Goma. He was a member of a nonviolent movement, La LUCHA, fighting for democracy in the DRC. La LUCHA initiated him into nonviolent activism, but he used that opportunity to fight for Congolese ecosystems. Since 2024, Mirindi has been [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Pascal Mirindi is a young environmental activist based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, born in Goma. He was a member of a nonviolent movement, La LUCHA, fighting for democracy in the DRC. La LUCHA initiated him into nonviolent activism, but he used that opportunity to fight for Congolese ecosystems. Since 2024, Mirindi has been one of the main resistance forces against mineral, oil and gas exploitation inside the Congo Basin. Through campaigns and community awareness, he and his colleagues have successfully driven out oil exploration inside Virunga National Park. Now, Mirindi is fighting against the exploitation of 30 new oil blocks that cover 72% of the Congo Green Corridor, the country’s most emblematic conservation project, which spans a large part of the Congo Basin, home to thousands of animals and a lifeline for many communities in the DRC. Mirindi spoke with Mongabay in June, discussing what it means to resist from the inside and make a difference on a global scale, protecting the homes of endangered species such as mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and okapis (Okapia johnstoni), endemic to the region. Pascal Mirindi&#8217;s first visit with the director of Virunga National Park, Emmanuel de Merode, in 2022. Image courtesy of Pascal Mirindi. This interview has been translated from French and edited for length and clarity. Mongabay: Who is Pascal Mirindi? Pascal Mirindi: I am Congolese; I was born in Goma in 1999. I have been an activist since I was 15 years old. I started in the citizen&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fighting-new-oil-blocks-in-the-congo-basin-interview-with-activist-pascal-mirindi/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323702</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Indigenous advocates push for rights protections around AI data centers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-advocates-push-for-rights-protections-around-ai-data-centers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-advocates-push-for-rights-protections-around-ai-data-centers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2026 13:59:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/16134609/emrip-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323706</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Air Pollution, Artificial Intelligence, Data centers, Development, Economics, Energy, Environment, Human Rights, Infrastructure, Technology, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Artificial intelligence is said to be the transformative technology of our time, with the potential to reshape our world on a global scale, according to research. Yet AI&#8217;s potential is underpinned by the need for hyperscale data centers, the large, energy-intensive sites that house servers and IT equipment. As tech companies and governments continue to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Artificial intelligence is said to be the transformative technology of our time, with the potential to reshape our world on a global scale, according to research. Yet AI&#8217;s potential is underpinned by the need for hyperscale data centers, the large, energy-intensive sites that house servers and IT equipment. As tech companies and governments continue to develop this infrastructure at scale, Indigenous peoples from Brazil to Canada affected by the projects have responded in different ways. Some have raised concerns about pressure on water resources and inadequate consultation, while others have embraced the projects for their economic benefits. In July 2026, at a meeting of the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Indigenous leaders, government representatives and experts called for data center projects to comply with the principles of free, prior and informed consent, or FPIC. They also explored whether growing AI infrastructure can be developed in ways that advance Indigenous priorities and rights. During a panel discussion on the second day of the EMRIP meeting, Indigenous delegates said that policies to ensure that AI does not harvest Indigenous knowledge without consent are of equal importance to protections for Indigenous lands and waters. “AI is resource-intensive and requires vast amounts of energy,” said Maren Storslett, a member of the Sámi Parliament in Norway at the meeting. “In Sápmi, we already see how large data centers put [immense] pressure on our territories. This forces a conversation about priorities and limits and we need to be at the table&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/indigenous-advocates-push-for-rights-protections-around-ai-data-centers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323706</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Fossil fuel-based mega projects displace locals in Bangladesh, pushing youth out</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fossil-fuel-based-mega-projects-displace-locals-in-bangladesh-pushing-youth-out/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fossil-fuel-based-mega-projects-displace-locals-in-bangladesh-pushing-youth-out/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Jul 2026 13:07:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Eyamin Sajid]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/13123859/Matarbari-coal-power-plant04-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323215</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Coal, Coastal Ecosystems, Developing Countries, Development, Economics, Energy, Environment, Fisheries, Fishing, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Land Rights, and Oceans]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Eid is usually a day of laughter and joy for most people in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 170 million in South Asia. But for Muhammad Gura Miya, it became a day of sadness and mourning after his only son left home on Eid in 2025 and never returned. Gura Miya, a 65-year-old resident of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Eid is usually a day of laughter and joy for most people in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of 170 million in South Asia. But for Muhammad Gura Miya, it became a day of sadness and mourning after his only son left home on Eid in 2025 and never returned. Gura Miya, a 65-year-old resident of Maheshkhali sub-district of Bangladesh’s southeastern coastal district Cox’s Bazar, now spends his days in distress over the loss of his son. “He was my only hope and support. I don’t know where he is, or whether he is alive or dead,” Miya said. Miya is not alone. Mongabay spoke with dozens of families whose sons or household heads are missing or dead after attempting to migrate to Malaysia for work. On April 14, 2026, a small boat carrying around 250 people, including Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya refugees, capsized in the Andaman Sea while en route to Malaysia. Only nine people were rescued; the rest remain missing. Young, unskilled people in this coastal area are risking illegal migration across the Bay of Bengal in small boats as fossil fuel projects, ports and petrochemical complexes threaten their ancestral livelihoods. A study on irregular migration from Bangladesh to Malaysia through the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea found that Cox’s Bazar has become a new hub for human trafficking to Malaysia. Construction of Matarbari deep sea port. Image by Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman. A ship at the construction of Matarbari deep sea port. Image by Muhammad Mostafigur Rahman.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fossil-fuel-based-mega-projects-displace-locals-in-bangladesh-pushing-youth-out/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323215</doi>				</item>
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