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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/oil/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 02:57:31 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<title>News on Oil</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/oil/</link>
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				<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>‘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>
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					<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>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>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/fighting-new-oil-blocks-in-the-congo-basin-interview-with-activist-pascal-mirindi/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323702</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Brazil’s expanding offshore oil frontier puts biodiversity at risk: study</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazils-expanding-offshore-oil-frontier-puts-biodiversity-at-risk-study/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazils-expanding-offshore-oil-frontier-puts-biodiversity-at-risk-study/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 15:42:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Daniel Shailer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06151639/mesophotic-reef-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322398</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity Hotspots, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, extractives, Fish, Fossil Fuels, Health, Marine, Oil, Oil Drilling, Oil Spills, Pollution, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In late August 2019, fishing communities along the northeast coast of Brazil reported black oily stains washing up on beaches, with crude clumping between the roots of mangroves, on the shells of turtles and on growing numbers of beached fish. The origin of the spill was never confirmed: Then-president Jair Bolsonaro first blamed a Venezuelan [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In late August 2019, fishing communities along the northeast coast of Brazil reported black oily stains washing up on beaches, with crude clumping between the roots of mangroves, on the shells of turtles and on growing numbers of beached fish. The origin of the spill was never confirmed: Then-president Jair Bolsonaro first blamed a Venezuelan tanker, then Greenpeace. What was soon clear, however, was the scale of the disaster. Carried by strong winds and ocean currents, by early 2020 the oil had contaminated thousands of kilometers of coastline across all nine Brazilian states in the region. As the country’s government issued its first oil exploration licenses off the northeast coast in two decades earlier this year, research published last month looks to predict the scale and spread of a potential future spill. According to the study, outdated marine habitat maps and a failure to consider expansion across multiple sites in the region has led officials to underestimate the environmental risks of oil spills, especially for seagrass meadows and deepwater corals. Regions where a spill is more likely to happen should prepare an emergency response, the paper recommends, while “areas of high conservation importance but relatively lower oil spill risk” could be targeted for new or expanded Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a precaution. “Most of the licensing just looks at one activity in one location: not the whole seascape,” Rafael Magris, an ecologist at the Chico Mendez Institute for Biodiversity Conservation and lead author of the research, told Mongabay in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazils-expanding-offshore-oil-frontier-puts-biodiversity-at-risk-study/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/brazils-expanding-offshore-oil-frontier-puts-biodiversity-at-risk-study/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322398</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Amazon oil drilling begins, scientists warn of risks to a little-known reef</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/as-amazon-oil-drilling-begins-scientists-warn-of-risks-to-a-little-known-reef/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/as-amazon-oil-drilling-begins-scientists-warn-of-risks-to-a-little-known-reef/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2026 15:47:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Suzana Camargo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/29154305/ouricos-rodolitos-%C2%A9-Greenpeace-768x451.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321998</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Biodiversity Hotspots, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fish, Fossil Fuels, Marine, Marine Animals, Oil, Oil Drilling, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Amazon region always invites superlatives: the world’s largest tropical forest, the planet’s largest continuous mangrove belt, the river with the largest water volume and length on Earth. That makes any kind of exploratory activity in the region — and its potential impacts on this unique ecosystem — cause for great concern. That’s the case [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Amazon region always invites superlatives: the world’s largest tropical forest, the planet’s largest continuous mangrove belt, the river with the largest water volume and length on Earth. That makes any kind of exploratory activity in the region — and its potential impacts on this unique ecosystem — cause for great concern. That’s the case with exploration activities currently being carried out by Brazilian state‑owned oil and gas company Petrobras in the area known as the Equatorial Margin. This area includes the coastal and offshore strip starting at the mouth of the Amazon river and fanning out into the Atlantic, off the Brazilian states of Amapá and Rio Grande do Norte. The environmental license for Petrobras to start prospecting for oil and gas was granted by Brazil’s federal environmental agency, IBAMA, in October 2025, after several denied requests, strong political pressure — including from President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva himself — and strong criticism from environmentalists and civil society organizations. One of the key concerns raised by experts about Petrobras’s operation centers on the Amazon Reef system, located less than 40 kilometers (25 miles) from block FZA‑M‑59, where Petrobras is drilling its Morpho well. Known since the 1970s, the Amazon Reef system was only officially described by a group of Brazilian researchers in 2016. The following year, a Greenpeace research vessel equipped with a small submarine released the rare images of that environment, which covers an estimated 9,500 square kilometers (about 3,700 square miles) and serves as a biodiversity corridor&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/as-amazon-oil-drilling-begins-scientists-warn-of-risks-to-a-little-known-reef/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321998</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>East African Crude Oil Pipeline threatens wetlands, wildlife corridors: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/east-african-crude-oil-pipeline-threatens-wetlands-wildlife-corridors-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/east-african-crude-oil-pipeline-threatens-wetlands-wildlife-corridors-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jun 2026 10:55:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/12102919/Shoebill.Balaeniceps.rex_MurchisonNPUganda_KylaMarinoFlickrBY2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321059</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Economics, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Lakes, Oil, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which stretches from oil fields in Uganda’s Lake Albert region to Tanzania’s port town of Tanga, is once again under scrutiny after a new report mapped out the biodiversity areas and wildlife habitats it runs through or passes by. Drawing data from maps and economic value estimates, the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which stretches from oil fields in Uganda’s Lake Albert region to Tanzania’s port town of Tanga, is once again under scrutiny after a new report mapped out the biodiversity areas and wildlife habitats it runs through or passes by. Drawing data from maps and economic value estimates, the report by U.S.-based NGO Earth Insight shows that the 1,443-kilometer (990-mile) pipeline is close to areas that are important for livelihoods and water security for millions of people and serve as migration corridors for animals. The report concludes that the construction of the pipeline has already disturbed communities and the environment and that oil transportation will bring further long-term risks. EACOP is a joint project involving TotalEnergies (62% stake), the governments of Uganda (15%) and Tanzania (15%), and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC, 8%). EACOP will carry oil extracted from two oilfields in the Lake Albert region: Kingfisher, owned by CNOOC, and Tilenga, owned by TotalEnergies. According to Earth Insight, the project is nearing completion. Oil transportation through the pipeline is expected to start as early as October 2026. Construction of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda. Image courtesy of Thomas Lewton. “It crosses right through endangered species ranges, the most important and critical one being the black rhino habitat range,” Earth Insight’s Katie Boston, the study’s main researcher, told Mongabay on the phone. She added that the pipeline could cause habitat fragmentation in the Kibale/Bukoora River Crossing area, where&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/east-african-crude-oil-pipeline-threatens-wetlands-wildlife-corridors-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321059</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite oil spills in Nigeria&#8217;s mangrove forests, Shell continued operations, documents show</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/despite-oil-spills-in-nigerias-mangrove-forests-shell-continued-operations-documents-show/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/despite-oil-spills-in-nigerias-mangrove-forests-shell-continued-operations-documents-show/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jun 2026 14:28:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David AkanaVictoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/05232017/AP788278067772-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320681</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Nigeria, and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coastal Ecosystems, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Forest Loss, Forests, Industry, Law, Mangroves, Marine, Oil, Oil Spills, Pollution, Water, Water Pollution, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Global oil giant Shell continued operating a compromised pipeline in Nigeria’s Niger Delta despite knowing it posed a pollution risk in the surrounding coastal wetland environment, newly disclosed internal company communications reveal. The emails and memos, reviewed by Mongabay, show senior leadership knew of the poor conditions of the 97-kilometer (60-mile) Nembe Creek Trunk Line [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Global oil giant Shell continued operating a compromised pipeline in Nigeria’s Niger Delta despite knowing it posed a pollution risk in the surrounding coastal wetland environment, newly disclosed internal company communications reveal. The emails and memos, reviewed by Mongabay, show senior leadership knew of the poor conditions of the 97-kilometer (60-mile) Nembe Creek Trunk Line as early as 2008. Despite concerns it was operating outside technical integrity standards and proposals to shut it down, a top executive decided to keep pumping oil through the line. Carrying 150,000 barrels of oil per day to the export terminal at Bonny Island Rivers state, the Nembe Creek Trunk Line is a critical oil artery in Nigeria. Throughout the years, theft from the pipeline using illegal connections caused spills into the vast mangrove ecosystem of true (Rhizophora sp.) and flowering black (Avicennia sp.) tree species. An internal 2013 Shell document coded such tampered lines as “red,” requiring either their immediate shutdown or immediate action to remove all illegal connections. Locals from the nearby riverine Bille community said the oil spills killed about 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of mangrove swamps around the village while impacting an area of 13,200 hectares (32,600 acres). The contaminated waterways and degraded ecosystem, they told Mongabay, killed fish and other aquatic life. Satellite imagery surrounding the village shows massive degradation of the mangroves. &#8220;The aquatic life is gone. Our people can no longer go to the river and catch reasonable fish — they can&#8217;t even find the fish in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/despite-oil-spills-in-nigerias-mangrove-forests-shell-continued-operations-documents-show/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320681</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Amazon oil drilling plan excludes unique hybrid manatees too big for rescue</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 07:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Fernanda Wenzel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/28095403/1.-Acervo_FMA_04-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320233</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Environment, Freshwater, Mammals, Marine, Marine Mammals, Oceans, Oil, Oil Drilling, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A rare hybrid population faces an oil frontier with a rescue plan that experts call insufficient.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In October 2025, Brazilian state oil company Petrobras began drilling in the seabed where the Amazon River empties into the Atlantic Ocean, following a long, controversial environmental licensing process. At the center of the debate were concerns about the unique wildlife living here, on the shores of the states of Amapá and Pará, and about the company&#8217;s capacity to rescue these animals in the event of an oil spill. ​The potential victims range from marine birds and turtles to the recently discovered Amazon reef system. One endangered marine mammal, however, has prompted particular concern because of the extra challenges to rescuing it in the event of a disaster: the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), a species that grows to a length of around 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) and weighs an average of 700 kilograms (more than 1,500 pounds); some individuals reach up to 1,600 kg (more than 3,500 lbs). ​“Handling and transporting animals of this size requires complex logistics and large-scale equipment,” said marine biologist Fábia de Oliveira Luna, coordinator at the National Center for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Mammals (CMA), which is part of Brazil&#8217;s environmental ministry. With a population estimated at only 1,047 individuals in Brazil and a reproduction rate of one calf every four years, “every individual removed undermines the survival of the population,” Luna told Mongabay. ​According to scientists, the oil project also jeopardizes a unique genetic code shared only by animals from this region, a result of the interbreeding between the marine manatee and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/amazon-oil-drilling-plan-excludes-unique-hybrid-manatees-too-big-for-rescue/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320233</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Has Ecuador started fracking? New oil project causes confusion and concern</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/has-ecuador-started-fracking-new-oil-project-causes-confusion-and-concern/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/has-ecuador-started-fracking-new-oil-project-causes-confusion-and-concern/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 May 2026 16:44:58 +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/20/2026/05/28163704/AP20204647205374-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320253</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Oil, Oil Drilling, Politics, Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Earlier this month, state-owned oil company Petroecuador announced a new project involving “hydraulic fracturing” in an oil block in the Ecuadorian Amazon. As a result, some observers spoke out against the environmental risks of high-volume shale “fracking,” in which water and chemicals are injected at high pressures into the tight bedrock to release trapped oil [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Earlier this month, state-owned oil company Petroecuador announced a new project involving “hydraulic fracturing” in an oil block in the Ecuadorian Amazon. As a result, some observers spoke out against the environmental risks of high-volume shale “fracking,” in which water and chemicals are injected at high pressures into the tight bedrock to release trapped oil and gas. Shale fracking tends to cause air pollution, uses high quantities of water, and can result in contamination that creates public health risks for surrounding communities. But while “hydraulic fracturing” and shale “fracking” involve similar processes, they’re carried out at entirely different intensities, with different designs, the observers later said. The two terms are often used interchangeably, and the government didn’t explain the distinction or follow up when the groups asked for clarification, they said. “It’s striking because, for us, one of the concerns is the lack of information associated with this announcement,” Sebastián Valdivieso, Ecuador country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), told Mongabay. The announcement concerned oil in Block 57, also known as the Shushufindi Libertador block, located in Sucumbíos province, which is largely covered by Amazonian rainforest. New drilling there would yield 930 barrels a day, extracted with the help of service provider Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Corporation (CCDC), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation. In its announcement, Petroecuador said it was the first time in the country’s history that hydraulic fracturing would be used on subsurface limestone, where those kinds of operations aren’t usually carried out. A group of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/has-ecuador-started-fracking-new-oil-project-causes-confusion-and-concern/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/has-ecuador-started-fracking-new-oil-project-causes-confusion-and-concern/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320253</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ecuador failing to end Yasuní oil drilling: Interview with Waorani leader Juan Bay</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ecuador-failing-to-end-yasuni-oil-drilling-interview-with-waorani-leader-juan-bay/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ecuador-failing-to-end-yasuni-oil-drilling-interview-with-waorani-leader-juan-bay/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 14:23:42 +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/20/2026/05/13134716/21303977088_8474f7875c_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319326</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Interviews, Land Rights, Mining, Oil, Oil Drilling, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2023, Ecuadorians voted for a binding referendum to end oil drilling in the 43-ITT oil block in Yasuní National Park. In 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) echoed the call in a ruling for the Ecuadorian state to do more to protect uncontacted Indigenous peoples whose territories overlap with the park. But [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2023, Ecuadorians voted for a binding referendum to end oil drilling in the 43-ITT oil block in Yasuní National Park. In 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) echoed the call in a ruling for the Ecuadorian state to do more to protect uncontacted Indigenous peoples whose territories overlap with the park. But nearly three years since the referendum, and a year since the court ruling, the Ecuadorian government has still not closed the 43-ITT block. Juan Bay, the president of the Waorani Nation (NAWE), whose ancestral territory overlaps with the park, recently traveled to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York to denounce the lack of progress and express his frustrations with the state. The Aug. 20, 2023, referendum saw the majority of voters choose to halt all future oil drilling in Yasuní, which involved the closure of 43-ITT and the creation of a commission to oversee the implementation of the results. The government had one year to withdraw from the oil block, by August 2024, but there’s been little progress since then. Bay said only 10 out of 247 oil wells in the block have been shut down. “More than a year has passed [since the deadline] and the government is doing nothing to shut down that [operation] and leave the resource in the ground, which is the will of the Ecuadorian people,” Mariana Yumbay Yallico, a Waranka woman and member of Ecuador’s National Assembly, representing Bolívar province, told Mongabay at the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/ecuador-failing-to-end-yasuni-oil-drilling-interview-with-waorani-leader-juan-bay/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319326</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Arabian Gulf’s fragile marine ecosystem threatened by current crisis (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/arabian-gulfs-fragile-marine-ecosystem-threatened-by-current-crisis-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/arabian-gulfs-fragile-marine-ecosystem-threatened-by-current-crisis-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 May 2026 15:06:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Razan Al Mubarak]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/11143229/050A0598-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319117</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Abu Dhabi, Iran, Middle East, and Persian Gulf]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birds, Coastal Ecosystems, Commentary, Conflict, Dugong, Ecosystems, Estuaries, Marine, Marine Animals, Oceans, Oil, Oil Spills, Pollution, Seabirds, War, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At this time of year, the waters of the Arabian Gulf support one of the most significant gatherings of marine life anywhere in the world. Thousands of dugongs congregate in shallow coastal areas, including mother-and-calf pairs, dependent on the 3,000 square kilometers (well over 1,000 square miles) of seagrass meadows in Abu Dhabi waters. Along [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At this time of year, the waters of the Arabian Gulf support one of the most significant gatherings of marine life anywhere in the world. Thousands of dugongs congregate in shallow coastal areas, including mother-and-calf pairs, dependent on the 3,000 square kilometers (well over 1,000 square miles) of seagrass meadows in Abu Dhabi waters. Along the same coastline, sea turtles return to nest, seabirds enter their breeding season, and migratory birds pass through wetlands that connect continents. Mangroves and coral reefs line these coasts. These ecosystems exist alongside the same coastal zones that support cities, energy and industrial infrastructure. They also underpin human life across the region. Tens of millions of people depend on desalination, drawing seawater from these same environments. Their survival, like ours, depends on clean water, intact habitats and stable environmental conditions. I have had the rare privilege, through my work, to witness these systems up close. Their richness is extraordinary, but so too is their fragility. The danger is that war turns that fragility into lasting damage. Indian Ocean humpback dolphin in Mangrove Marine National Park, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Image courtesy of Maitha Bughanoom. An airstrike on an oil tanker, or a collision, fire or loss of control by one of these vessels would release oil or other pollutants into shallow waters, where they spread rapidly across seagrass beds and coastal habitats. Water quality declines, oxygen levels fall, nesting sites are lost, and breeding cycles are disrupted. Local populations can collapse, and recovery becomes uncertain. The&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/arabian-gulfs-fragile-marine-ecosystem-threatened-by-current-crisis-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-319117</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Luis Yanza, campaigner who battled big oil in the Amazon rainforest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/luis-yanza-campaigner-who-battled-big-oil-in-the-amazon-rainforest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/luis-yanza-campaigner-who-battled-big-oil-in-the-amazon-rainforest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Apr 2026 01:37:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/21013032/Luis-Yanza-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317840</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Ecuador, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Fossil Fuels, Indigenous Peoples, Obituary, Oil, Oil Drilling, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For much of the late 20th century, oil development in the Ecuadorian Amazon proceeded with little restraint. Wastewater and drilling residues were discharged into rivers or left in open pits. Forest was cleared. Communities downstream relied on contaminated water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. Over time, residents reported rising rates of illness, including cancers and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For much of the late 20th century, oil development in the Ecuadorian Amazon proceeded with little restraint. Wastewater and drilling residues were discharged into rivers or left in open pits. Forest was cleared. Communities downstream relied on contaminated water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. Over time, residents reported rising rates of illness, including cancers and respiratory disease. People might argue about the scale of the contamination, but no one could argue that it wasn&#8217;t visible. By the early 1990s, the region had become a test of whether affected communities could use the law to hold a multinational oil company to account. That effort took shape as a long legal battle against Texaco, later acquired by Chevron. It moved between jurisdictions, from New York to Ecuador, and drew in tens of thousands of plaintiffs from Indigenous and settler communities. The case would last decades. It required organizing across remote territories, gathering testimony and evidence, and sustaining attention in a legal process designed to exhaust both. Luis Yanza was central to that work. He died on March 27th 2026, from cancer, after years spent in the same landscapes where contamination was alleged to have taken hold. His role was not primarily in courtrooms. While lawyers argued motions and judges weighed jurisdiction, he traveled the back roads and rivers of the northern Amazon, meeting communities, explaining the case, and maintaining a coalition that spanned more than 80 villages and several Indigenous peoples. Luis Yanza in his youth. Yanza grew up in Lago Agrio,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/luis-yanza-campaigner-who-battled-big-oil-in-the-amazon-rainforest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317840</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>DRC: Can the Kivu–Kinshasa Green Corridor turn a war economy into one of hope?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Apr 2026 13:33:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[David Akana]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Christophe Assogba]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/20113123/image3__26337668410_35828ed6c6_k-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317778</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, and Democratic Republic Of Congo]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Economics, Environment, Lakes, Mining, Natural Gas, Oil, Protected Areas, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Félix Tshisekedi is banking on one of Africa’s most ambitious conservation and development plans to transform the future of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He recently reiterated this vision in Bandundu during the annual Conference of Provincial Governors. “Through this Green Corridor, we are choosing to replace [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Félix Tshisekedi is banking on one of Africa’s most ambitious conservation and development plans to transform the future of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He recently reiterated this vision in Bandundu during the annual Conference of Provincial Governors. “Through this Green Corridor, we are choosing to replace a war economy with an economy of life, work, and hope,” Tshisekedi said. According to official documents and public statements, the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor would stretch from eastern DRC all the way to Kinshasa in the west. If implemented as planned, it would cover more than 544,270 square kilometers (210144 sq miles) —an area comparable in size to France—and would integrate conservation, economic development, and community protection. The initiative was first announced during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2025. An aerial view of the village of Lac Paku within the peatland forest near Mbandaka, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Green Corridor traverses the Équateur province. Image by Daniel Beltrá/Greenpeace. Conservation Spaces and Drivers of Economic Stability Individuals involved in the planning process told Mongabay that the initiative could create more than 500,000 jobs—particularly for youth and women—preserve over one million hectares of land, and transport food products from the East to the major consumer market in Kinshasa. For the Congolese government, the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor goes beyond mere forest protection. &#8220;The objective is to protect our forests, restore ecosystems, create sustainable jobs, support responsible agriculture, stimulate local processing, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/drc-can-the-kivu-kinshasa-green-corridor-transform-a-war-economy-into-an-economy-of-hope/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317778</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Energy crisis revives push to drill in Philippines’ largest intact wetland</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2026 21:11:11 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bong S. Sarmiento]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/17185118/Philippine-Duck-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=317714</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Philippines, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Natural Gas, Oil, Oil Drilling, Politics, Resource Conflict, War, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — There’s been a renewed push in the Philippines to develop oil and gas deposits in the southern Liguasan Marsh, prompted by the energy crisis caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups. The 288,000-hectare (712,000-acre) Liguasan Marsh, the largest intact wetland in the Philippines and home [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MINDANAO, Philippines — There’s been a renewed push in the Philippines to develop oil and gas deposits in the southern Liguasan Marsh, prompted by the energy crisis caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups. The 288,000-hectare (712,000-acre) Liguasan Marsh, the largest intact wetland in the Philippines and home to diverse fauna and flora, is considered by nonprofit conservation group BirdLife International an “important bird and biodiversity area” (IBA). A sizeable portion of Liguasan, on the southern island of Mindanao, has been declared a game refuge and bird sanctuary since 1941. The marsh is home to the critically endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) and is the country’s last frontier for Tachybaptus ruficollis cotabato, a subspecies of the little grebe found only here, and the comb-crested jacana (Irediparra gallinacea). It also contains a significant volume of untapped oil and gas. A portion of the vast Liguasan Marsh beckons along the highway in Maguindanao province in the Bangsamoro region in the southern Philippines, in 2021. Image by Bong S. Sarmiento. In the 1990s, a joint exploration by the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) and its Malaysian counterpart, Petronas, found that at least 202 million barrels of recoverable crude oil and 6 billion cubic feet of natural gas sit within Liguasan Marsh. Exploration did not proceed further due to ongoing conflict between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a 40,000-strong armed group fighting for the right of self-determination in the southern Philippines. A&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/energy-crisis-revives-push-to-drill-in-philippines-largest-intact-wetland/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-317714</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Oil surge sharpens calls for Indonesia to shift away from fossil fuels</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-surge-sharpens-calls-for-indonesia-to-shift-away-from-fossil-fuels/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-surge-sharpens-calls-for-indonesia-to-shift-away-from-fossil-fuels/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Apr 2026 03:23:28 +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/20/2026/04/01031350/5A269589-C332-4BC2-B240-4088D4141843-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316691</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biofuels, Carbon Tax, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Coal, Conflict, El Nino, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Just Transition, Oil, Palm Oil, Politics, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As the U.S.-Israel war on Iran drives oil prices above $100 a barrel and disrupts global supply routes, Indonesia is once again confronting the costs of its dependence on fossil fuels — with growing calls not only to accelerate its renewable energy adoption, but also to make oil and gas companies help pay [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — As the U.S.-Israel war on Iran drives oil prices above $100 a barrel and disrupts global supply routes, Indonesia is once again confronting the costs of its dependence on fossil fuels — with growing calls not only to accelerate its renewable energy adoption, but also to make oil and gas companies help pay for the transition. The crisis is already testing the country’s energy system. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global oil flows, have constrained supply, sending prices sharply higher from around $70 a barrel before the war began at the end of February. For Indonesia, the impact has been immediate. The country of 280 million people has been a net oil importer since 2003, and its economy remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels to power transport, industry and electricity. That dependence is now translating into rising fiscal pressure, currency risks and broader economic vulnerability. Yet the same shock is also sharpening calls to speed up the transition to renewable energy, even as policymakers move to secure more fossil fuel supplies and ramp up coal output at home. The ongoing global energy crisis, which the International Energy Agency (IEA) describes as the worst in recorded history, has laid bare the risks of Indonesia’s energy mix. The country consumes around 1.5 million barrels of oil per day but produces less than 700,000 barrels, leaving it highly reliant on imports. That exposure carries a direct cost. An analysis by the Institute for Development of Economics and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/oil-surge-sharpens-calls-for-indonesia-to-shift-away-from-fossil-fuels/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316691</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Kenya’s renewed oil push faces a tainted legacy</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/kenyas-renewed-oil-push-faces-a-tainted-legacy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/kenyas-renewed-oil-push-faces-a-tainted-legacy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Mar 2026 14:33:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christopher Clark]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/17142440/061A3019-scaled-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315795</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Corporations, Energy, Environment, Governance, Industry, Oil, and Oil Drilling]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAPESE, Kenya — At first glance, there is little to suggest that Kapese, a dusty settlement of traditional manyattas and free-roaming livestock scattered across the parched landscape of northern Kenya’s Turkana region, is the epicenter of the country’s oil ambitions. Beyond a couple of boreholes and a small primary school bearing the logo of Tullow [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAPESE, Kenya — At first glance, there is little to suggest that Kapese, a dusty settlement of traditional manyattas and free-roaming livestock scattered across the parched landscape of northern Kenya’s Turkana region, is the epicenter of the country’s oil ambitions. Beyond a couple of boreholes and a small primary school bearing the logo of Tullow Oil, the Anglo-Irish company that first discovered significant crude deposits here near the town of Lokichar in 2010, little of the development once promised to residents has materialized. Since Tullow halted operations in 2020 after more than a decade of setbacks and spiraling debt, much of the extractive infrastructure that punctuated the surrounding scrubland has also been dismantled. Locals have stripped gates and fencing from the well pads for scrap metal. Heavy plastic liners, once used to store drilling waste, now stretch across the roofs of many nearby manyattas. Yet, as one approaches the Twiga oil well, where several waste pits sit in long rows like burial sites behind a chain-link  fence topped with coils of razor wire, a faint, acrid smell of petroleum still hangs in the air. “That smell — you used to be able to smell it from 500 meters away,” said Enock Paule, a local community leader from Kapese, squinting into the harsh midday sun. “You couldn’t even go near this fence.” He recalled bringing a team of Kenyan journalists here some years ago, and several of them vomiting from the stench. Today, Paule and other residents point to these pits as&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/kenyas-renewed-oil-push-faces-a-tainted-legacy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315795</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Oil patch appears after IRIS Dena sinking in Sri Lanka; origins still unverified</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/oil-patch-appears-after-iris-dena-sinking-in-sri-lanka-origins-still-unverified/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/oil-patch-appears-after-iris-dena-sinking-in-sri-lanka-origins-still-unverified/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Mar 2026 08:55:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kamanthi Wickramasinghe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/13081115/IMG_4196-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315691</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Law, Marine, Oceans, Oil, Oil Spills, and Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[HIKKADUWA, Sri Lanka — On Saturday, March 7, three days after the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was torpedoed by a U.S Navy submarine close to the southern coast off Galle in Sri Lanka, fishers and coastal communities noticed a thick oil patch along the coast of Hikkaduwa. Hikkaduwa is one of the most pristine coastal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[HIKKADUWA, Sri Lanka — On Saturday, March 7, three days after the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was torpedoed by a U.S Navy submarine close to the southern coast off Galle in Sri Lanka, fishers and coastal communities noticed a thick oil patch along the coast of Hikkaduwa. Hikkaduwa is one of the most pristine coastal belts in the south of Sri Lanka, frequented by tourists throughout the year with a peak tourism season from December to March. Even as authorities say the oil spill has been brought under control to some extent, environmentalists express concerns about the possible environmental implications of the oil spill on marine ecosystems in Hikkaduwa and its environs. The frigate was torpedoed by USS Charlotte, a U. S. Navy submarine. The Iranian-flagged IRIS Dena was returning from the International Fleet Review 2026, a multinational naval exercise held in Visakapatnam, India. The incident occurred in international waters, around 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers or 46 miles) off the island’s southern coast. “As soon as we were informed by the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department (CCD) about the appearance of several oil patches along Hikkaduwa coast on March 7 morning, we deployed teams to check on the situation,” Samantha Gunasekara, chair of Sri Lanka’s Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA), told Mongabay. He said that ever since March 4, the day the warship was attacked, local teams have been alerted via a WhatsApp group to watch for evidence of any environmental impacts. “We obtained photographs from coastal&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/oil-patch-appears-after-iris-dena-sinking-in-sri-lanka-origins-still-unverified/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315691</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Can Kenya finally deliver on Turkana’s oil promise?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-kenya-finally-deliver-on-turkanas-oil-promise/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-kenya-finally-deliver-on-turkanas-oil-promise/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Mar 2026 13:13:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christopher Clark]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/02130209/061A2973_TurkanaKenya_ChristopherClark-BANNER-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=315045</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Kenya]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conflict, Corporations, Energy, Environment, Governance, Industry, Oil, and Oil Drilling]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LOKICHAR, Kenya — On a recent Sunday afternoon in Lokichar, a small town in Kenya’s northern Turkana region, the expansive grounds of the Black Gold Hotel are deserted, aside from a couple of housekeepers seeking shade in the leafy courtyard beside the conference center. Just beyond the hotel gates, a four-lane highway linking Lokichar to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LOKICHAR, Kenya — On a recent Sunday afternoon in Lokichar, a small town in Kenya’s northern Turkana region, the expansive grounds of the Black Gold Hotel are deserted, aside from a couple of housekeepers seeking shade in the leafy courtyard beside the conference center. Just beyond the hotel gates, a four-lane highway linking Lokichar to the nearby regional capital of Lodwar is similarly empty. A long-promised oil boom remains stubbornly on the horizon. In 2010, the Anglo-Irish firm Tullow Oil PLC discovered oil deposits estimated at more than 500 million barrels in the arid landscapes surrounding Lokichar. Hailed as a major breakthrough by then-president Mwai Kibaki, this was meant to usher in a new era of prosperity for Turkana and its people, whose history of systemic neglect dates back to the colonial era. A wave of internal migration and a frantic construction boom followed in the remote pastoralist trading town. But after more than a decade of setbacks and spiraling debt, Tullow effectively halted its operations in 2020, leaving behind a trail of stalled infrastructure and lingering uncertainty. A Nairobi-based petroleum trader, Gulf Energy Ltd., acquired Tullow’s entire Turkana stake in a $120 million transaction finalized in September 2025, with the Kenyan government retaining a 25% stake. The company has since pledged to invest approximately $6 billion in developing Turkana’s oil fields. At a parliamentary committee hearing in early February, the company&#8217;s chairperson, Francis Njogu, said the firm aims to begin commercial production by Dec. 1 this year, signaling a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/can-kenya-finally-deliver-on-turkanas-oil-promise/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-315045</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How US intervention could deepen Venezuela’s environmental crisis</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/how-us-intervention-could-deepen-venezuelas-environmental-crisis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/how-us-intervention-could-deepen-venezuelas-environmental-crisis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jan 2026 17:32:36 +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/20/2026/01/20165903/AP25285837186921-1-768x500.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313124</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, South America, and Venezuela]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forests, Gold Mining, Governance, Illegal Mining, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Grabbing, Land Rights, Law, Law Enforcement, Mining, Oil, Oil Drilling, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When U.S. forces entered Venezuela earlier this month and removed President Nicolás Maduro, officials framed the intervention as a strategic economic opportunity. President Donald Trump repeatedly pointed to the country’s oil reserves and rare earth minerals, saying U.S. companies stood to earn billions of dollars. Less attention has been paid to the environmental risks of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When U.S. forces entered Venezuela earlier this month and removed President Nicolás Maduro, officials framed the intervention as a strategic economic opportunity. President Donald Trump repeatedly pointed to the country’s oil reserves and rare earth minerals, saying U.S. companies stood to earn billions of dollars. Less attention has been paid to the environmental risks of his plan. More than half of Venezuela is covered by forest, some of it in the Amazon Basin. It also has grasslands, wetlands and thousands of kilometers of Caribbean coastline. These ecosystems were already under strain under the Maduro government, but critics warn that foreign intervention could intensify the damage. “If environmental risks aren’t taken into account in this process, we’re probably facing a potential environmental catastrophe of a very large magnitude,” Eduardo Klein, a marine ecology professor at Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, told Mongabay. Venezuela has an estimated 300 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, the largest in the world. Yet it produces slightly less than a million barrels a day, far below many other oil-producing countries with smaller reserves. By international standards, Venezuela’s oil is heavier than in other parts of the world, making it more costly and requiring special processing equipment. The government has also allowed pipelines and refineries to fall into disrepair over the last 20 years, the result of financial mismanagement, corruption, an untrained workforce and sanctions. In 2024, there were at least 65 oil spills across eight states, according to the Venezuelan Observatory for Political Ecology. It also&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/how-us-intervention-could-deepen-venezuelas-environmental-crisis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313124</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mexico is inflating its climate spending by billions of dollars. Here’s how.</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mexico-is-inflating-its-climate-spending-by-billions-of-dollars-heres-how/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mexico-is-inflating-its-climate-spending-by-billions-of-dollars-heres-how/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2025 14:38:43 +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/20/2025/12/10061235/AP22215709274247-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310973</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Mexico, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Finance, Forest Destruction, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Indigenous Peoples, Infrastructure, Law, Oil, Oil Drilling, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Sustainable Development, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MEXICO CITY — In its fiscal budget for 2026, passed in November, the Mexican government promised funds for renewable energy, protected areas and other environmental concerns. But much of what’s labeled as climate spending actually has nothing to do with the environment, and may even exaggerate how much is being spent, a review of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MEXICO CITY — In its fiscal budget for 2026, passed in November, the Mexican government promised funds for renewable energy, protected areas and other environmental concerns. But much of what’s labeled as climate spending actually has nothing to do with the environment, and may even exaggerate how much is being spent, a review of the budget shows. Line items in the government budget reveal that funds earmarked for the clean energy transition and combatting climate change are instead going to infrastructure, oil and gas, and other projects largely unrelated to the environment. “Climate action hasn’t been prioritized in the budget,” said Anaid Velasco Ramírez, public policy and legal research manager at the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA). “In fact, much of the public budget is allocated to projects that generate large emissions, starting with the energy sector.” President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last year touting her climate science background, said she wanted to address energy demands with renewable sources. But her government is also worried about the country’s dwindling proven oil reserves, leading it to invest in new oil exploration at the same time that it’s promising an ambitious clean energy transition. The government is spending 17.9 billion pesos ($983 million) next year on its Energy Transition National Strategy, up nearly 55% from the previous year. It’s also spending 212.6 billion pesos ($11.7 billion) on “resources for the adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change.” But those figures don’t come close to what’s allocated for the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/mexico-is-inflating-its-climate-spending-by-billions-of-dollars-heres-how/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310973</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Silent epidemic of chemical pollution’ demands radical regulatory redo, say scientists</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/silent-epidemic-of-chemical-pollution-demands-radical-regulatory-redo-say-scientists/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/silent-epidemic-of-chemical-pollution-demands-radical-regulatory-redo-say-scientists/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2025 20:28:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03085540/Image-3-Pesticide-spray-in-a-field-63313-pixahive-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310482</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Agrochemicals, Agroecology, Animals, Biology, Chemicals, Climate, Conservation, Crops, Diseases, Environment, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Health, Industrial Agriculture, Industry, Mammals, Oil, Pesticides, Planetary Health, Plastic, Pollution, Public Health, Regulations, and Toxicology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[An international team of scientists has issued a stark warning that current toxicology and chemical regulatory regimes are failing to protect public health and the environment from a host of toxins found in pesticides and other petrochemical-based compounds. In an article published in November in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Sciences Europe, 43 researchers from five [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[An international team of scientists has issued a stark warning that current toxicology and chemical regulatory regimes are failing to protect public health and the environment from a host of toxins found in pesticides and other petrochemical-based compounds. In an article published in November in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Sciences Europe, 43 researchers from five continents, including leading experts in toxicology, biology, public health and environmental sciences, began by pointing out severe lapses in current regulatory systems for evaluating the safety of products derived from petrochemical byproducts. They note, for example, that the full commercial formulations of common petrochemical-based pesticides used in global agriculture have never been subjected to long-term tests on mammals. They also note that only the active ingredients declared by makers of pesticides and plasticizers (a type of chemical additive used to increase pliability) have been assessed for human health risks. In fact, the full ingredient lists for these commercial chemical compounds are often proprietary — not publicly disclosed by the companies that develop them. And yet, the article’s authors found that these pesticides and plasticizers contain petroleum-based waste and heavy metals such as arsenic that could make them “at least 1000 times more toxic at low environmentally relevant doses than the active ingredients alone under conditions of long-term exposure.” As a result of these regulatory failings, “We are facing a silent epidemic of chemical pollution,” said article co-author Angelika Hilbeck, a biologist at ETH Zürich. “Chronic diseases are surging, biodiversity is collapsing, and public trust in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/silent-epidemic-of-chemical-pollution-demands-radical-regulatory-redo-say-scientists/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/silent-epidemic-of-chemical-pollution-demands-radical-regulatory-redo-say-scientists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310482</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Saving forests won’t be enough if fossil fuels beneath them are still extracted, experts warn</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/saving-forests-wont-be-enough-if-fossil-fuels-beneath-them-are-still-extracted-experts-warn/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/saving-forests-wont-be-enough-if-fossil-fuels-beneath-them-are-still-extracted-experts-warn/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Nov 2025 11:25:27 +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/20/2025/11/02172845/kaltim_191418z-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310184</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Brazil, China, Global, India, and Indonesia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[carbon, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, Coal, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forests, Fossil Fuels, Fossils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Natural Gas, Oil, Oil Drilling, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Research, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[BELÉM, Brazil — A new analysis warns that the world is overlooking a major source of future emissions hidden beneath tropical forests — and that Brazil’s newly launched Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) could dramatically expand its climate impact by addressing it. Published by the nonprofit Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO), the study overlays [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BELÉM, Brazil — A new analysis warns that the world is overlooking a major source of future emissions hidden beneath tropical forests — and that Brazil’s newly launched Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) could dramatically expand its climate impact by addressing it. Published by the nonprofit Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO), the study overlays forest cover with national fossil fuel deposit maps and finds that forests in 68 countries sit on top of oil, gas and coal deposits whose extraction would release an estimated 317 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases. When including all resources, not just proven reserves, the figure rises to 4.6 trillion metric tons. The 317 gigaton (Gt) figure alone exceeds the remaining global carbon budget to keep warming below 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit), raising the stakes for countries that may be asked to choose between forest protection and fossil fuel extraction. “[We found] that governments were quite unwilling to stop fossil fuel extraction, even if it’s a national park, even if it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, or other categories of nature conservation,” LINGO director Kjell Kühne said at a side event of the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil. LINGO argues that forests sitting on fossil reserves face heightened risk, as authorities may see extraction as too financially valuable to forgo — even where forests are intact or legally protected. Maps of TFFF biomes with underlying oil/gas and coal. Image courtesy of LINGO A blind spot in forest finance All forests identified in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/saving-forests-wont-be-enough-if-fossil-fuels-beneath-them-are-still-extracted-experts-warn/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/saving-forests-wont-be-enough-if-fossil-fuels-beneath-them-are-still-extracted-experts-warn/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310184</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Offshore fossil fuel exploration jeopardizes Brazil&#8217;s climate leadership, study says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/offshore-fossil-fuel-exploration-jeopardizes-brazils-climate-leadership-study-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/offshore-fossil-fuel-exploration-jeopardizes-brazils-climate-leadership-study-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Nov 2025 22:39:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lucas Berti]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Xavier Bartaburu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/14211603/Oil_platform_P-51_Brazil-scaled-e1763155424616-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309605</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Natural Gas, Oceans, Oil, and Oil Drilling]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This November, as Brazil opened the curtains to host the U.N. Climate Conference, COP30, in the Amazonian city of Belém, the troubles orbiting the country&#8217;s environmental agenda were featured in a new report by U.S.-based conservation technology nonprofit SkyTruth, which is dedicated to satellite-based environmental monitoring. In the run-up to the climate summit, the study [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[This November, as Brazil opened the curtains to host the U.N. Climate Conference, COP30, in the Amazonian city of Belém, the troubles orbiting the country&#8217;s environmental agenda were featured in a new report by U.S.-based conservation technology nonprofit SkyTruth, which is dedicated to satellite-based environmental monitoring. In the run-up to the climate summit, the study revealed the growing impact offshore oil and gas structures pose to Brazil’s vulnerable areas, especially in biodiverse marine regions such as the mouth of the Amazon River. At a time when global eyes have turned to the Amazonian city, leading to increasing interest in the environmental solutions Brazil seeks to offer, the investigation questioned the host nation’s role as a climate leader. As one of its main arguments, the report jumped into the dilemmas of an economic model that remains highly dependent on something that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva&#8217;s administration has been promising to replace: Fossil fuels. The investigation maps oil spill-driven pollution and highlights rapid growth in both the traffic of oil industry vessels and the level of methane emissions, released through leaks during extraction. The numbers come in the wake of the expansion of the energy sector itself, which is growing in the opposite direction of the search for less-polluting energy sources. According to SkyTruth, “between 2014 and 2024, Brazil’s oil production increased by more than 49% and natural gas production increased by over 78%.” The study points to contradictions in the Brazilian government’s climate rhetoric: In October, as Lula&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/offshore-fossil-fuel-exploration-jeopardizes-brazils-climate-leadership-study-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309605</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Strategic ignorance, climate change and Amazonia (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/strategic-ignorance-climate-change-and-amazonia-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/strategic-ignorance-climate-change-and-amazonia-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Nov 2025 20:51:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Philip M. Fearnside]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/05175259/1.-lula_Ricardo-Stuckert_PR_maos_sujas-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309535</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Deforestation, Development, Economics, Environment, Ethics, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Mining, Oil, Oil Drilling, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[We all know that “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” but in daily life, ignorance of the consequences of one’s actions is, indeed, an excuse that shields us from our own discomfort or from condemnation by others, even for the most serious of offenses. One is reminded of Jesus Christ on the cross asking [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[We all know that “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” but in daily life, ignorance of the consequences of one’s actions is, indeed, an excuse that shields us from our own discomfort or from condemnation by others, even for the most serious of offenses. One is reminded of Jesus Christ on the cross asking the Lord to forgive the Roman soldiers who were in the act of killing him, “for they know not what they do.” When it comes to climate change and Amazonia, denial and claimed ignorance are commonplace. If global warming escapes from human control with the crossing of a tipping point within the global climate system, Amazonia (and Brazil as a whole) would be devastated. Not only would the Amazon Rainforest and its vital environmental services be lost, but much of the region’s human population would perish during unprecedented heat waves (see here, here, here, here and here). Tipping points in the global climate and for maintaining the Amazon Rainforest are interconnected. If the Amazon collapses, the resulting release of greenhouse gases would push the global climate past its tipping point, and if global warming escapes from control due to continued burning of fossil fuels, the Amazon would soon succumb. One would therefore expect Brazil’s leaders to be laser-focused on preventing these tipping points from being passed. But instead, with the exception of the efforts of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) to control illegal deforestation (note: only that which is illegal), essentially all&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/strategic-ignorance-climate-change-and-amazonia-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/strategic-ignorance-climate-change-and-amazonia-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309535</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>These banks fund oil &#038; gas in the Amazon amid climate crisis: Report</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/these-banks-fund-oil-gas-in-the-amazon-amid-climate-crisis-report/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/these-banks-fund-oil-gas-in-the-amazon-amid-climate-crisis-report/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Nov 2025 16:34:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Constance Malleret]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/07095405/Nemonte-Nenquimo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308813</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Banking, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Deforestation, Environment, extractives, Finance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Natural Gas, Oceans, Oil, Oil Drilling, Oil Spills, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, a sprawling industrial facility has been carved out of the rainforest. This is the Camisea Gas Complex, a natural gas mega-field operated by a consortium of oil companies led by Argentina’s Pluspetrol. The complex now supplies 70% of Peru’s liquefied petroleum gas, primarily used for cooking. But the project has [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, a sprawling industrial facility has been carved out of the rainforest. This is the Camisea Gas Complex, a natural gas mega-field operated by a consortium of oil companies led by Argentina’s Pluspetrol. The complex now supplies 70% of Peru’s liquefied petroleum gas, primarily used for cooking. But the project has left behind a trail of socioenvironmental rights violations, from threats to the survival of isolated Indigenous people to failure to provide energy access to the communities closest to the complex — and on the frontlines of the multiple gas leaks that have contaminated the forest in the 20 years since production began. In September, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, deemed Pluspetrol responsible for environmental damage and Indigenous rights violations in the Peruvian Amazon. A plethora of banks help fund the Camisea Gas Complex. According to nonprofit Stand.earth, Pluspetrol’s local subsidiary and fellow consortium members Repsol and Hunt Oil Peru have received $3.1 billion in financing since 2016. At least 16 banks — including Citibank, JPMorganChase, Itaú Unibanco and HSBC — have provided funding in the last year. These numbers are part of a new report, “Banks vs. The Amazon,” which uncovers how global financial institutions continue to direct resources toward oil and gas extraction in Amazonia, contributing to the destruction of the rainforest and the rise of carbon emissions that contribute to higher global temperatures — despite some banks having adopted policies to end this. Between January 2024 and June 2025, direct&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/these-banks-fund-oil-gas-in-the-amazon-amid-climate-crisis-report/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308813</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Despite new land title, Bolivia’s Indigenous Tacana II still face invaders</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/despite-new-land-title-bolivias-indigenous-tacana-ii-still-face-invaders/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/despite-new-land-title-bolivias-indigenous-tacana-ii-still-face-invaders/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Nov 2025 16:03:57 +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/20/2025/11/03131203/Tacana-II-photo-5-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=308729</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Bolivia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Conservation, Environment, Forests, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Reserves, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Mining, Monocultures, and Oil]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After more than 20 years of legal battle, the Tacana II Indigenous people in Bolivia have finally obtained a legal title to their ancestral land, which is a transit zone for uncontacted Indigenous people. While this recognition grants them full legal ownership, Indigenous leaders and researchers told Mongabay security protections aren’t guaranteed due to state [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After more than 20 years of legal battle, the Tacana II Indigenous people in Bolivia have finally obtained a legal title to their ancestral land, which is a transit zone for uncontacted Indigenous people. While this recognition grants them full legal ownership, Indigenous leaders and researchers told Mongabay security protections aren’t guaranteed due to state political insecurity, the lack of enforcement of environmental regulations and invasions by illegal actors. “In reality, the title is a legal security of collective ownership of those families that form part of this territory,” Roland Mejía, the president of the Tacana II Río Madre de Dios Indigenous Communities Center (CITRMD), told Mongabay over WhatsApp voice messages. “But the title alone will not defend [the territory]; it must be defended by the actions of the community leaders so that the collective right to this territory is respected.” The 272,379-hectare (673,000-acre) territory is located north of Madidi National Park and west of the Bajo Madidi Municipal Conservation and Management Area in Abel Iturralde province of the department of La Paz. The land serves as a biological corridor, connecting protected areas critical to the survival of more than 50 vulnerable plant and animal species, including the near-threatened jaguar (Panthera onca). It is also home to four Tacana II communities: Puerto Pérez, Las Mercedes, Toromonas and El Tigre. The Puerto Perez Tacana II community, located in the north of La Paz, Bolivia, in the municipality of Ixiamas and in the Madre de Dios River basin. Photo by Indyra Lafuente/Conservación&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/despite-new-land-title-bolivias-indigenous-tacana-ii-still-face-invaders/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-308729</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Has Uganda done enough to prevent pollution of Lake Albert by oil drilling? (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/has-uganda-done-enough-to-prevent-pollution-of-lake-albert-by-oil-drilling-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/has-uganda-done-enough-to-prevent-pollution-of-lake-albert-by-oil-drilling-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Oct 2025 12:16:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robert Agenonga]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/24135343/shoebill-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307898</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, East Africa, and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Commentary, Conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ecosystems, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Freshwater, Mining, Oil, Oil Drilling, Pollution, Water Pollution, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fears of underinvestment in mitigation against oil spills, poor waste disposal and water overuse remain a major concern for environmentalists, even as Uganda insists adequate measures are in place to protect Lake Albert and the surrounding ecosystem from the adverse effects of petroleum exploration and development. A report commissioned by my organization, Environmental Defenders — [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fears of underinvestment in mitigation against oil spills, poor waste disposal and water overuse remain a major concern for environmentalists, even as Uganda insists adequate measures are in place to protect Lake Albert and the surrounding ecosystem from the adverse effects of petroleum exploration and development. A report commissioned by my organization, Environmental Defenders — a conservation and human rights organization dedicated to protecting biodiversity and Indigenous communities’ rights — finds that destruction of biodiversity, spills and pollution of underground waters are phenomena increasingly present in the Albertine region. The report particularly decries the installation of oil facilities on the shores of Lake Albert without adequate investment in mitigation measures for the Tilenga and Kingfisher areas. According to the report, they pose major threats to the environment, water and health of communities around the lake. Drilling rig at the Kingfisher project. Image courtesy of Mathieu Ajar. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), about 100,000 households rely on Lake Albert to meet their water needs, and more than 20,000 people take fish from the lake. Consequently, there are fears that a major oil spill would threaten the very existence of these communities, yet mitigation against such an occurrence has not been adequate. E-Tech International has previously established that the technology being used in the Albertine region is aimed at maximizing profit and not protecting the environment. The focus on using cheap technology to maximize profits is, according to the report, a danger, given that 10 well pads, 181 kilometers (112&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/has-uganda-done-enough-to-prevent-pollution-of-lake-albert-by-oil-drilling-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-307898</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Peru considers stripping protections for Indigenous people and their territories</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/peru-considers-stripping-protections-for-indigenous-people-and-their-territories/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/peru-considers-stripping-protections-for-indigenous-people-and-their-territories/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Oct 2025 22:00:56 +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/20/2025/10/13214722/peru_220711-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=307438</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Forests, Governance, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Conflict, Land Rights, Mining, Oil, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Peru is on the verge of rolling back several longstanding protections for Indigenous people and their territories, critics warn. Several bills working their way through Congress would loosen restrictions for oil and gas drilling, and make it harder for Indigenous people to obtain protected status for their land. At the same time, government agencies have [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Peru is on the verge of rolling back several longstanding protections for Indigenous people and their territories, critics warn. Several bills working their way through Congress would loosen restrictions for oil and gas drilling, and make it harder for Indigenous people to obtain protected status for their land. At the same time, government agencies have voted down the creation of a reserve for uncontacted tribes, with some officials denying their existence. Together, the multiple policies amount to an “extermination” campaign, some advocacy groups said. “We express our outright rejection of the constant violation of human rights, as well as of the policies and regulations promoted by an oppressive, discriminatory and genocidal government, which favors criminal organizations and illegal economies,” said a September statement from the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), which represents thousands of communities across the country. In July, lawmakers proposed modifying the country’s protected natural areas law to make it easier to extract “renewable and non-renewable resources” near and inside of protected areas. If passed, national parks and reserves would be open to oil drilling, mining, fishing and agroforestry when deemed to be in the national interest. Under the new version of the law, the creation of new protected areas would need the approval of not just the Ministry of Environment, but also the Ministry of Energy and Mines. Indigenous leaders meet with officials to discuss a proposed reserve in Loreto. Image courtesy of the Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Peruvian&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/peru-considers-stripping-protections-for-indigenous-people-and-their-territories/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-307438</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Ocean acidification threatens planetary health: Interview with Johan Rockström</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/ocean-acidification-threatens-planetary-health-interview-with-johan-rockstrom/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/ocean-acidification-threatens-planetary-health-interview-with-johan-rockstrom/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Sep 2025 16:24:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Julian Reingold]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/24145834/IMAGE-0-BANNER-IMAGE_Oliver-OHanlon_1a_02881-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306516</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Carbon Emissions, Chemicals, Climate Change, Climate Science, Coal, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Food, Global Environmental Crisis, Industrial Agriculture, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Natural Gas, Oil, Planetary Boundaries, Plastic, Pollution, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Initiated in 2024, the Planetary Health Check is a comprehensive, science-based global initiative dedicated to measuring and maintaining Earth systems critical to life as we know it. These annual reports were created to provide a regular, comprehensive assessment of the state of our world, utilizing the most current planetary boundaries science — monitoring changes, gauging [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Initiated in 2024, the Planetary Health Check is a comprehensive, science-based global initiative dedicated to measuring and maintaining Earth systems critical to life as we know it. These annual reports were created to provide a regular, comprehensive assessment of the state of our world, utilizing the most current planetary boundaries science — monitoring changes, gauging risks, identifying urgent actions needed, developing solutions and determining progress in maintaining a “safe operating space for humanity.” The just-published 2025 assessment finds that seven out of the nine critical planetary boundaries (PBs) have been breached: climate change, change in biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater change, modification of biogeochemical flows, the introduction of novel entities, and now, ocean acidification. All of these Earth system boundary transgressions show escalating trends, threatening further deterioration and destabilization of planetary health in the near future. Just two PBs remain within the safe operating space: increase in atmospheric aerosol loading (with an improving global trend) and stratospheric ozone depletion (currently stable). Earth System scientist Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, spoke to Mongabay on the occasion of the launch of the Planetary Health Check 2025 report, which announces the transgression of the ocean acidification boundary — the seventh Earth system boundary threshold crossed, putting the safe operating space for humanity at grave risk. PIK’s director is co-author of the 2025 report and author of the book and video documentary Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet (2021), which explains the planetary&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/ocean-acidification-threatens-planetary-health-interview-with-johan-rockstrom/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/ocean-acidification-threatens-planetary-health-interview-with-johan-rockstrom/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306516</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As plastics treaty talks break down, are there paths to a breakthrough?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-plastics-treaty-talks-break-down-are-there-paths-to-a-breakthrough/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-plastics-treaty-talks-break-down-are-there-paths-to-a-breakthrough/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Aug 2025 16:06:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Pekow]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/29125200/6-sfWKxnWg-MarieJacquemin_Greenpeace-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=305152</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Consumption, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Microplastics, Oil, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, and Regulations]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Events this August raise a critical question: Can the United Nations process to combat global plastic pollution ever reach agreement? Or is some other way forward necessary? The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) set a goal in 2022 of a legally binding treaty by the end of 2024. But the INC missed its [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Events this August raise a critical question: Can the United Nations process to combat global plastic pollution ever reach agreement? Or is some other way forward necessary? The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) set a goal in 2022 of a legally binding treaty by the end of 2024. But the INC missed its own deadline this month. Negotiators from 184 nations strived at the 10-day summit in Geneva, Switzerland, only to yet again fail to even come close to reaching consensus on a treaty draft. Some delegates and observers left in frustration after the 6th official INC summit (known as INC-5.2) and wondered if the process will ever work. Others cited incremental progress and looked forward with some hope to another negotiating session at a yet-to-be determined time and place. Not only do numerous treaty specifics still need to be worked out, but countries can&#8217;t even agree on the basics: Should the agreement be binding or voluntary? Should it encompass the full life cycle of plastic from creation to disposal, limit production and ban some toxic chemicals, or should it just focus almost exclusively on reuse and recycling? The High Ambition Coalition (HAC), now totaling more than 75 nations, seeks a legally binding, cradle-to-grave treaty that reduces production and consumption and provides an adequately financed enforcement mechanism. “The negotiations on the global plastics treaty are not just any technical debate. It&#8217;s about deciding whether we&#8217;re going to stop pollution at its source, regulating the entire life cycle of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/as-plastics-treaty-talks-break-down-are-there-paths-to-a-breakthrough/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-305152</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Argentina pushes pipeline exports through protected Patagonian waters</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/argentina-pushes-pipeline-exports-through-protected-patagonian-waters/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/argentina-pushes-pipeline-exports-through-protected-patagonian-waters/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2025 13:32:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rodolfo Chisleanschi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/08/18133135/43cbcac1-c51a-45a2-8157-3da612901827-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304453</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Infrastructure, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Oil, Oil Spills, Whales, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[San Matías Gulf, on the northern coast of Argentina’s Patagonia region, is one of the most biodiverse areas in the Argentine Sea. The Valdés Peninsula — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 and a biosphere reserve since 2014 — forms its southern border. It’s surrounded by Islote Lobos National Park, the Puerto Lobos and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[San Matías Gulf, on the northern coast of Argentina’s Patagonia region, is one of the most biodiverse areas in the Argentine Sea. The Valdés Peninsula — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 and a biosphere reserve since 2014 — forms its southern border. It’s surrounded by Islote Lobos National Park, the Puerto Lobos and Bahía San Antonio protected natural areas, and Caleta de los Loros Multiple Use Reserve. But a planned oil port has many locals and environmentalists concerned for the future of this biodiverse marine region. “We all need energy to live our lives, but the location chosen for these works could not be worse,” says Roxana Schteinbarg, coordinator of the conservation program at the Whale Conservation Institute (ICB). “The San Matías Gulf is too important for the health of our sea to be turned into a sacrifice zone.” Authorities have chosen the village of Punta Colorado for the new oil port, the final destination for the 437-kilometer (272-mile) Vaca Muerta Sur (VMOS) oil pipeline. This enormous pipeline will carry crude oil extracted by fracking from the Neuquén Plateau, at the western edge of the country, to two buoys installed offshore to fill the tanks of cargo ships. Fuerte Argentino, an elevation that rises up in front of the sea with no clear explanation for its origin, will overlook the Hilli Episeyo, the LNG ship. Image courtesy of Fabricio Di Giacomo. The government is also planning a second fossil fuel port in the gulf. North of the oil&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/argentina-pushes-pipeline-exports-through-protected-patagonian-waters/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304453</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As UN plastic treaty talks face possible deadlock, what are the ways forward?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-un-plastic-treaty-talks-face-possible-deadlock-what-are-the-ways-forward/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-un-plastic-treaty-talks-face-possible-deadlock-what-are-the-ways-forward/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2025 18:01:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tosca Ballerini]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/31145526/angela-compagnone-g1xoeXbfuTw-unsplash-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=303512</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Consumption, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Microplastics, Oil, Overconsumption, Planetary Health, Plastic, Politics, Pollution, Regulations, and Water Pollution]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Historically, most United Nations agreements have been reached by consensus. But based on recent events, this no longer seems likely for achieving a fully effective global treaty on plastic pollution, according to many analysts. The fifth resumed session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2) will take place Aug. 5-14 in Geneva, Switzerland. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Historically, most United Nations agreements have been reached by consensus. But based on recent events, this no longer seems likely for achieving a fully effective global treaty on plastic pollution, according to many analysts. The fifth resumed session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2) will take place Aug. 5-14 in Geneva, Switzerland. The impending summit’s outcome remains highly uncertain, with two groups of countries holding strongly opposing views on the agreement’s scope: The High Ambition Coalition, along with other nations, totaling 106 member states, is seeking a binding treaty with global caps on plastics production and a ban of the most toxic chemicals used in plastics. The so-called “Like-minded countries” (Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Iran, India) and other countries, including Brazil and the United States, want a voluntary treaty focused only on waste management, especially recycling. Treaty negotiations began hopefully in 2022 and were scheduled to conclude with a final document by 2024 following UNEA Resolution 5/14. But at each new session, oil- and plastic-producing countries (including Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, Iran, India, and Brazil) exploited unresolved procedural rules to delay negotiations, used obstructionist tactics to slow down progress and insisted on consensus for all decisions — effectively vetoing majority agreements, observers of the U.N. process say. Tired of the lack of progress in negotiations, on Dec. 1, 2024, the last day of INC-5.1, more than 100 countries came together at a press conference as a coalition of the willing, declaring “No treaty is better than a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/as-un-plastic-treaty-talks-face-possible-deadlock-what-are-the-ways-forward/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-303512</doi>				</item>
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