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Thousands go to hospital with respiratory problems after massive dust cloud blows in from Saudi Arabia

Iraq was hit by its most severe sandstorm of 2025 this week, turning skies from blue to an orange haze. Visibility dropped to less than half a mile, causing travel disruptions, with two major airports halting flights, and streets in Basra, the largest city in southern Iraq, deserted. Respiratory problems sent thousands to hospital. The storm also affected Kuwait, where wind gusts exceeded 50mph, and visibility in some areas was diminished to zero.

This massive dust cloud originated in Saudi Arabia before being blown into Iraq. While dust storms are common in Iraq, the climate crisis is expected to intensify them across the region in the future, fuelled by desertification in Saudi Arabia and Syria.

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Online exhibition collects soundscapes from nature reserves and sites such as Machu Picchu and Taj Mahal

The sounds of wind turbines, rare whales and the Amazonian dawn chorus are among the noises being preserved as part of an exhibition of soundscapes found in world heritage sites.

The Sonic Heritage project is a collection of 270 sounds from 68 countries, including from famous Unesco-designated sites such as Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal, as well as natural landscapes such as the monarch butterfly sanctuary in El Rosario, Mexico and the Colombian Amazon.

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Singaporean developer Aquila has reportedly started work on its long delayed wind project in Tasmania, after a reprieve from the state government.

The post Small Tasmania wind project finally begins construction after long delay and political reprieve appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Washington’s Department of Ecology (ECY) on Thursday detailed its initial considerations related to no-cost allowance allocations for electric utilities under the state’s cap-and-trade programme as it prepares to finalise adjustments by October this year.

The Green Party of Canada would re-establish Canada’s carbon tax, given a chance at the helm, though the group’s co-leader said she hopes to broaden support for climate action beyond its environmental benefits.

A joint statement released by California's governor and lawmakers supported California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices that were dampened after the federal government announced intent to terminate state-level ETS, but overall market sentiment remained wary in the absence of clarity surrounding the future of the scheme.

A pilot project will test whether it is a useful way of fighting climate change.

The Greens propose a suite of election policies to make greenwashing illegal and deliver a “level playing field” for businesses trying to do the right thing.

The post Fossil fuel advertising to get same treatment as tobacco and gambling in Greens policy plan appeared first on RenewEconomy.

California's power sector CO2 emissions in February once again set a record low for the month as the share of renewables increased and the state cut back on the power resources used overall, state data published Thursday showed.

A new research project will assess sugar kelp's ability to improve soil health and crop nutrient efficiency in partnership with a Scottish research institute.

Seven NGOs have lodged a formal complaint with the European watchdog for the so-called ‘omnibus’ proposal for changing sustainability disclosures in areas including biodiversity.

A US-based agtech firm has completed its fourth carbon crop, which more than doubles its post-buffer pool offset supply and brings its total volume of carbon credits issued to nearly 1 million, the company said Wednesday.

Scientists sound the alarm over substances such as arsenic and lead contaminating soils and entering food systems

About one sixth of global cropland is contaminated by toxic heavy metals, researchers have estimated, with as many as 1.4 billion people living in high-risk areas worldwide.

Approximately 14 to 17% of cropland globally – roughly 242m hectares – is contaminated by at least one toxic metal such as arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel or lead, at levels that exceed agricultural and human health safety thresholds.

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Exclusive: Henry Dimbleby joins farmers in voicing fears of lower standards and a poor deal for British food producers

Britain’s rural communities could be “destroyed”, the former government food tsar has said, if ministers sign a US trade deal that undercuts British farming standards.

Ministers are working on a new trade deal with the US, after previous post-Brexit attempts stalled. Unpopular agreements signed at the time with Australia and New Zealand featured tariff-free access to beef and lamb and were accused of undercutting UK farmers, who are governed by higher welfare standards than their counterparts. Australia, in a trade deal signed by Liz Truss in late 2021 that came into effect in 2023, was given bespoke sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards aimed to not be more “trade-restrictive than necessary to protect human life and health”.

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Translating noisy geese to time travel across the universe.

Germany plans to move away from a focus on hydrogen to decarbonise industry, with carbon capture and storage (CCS) now on the menu as the new government pushes forward with gas-fired power plans.

Traders expect volatility and unsettled US compliance carbon markets under the looming overhang threat of federal action via several potential legal avenues seeking to terminate state-run ETS schemes following guidance from the White House. 

Kenya could raise $170 million from the sale of carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, according to analysis by a carbon market data aggregator.

The UK government has thrown clear-cut support behind a company using high quality avoidance voluntary credits to meet Scope 3 indirect emission targets, as it steps into the void left by the opposition from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), as well as the election of a climate sceptic US president.

Lawmakers from the ruling European People's Party (EPP) in the EU Parliament have requested an impact assessment of the bloc's Green Claims Directive, which seeks to regulate climate allegations that companies are allowed to put in front of consumers.