Tesla profits fell due to higher costs despite a boost to revenues from increased auto sales (Brandon Bell) By AFP - Agence France Presse Tesla Profits Tumble On Higher Costs, Tariff Drag By John BIERS ADDS comments from conference call, UPDATES share price Tesla reported a hefty drop in profits on Wednesday, citing a drag from tariffs and other expenses that more than offset a lift from increased auto sales. Elon Musk's electric car company reported profits of $1.4 billion i

Cloud seeding for smog mitigation PHOTO: NICHOLAS SHEARMAN By AFP - Agence France Presse India Trials Delhi Cloud Seeding To Combat Deadly Smog India trialled cloud seeding over its smog-filled capital for the first time, spraying a chemical from an aeroplane to encourage rain and wash deadly particles out of the air. Cloud seeding is the practice of using aeroplanes to fire salt or other chemicals into clouds to induce rain. New Delhi city authorities, working with the gover

Nigerian environmentalist Nnimmo Bassey says that the best part of COP is meeting other activists - and ignoring the policymakers (OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT)(OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse Top Nigerian environmentalist sees little coming out of COP30 Leslie FAUVEL Nnimmo Bassey, a prominent figure in the decades-long environmental struggles in Africa's largest oil-producing country, will next month attend yet another UN climate summit, this time in Brazi

A monitor scans for endangered birds close to wind turbines near Swellendam (RODGER BOSCH)(RODGER BOSCH/AFP/AFP). By AFP - Agence France Presse S.Africa Seeks To Save Birds From Wind Turbine Risks By Winny Claret Powerful gusts shook an observation post perched on a hill at a wind farm in South Africa as two monitors scanned the landscape through binoculars. The Overberg mountains stretched along the horizon, but the monitors -- bundled in scarves -- were focused on activity

This initiative aims to set a global standard for sustainable shipping, despite international setbacks in carbon-pricing frameworks. By AFP - Agence France Presse Finnish Carbon-neutral Ferry Aims To Set Global Benchmark For Shipping By Anna KORKMAN In Finland, one of the world's first large passenger ferries to go carbon neutral aims to set the global standard for sustainable shipping, even as efforts to slash the industry's emissions face a backlash. No smoke billowed from

UN chief Antonio Guterres and US President Donald Trump are on opposite sides of the global climate debate (Yoan VALAT).(Yoan VALAT/POOL/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse UN Chief Calls For 'Fight' Against Climate Disinformation By Robin MILLARD UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for a fightback against climate disinformation ahead of next month's COP30 summit after US President Donald Trump branded climate change the "greatest con job ever". Guterres issued a rob

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva staunchly defends oil projects as necessary to secure the energy supply and fund the climate transition. (AFP pic). By AFP - Agence France Presse Brazil Auctions Off Five Oil Blocks Ahead Of COP30 Brazil awarded exploration rights to five offshore oil blocks on Wednesday, doubling down on a controversial drive to boost production in the run-up to UN climate talks it is hosting next month. The auction came two days after state oil g

The company changed its name from Total to TotalEnergies to emphasise its clean energy investments (ALAIN JOCARD) By AFP - Agence France Presse French Court Convicts TotalEnergies Over Misleading Climate Claims A French court on Thursday ruled oil and gas giant TotalEnergies had engaged in "misleading commercial practices" by overstating its climate pledges and ordered it to remove some claims, in what activists said was the first such ruling worldwide against a major oil com

A palm oil plantation next to a peat forest in Indonesia (STR). (STR/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse EU Proposes To Trim Anti-deforestation Rules To Ease Rollout Oct 21, 2025 The European Commission said Tuesday it wanted to ease sweeping anti-deforestation rules by exempting thousands of firms from paperwork and cutting back requirements for small companies. EU officials said the proposed changes -- including a six-month grace period for large companies -- seek to sol

General Motors is ending production of electric vehicles at one of its plants in Canada (Jorge Uzon) By AFP - Agence France Presse GM Cuts EV Production In Canada, Cites Trump Backpedal General Motors said Tuesday it was ending production of an electric vehicle at a plant in Canada, a further blow to the country's auto sector tied to President Donald Trump's opposition to EVs. Canada's auto industry has been battered by Trump's global tariffs on foreign-made vehicles, but GM'

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres | Amanuel Sileshi/AFP via Getty Images By AFP - Agence France Presse Overshooting 1.5 °C Climate Target 'Inevitable': UN Chief By Robin MILLARD UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday it was now clear that efforts to cap global warming at 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels would fail in the short term. Ahead of next month's COP30 climate summit in Brazil, Guterres said going beyond 1.5 °C would result in "dev

Bubaraye Dakolo is suing Shell in a bid to force the oil giant to clean up and restore his kingdom's environmental health (OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT) By AFP - Agence France Presse Nigerian Monarch Takes On Oil Giant In Search Of Environmental Justice. By Susan NJANJI Growing up in southern Nigeria during the 1970s, Bubaraye Dakolo would easily catch 20 kilograms of fish within minutes. These days, a fisherman casts nets all night, only to bring back just about three kilograms. Now

NGOs argue that airlines should have emission warnings on ads, like the health warnings for tobacco and alcohol (BAY ISMOYO) By AFP Agence France Presse European Airlines Drop Vague Promises On Carbon Offsets By Tangi QUEMENER European airlines are starting to become prudent when promoting flight carbon-offset measures, such as reforestation, following courtroom losses and stepped-up pressure by regulators. Dutch airline KLM, in March last year, lost a case about greenwashing

Borneo Island is home to orangutans, long-nosed monkeys, clouded leopards, pig-tailed macaques, flying fox-bats, and the smallest rhinos on the planet (JACK MOORE) By AFP - Agence France-Presse EU Timber Imports Linked To Deforestation On Indonesia's Borneo: NGOs Timber imports by companies operating in the European Union can be traced to logging on Indonesia's Borneo island, a new report published Tuesday showed, with NGOs calling for the bloc to stop delaying a ban on defor

Photo Pexels rdne/Canva By AFP - Agence France Presse UN Rights Work Facing 'Existential Threat' Amid Targeted Cuts: Report By Nina LARSON United Nations rights work is being disproportionately targeted for cuts amid a deep UN funding crisis, posing an "existential threat" to vital investigations and accountability efforts, a report warned Tuesday. Washington's failure to pay UN membership fees, coupled with Chinese and Russian efforts to defund rights bodies, could deal a de

Unsplash photo by Glauber Sampaio Liquid Brazil and the myth of abundance: when water flows faster than consciousness By Claudia Andrade Brazil is a liquid country. Abundant in rivers, promises, and contradictions. A territory that holds 12% of the planet's surface freshwater, yet still lives with dry taps, makeshift buckets, and wells that have become a legacy of survival. There is a painful irony in being a water powerhouse and, at the same time, vulnerable. On the eve of C

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has come under fire from conservationists who argue his oil expansion plans clash with his image as a global leader on climate change (PABLO PORCIUNCULA) By AFP - Agence France Presse Brazil Greenlights Oil Drilling In Sensitive Amazon Region By Fran BLANDY Brazil's Petrobras said Monday it has permission to drill for oil near the mouth of the Amazon River, casting a shadow over the country's green ambitions as it prepares to host UN climat

Ruth Deidree Boelan prays for her relatives who went missing in recent flooding when their home on a riverbank collapsed (BAY ISMOYO). (BAY ISMOYO/AFP/AFP). By AFP - Agence France Presse Flood reckoning for Bali on overdevelopment, waste Marchio GORBIANO Standing where her family home once was, Ruth Deidree Boelan closed her eyes and prayed for relatives missing in devastating flash floods that swept resort island Bali this year. The deluge that killed at least 18 people and

Some of Taft's 7,000 residents are anticipating a comeback for the petroleum industry in California (ROBYN BECK) By AFP - Agence France Presse California's Oil Capital Hopes For A Renaissance Under Trump By Romain FONSEGRIVES Every five years, the fading US town of Taft puts on a days-long "Oildorado" festival to celebrate its glory days at the center of California's black gold rush. Thousands flock to its parade of cowboys on horseback, antique cars and floats featuring oil

In many affected towns, the thick mud has given way to the roar of machinery as homes are rebuilt (Thomas COEX). (Thomas COEX/AFP/AFP) By AFP - Agence France Presse One year on, Spain's flood survivors rebuild and remember Rosa SULLEIRO When the first autumn rains fell this year, Toni Garcia drew the curtains. Rain is a painful reminder of last year's devastating floods that killed more than 200 people in Spain, including her husband and only daughter. "Everything comes back