Current text promotes a voluntary country-driven climate actions regime, says CSE

The negotiating draft text dilutes the key elements of the Convention like historical responsibility, differentiation and carbon budget, and will …

Rio+20 postponed. Date clashed with Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee

54 Commonwealth head of states would have had to choose between the two events

A tiny radioactive capsule is lost on a highway in Western Australia. Here’s what you need to know

The capsule contains caesium-137, a radioactive isotope which spits out electrons and high-energy photons 

Guardians for the future

World Future Council calls for an ombudsperson to secure the environment for future generations

Diary of a political carnival

UNCED saw the largest ever gathering of heads of government in history. Ceremony, glitter and pomp were played out against a backdrop of …

'Threat to integrity of global South in climate negotiations reflects its success'

Matt McDonald, associate professor of international relations at University of Queensland, explains the position of developing …

The Rio Grande isn’t just a border — it’s a river in crisis

The river is in decline, suffering from overuse, drought and contentious water rights negotiations

‘Mexico’s most important river dying a slow death’

Overextraction of water and dumping of waste are choking the Lerma Santiago river

A promising pathway

Rio+20, green economy and India

Beyond Rio+20

The future we do not want

World leaders attending Rio+20 did nothing to tackle the interlinked crises of economy and ecology, says Sunita Narain after attending the …

Rio: not plus or minus, just 20

20 years to…where?

Taking stock of biodiversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity, 20 years on, is still struggling to stem the precipitous decline in biodiversity. After missing the 2010 …

Rio draft text revives common but differentiated responsibility

Calls for doing away with green protectionism through trade barriers while dealing with environmental matters

Mineral development PSU snaps ties with Rio Tinto

Joint venture with Anglo-Australian firm to explore iron ore yielded no result

First global standard to measure greenhouse gas emissions from cities launched

The standard launched in Lima will help cities track their emissions and develop action plans to reduce it

Attractive cigarette packs may go up in smoke

India might follow in Australia’s footsteps to enforce plain packaging for tobacco products

Basel Convention: Tenth Conference of Parties begins Monday

Meeting may end up defeating the very purpose of the international treaty on hazardous waste says SAVVY SOUMYA MISRA 

Biodiversity governance: A mix of knowledge and forest management for benefit sharing

People’s biodiversity register a roadmap for forest management plans; it documents knowledge of status, history, ongoing changes and …

Biodiversity governance: Access and benefit sharing and its implications on agricultural resources

A special instrument for access to crop genetic resources, access and benefit sharing (ABS) system, is fraught with challenges  

Nations discuss ban on toxic exports

Ban Amendment seeks to curb export of hazardous waste by rich countries to the poor, but has not been brought into force since 1994

Biodiversity governance: The agreements and laws that help enforce it

Major legally binding conventions to protect nature were adopted at the Rio Summit where several countries came together amid rapidly …

Future compromised

The Earth Summit was a historical opportunity to set the world on the correct development trajectory. Negotiators from 191 countries came …