Global Climate News

US-based Bezos Earth Fund, in partnership with Experiment Foundation, announced the winners and finalists of its $1M Greenhouse Gas Removal Ideation Prize. The prize, structured in two phases, awarded funding to projects focusing on diverse greenhouse gas removal technologies, aiming to significantly contribute towards removing gigatonnes of greenhouse gases annually by 2050.

The UK government has appointed an Independent Chair for the Dartmoor Land Use Management Group (DLUMG) to develop a land use framework and plan for Dartmoor, aiming to balance farming, environmental stewardship, and address challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. The group includes farmers, landowners, environmental NGOs, and government agencies, and will implement 25 recommendations from an independent review.

The Belize Women's Seaweed Farmers Association (BWSFA) has launched a sustainable seaweed mariculture project with £100,000 funding from the UK Government's Sustainable Blue Economies Programme. The project aims to strengthen sustainable seaweed farming through capacity building, marketing, and innovation, supporting climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods in Belize's blue economy.

In Madagascar, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Conservation International have implemented a USD 19.3 million climate-smart agriculture program to help farmers adapt to climate change. The program, which received USD 18.5 million in GCF financing, has successfully improved food security and reduced deforestation by introducing drought-resistant crops, mulching techniques, and native fruit trees. The project has shown measurable improvements in farmer food security and is expected to benefit nearly 24,000 people while helping conserve the Ankeniheny-Zahamena and Ambositra-Vondrozo forests.

The World Bank approved a US$250 million program for Morocco to enhance the climate resilience of its agri-food system and improve food safety. A US$5 million grant from the Livable Planet Fund will support smallholder farmers in adopting climate-smart practices. The program aims to benefit 1.36 million people, including farmers and consumers.

Cornwall National Landscape has implemented the Meadow Match project, a innovative "dating agency" for wildflower meadows that connects wildflower-rich donor sites with receptor sites. The project, led by Dr Grace Twiston-Davies from the Wildflower Collective, has established three Meadow Hubs and a Seed Hub at Rosuick Farm to help farmers restore grasslands and build resilience against climate impacts. The initiative has engaged over 30 landowners and 50 volunteers across the National Landscape.

Natural England has released a major update to its Living England national habitat map, which provides detailed information on 16 different habitats across England for 2022-23. The map uses machine learning and satellite imagery to track land use changes and support environmental monitoring, conservation planning, and biodiversity requirements. The project is developed through the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme and partially funded by Environmental Land Management schemes.

UK-based Lyme Bay Fisherman's CIC has received a £140,000 grant from the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme for cooperation activities and marketing. The organization, representing fishers across four ports, has developed initiatives including a seafood trail, schools outreach program, and produced a film "The Last Custodians" to support sustainable local fishing communities and maintain employment for 47 fisher members.

Researchers have developed a new flexible sensor technology using silicon nanowire arrays decorated with silver nanoparticles for detecting pesticide residues. The advanced sensor system can detect methyl parathion pesticide at extremely low concentrations (10⁻9 M) on curved surfaces, representing a breakthrough in environmental monitoring technology.