Natural environment

Slovenia became a member of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the start of the year. This three-year membership is Slovenia's first of the body, which coordinates economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development.

A regulation that came into force as of Jan. 1 ushers in a new era in energy efficiency in buildings in Türkiye.

According to the regulation, all buildings to be constructed larger than 5,000 square meters in size will be required to be B energy efficiency class and meet 5 percent of energy they consume from renewable resources.

Whether they realize it or not, some 7.6 billion people - 96% of humanity - have felt the impact of global warming on temperatures in the past 12 months, researchers say.

But some regions have felt it much more strongly and more often than others, according to a report by Climate Central, a climate science think tank.

Heat waves, intensified by climate change, have cost the global economy trillions of dollars in the last 30 years, a study published Friday found, with poor countries paying the steepest price.  

And those lopsided economic effects contribute to widening inequalities around the world, according to the research.     

Wild populations of monitored animal species have plummeted nearly 70 percent in the last 50 years, according to a landmark assessment released on Oct. 13 that highlights "devastating" losses to nature due to human activity.

Peter Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance got a grant to study viruses

President of Hungary Janos Ader delivers his speech during a high-level debate of the UN General Assembly on climate change and sustainable development in the organisation's headquarters in New York, USA, 28 March 2019. EPA-EFE/NOEMI BRUZAK

A series of "once-in-a-millennium" rainstorms have lashed the United States in recent weeks, flooding areas baked dry by long-term droughts, as human-caused climate change brings weather whiplash.

And scientists warn that global warming means once-rare events are already much more likely, upending the models they have long used to predict possible disasters, with worse to come.

Elephants are known for their gentle nature, but they can become aggressive when they feel harassed, vulnerable or threatened

By 2040, over 44 countries will face severe water scarcity. In general, the Mediterranean countries belong to the regions of the planet with the highest risk of drought and water scarcity. Today, Europe is already facing the longest period of drought in the last 500 years. This is according to an analysis by Prof. Dr. Yannis Maniatis and Ph.D.