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Computer models that use artificial intelligence (AI) cannot forecast record-breaking weather as well as traditional climate models, according to a new study.

It is well established that AI climate models have surpassed traditional, physics-based climate models for some aspects of weather forecasting.

However, new research published in Science Advances finds that AI models still “underperform” in forecasting record-breaking extreme weather events.

The authors tested how well both AI and traditional weather models could simulate thousands of record-breaking hot, cold and windy events that were recorded in 2018 and 2020.

They find that AI models underestimate both the frequency and intensity of record-breaking events.

A study author tells Carbon Brief that the analysis is a “warning shot” against replacing traditional models with AI models for weather forecasting “too quickly”.

AI weather forecasts

Extreme weather events, such as floods, heatwaves and storms, drive hundreds of billions of dollars in damages every year through the destruction of cropland, impacts on infrastructure and the loss of human life. 

Many governments have developed early warning systems to prepare the general public and mobilise disaster response teams for imminent extreme weather events. These systems have been shown to minimise damages and save lives.

For decades, scientists have used numerical weather prediction models to simulate the weather days, or weeks, in advance. 

These models rely on a series of complex equations that reproduce processes in the atmosphere and ocean. The equations are rooted in fundamental laws of physics, based on decades of research by climate scientists. As a result, these models are referred to as “physics-based” models.

However, AI-based climate models are gaining popularity as an alternative for weather forecasting.

Instead of using physics, these models use a statistical approach. Scientists present AI models with a large batch of historical weather data, known as training data, which teaches the model to recognise patterns and make predictions.

To produce a new forecast, the AI model draws on this bank of knowledge and follows the patterns that it knows.

There are many advantages to AI weather forecasts. For example, they use less computing power than physics-based models, because they do not have to run thousands of mathematical equations.

Furthermore, many AI models have been found to perform better than traditional physics-based models at weather forecasts.

However, these models also have drawbacks. 

Study author Prof Sebastian Engelke, a professor at the research institute for statistics and information science at the University of Geneva, tells Carbon Brief that AI models “depend strongly on the training data” and are “relatively constrained to the range of this dataset”. 

In other words, AI models struggle to simulate brand new weather patterns, instead tending forecast events of a similar strength to those seen before. As a result, it is unclear whether AI models can simulate unprecedented, record-breaking extreme events that, by definition, have never been seen before. 

Record-breaking extremes

Extreme weather events are becoming more intense and frequent as the climate warms. Record-shattering extremes – those that break existing records by large margins – are also becoming more regular.

For example, during a 2021 heatwave in north-western US and Canada, local temperature records were broken by up to 5C. According to one study, the heatwave would have been “impossible” without human-caused climate change. 

The new study explores how accurately AI and physics-based models can forecast such record-breaking extremes.

First, the authors identified every heat, cold and wind event in 2018 and 2020 that broke a record previously set between 1979 and 2017. (They chose these years due to data availability.) The authors use ERA5 reanalysis data to identify these records. 

This produced a large sample size of record-breaking events. For the year 2020, the authors identified around 160,000 heat, 33,000 cold and 53,000 wind records, spread across different seasons and world regions. 

For their traditional, physics-based model, the authors selected the High RESolution forecast model from the Integrated Forecasting System of the European Centre for Medium-­Range Weather Forecasts. This is “widely considered as the leading physics-­based numerical weather prediction model”, according to the paper. 

They also selected three “leading” AI weather models – the GraphCast model from Google Deepmind, Pangu-­Weather developed by Huawei Cloud and the Fuxi model, developed by a team from Shanghai.

The authors then assessed how accurately each model could forecast the extremes observed in the year 2020.

Dr Zhongwei Zhang is the lead author on the study and a researcher at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He tells Carbon Brief that many AI weather forecast models were built for “general weather conditions”, as they use all historical weather data to train the models. Meanwhile, forecasting extremes is considered a “secondary task” by the models. 

The authors explored a range of different “lead times” – in other words, how far into the future the model is forecasting. For example, a lead time of two days could mean the model uses the weather conditions at midnight on 1 January to simulate weather conditions at midnight on 3 January.

The plot below shows how accurately the models forecasted all extreme events (left) and heat extremes (right) under different lead times. This is measured using “root mean square error” – a metric of how accurate a model is, where a lower value indicates lower error and higher accuracy.

The chart on the left shows how two of the AI models (blue and green) performed better than the physics-based model (black) when forecasting all weather across the year 2020.

However, the chart on the right illustrates how the physics-based model (black) performed better than all three AI models (blue, red and green) when it came to forecasting heat extremes.

Accuracy of the AI models (blue, red and green) and the physics-based model (black) at forecasting all weather over 2020 (left) and heat extremes (right) over a range of lead times. This is measured using “root mean square error” (RMSE) – a metric of how accurate a model is, where a lower value indicates lower error and higher accuracy. Source: Zhang et al (2026).

The authors note that the performance gap between AI and physics-based models is widest for lower lead times, indicating that AI models have greater difficulty making predictions in the near future. 

They find similar results for cold and wind records.

In addition, the authors find that AI models generally “underpredict” temperature during heat records and “overpredict” during cold records.

The study finds that the larger the margin that the record is broken by, the less well the AI model predicts the intensity of the event.

‘Warning shot’

Study author Prof Erich Fischer is a climate scientist at ETH Zurich and a Carbon Brief contributing editor. He tells Carbon Brief that the result is “not unexpected”.

He adds that the analysis is a “warning shot” against replacing traditional models with AI models for weather forecasting “too quickly”.

AI models are likely to continue to improve, but scientists should “not yet” fully replace traditional forecasting models with AI ones, according to Fischer.

He explains that accurate forecasts are “most needed” in the runup to potential record-breaking extremes, because they are the trigger for early warning systems that help minimise damages caused by extreme weather.

Leonardo Olivetti is a PhD student at Uppsala University, who has published work on AI weather forecasting and was not involved in the study. 

He tells Carbon Brief that “many other studies” have identified issues with using AI models for “extremes”, but this paper is novel for its specific focus on extremes.

Olivetti notes that AI models are already used alongside physics-based models at “some of the major weather forecasting centres around the world”. However, the study results suggest “caution against relying too heavily on these [AI] models”, he says.

Prof Martin Schultz, a professor in computational earth system science at the University of Cologne who was not involved in the study, tells Carbon Brief that the results of the analysis are “very interesting, but not too surprising”.

He adds that the study “justifies the continued use of classical numerical weather models in operational forecasts, in spite of their tremendous computational costs”. 

Advances in forecasting

The field of AI weather forecasting is evolving rapidly. 

Olivetti notes that the three AI models tested in the study are an “older generation” of AI models. In the last two years, newer “probabilistic” forecast models have emerged that “claim to better capture extremes”, he explains.

The three AI models used in the analysis are “deterministic”, meaning that they only simulate one possible future outcome. 

In contrast, study author Engelke tells Carbon Brief that probabilistic models “create several possible future states of the weather” and are therefore more likely to capture record-breaking extremes.

Engelke says it is “important” to evaluate the newer generation of models for their ability to forecast weather extremes. 

He adds that this paper has set out a “protocol” for testing the ability of AI models to predict unprecedented extreme events, which he hopes other researchers will go on to use.

The study says that another “promising direction” for future research is to develop models that combine aspects of traditional, physics-based weather forecasts with AI models. 

Engelke says this approach would be “best of both worlds”, as it would combine the ability of physics-based models to simulate record-breaking weather with the computational efficiency of AI models.

Dr Kyle Hilburn, a research scientist at Colorado State University, notes that the study does not address extreme rainfall, which he says “presents challenges for both modelling and observing”. This, he says, is an “important” area for future research. 

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Christopher Wright is the principal analyst at CarbonBridge, a decarbonisation consulting firm.

The Santa Marta Conference has rightly been hailed as a pivotal opportunity to re-imagine the world’s relationship with fossil fuels. However, the sixty-odd countries gathered this week represent only 15% of the world’s total fossil fuel production, and a small but critical handful of nations in attendance remain deeply committed to expanding their fossil fuel output.

While the discussions at Santa Marta have focused on overcoming economic dependency on fossil fuels, the reality on the ground for many of these countries is that fossil fuel production continues to rise. Despite the rapid global growth of renewable electrification, fossil fuel output has similarly increased.

• Apr 28, 2026 News Santa Marta: Ministers grapple with practicalities of fossil fuel phase-out Around 60 governments that want to make progress on transitioning away from coal, oil and gas are meeting in Colombia to work out how they can do it an equitable way Read more
• Apr 21, 2026 News Fossil fuel crisis offers chance to speed up energy transition, ministers say As climate diplomacy resumes in Berlin, ministers say the Iran war-driven fuel crisis is exposing the risks of fossil dependence Read more

This trend is evident even among the countries gathered at Santa Marta, where according to a CarbonBridge analysis, net fossil fuel production has grown over the last five years, particularly driven by expansions in oil and gas output.

Across all countries gathered in Santa Marta, approximately 14 countries are responsible for the lion’s share of oil production, which has increased by 4% since 2020. Similarly, just eight countries account for 96% of the conference’s natural gas production, which has collectively grown by 5% over the past decade. 

While coal production has seen a slight decline since 2020, recent production increases in Turkey and Pakistan, with renewed growth in Australia, could similarly see increased production in the near future.  

However, most surprisingly, only six countries present at Santa Marta account for over 80% of fossil fuel production among all nations in attendance: Canada, Australia, Brasil, Mexico, Norway and Nigeria. 

For these nations, the transition journey ahead is complex. All six countries are aiming to significantly expand renewable energy capacities, and Norway stands as a global leader in electric vehicle adoption. 

However, fossil fuel production is not merely a domestic concern for these countries; it plays a central role in their international exports, and remains a foundational pillar of their economic utures. In fact, a deeper look into trends and regulatory frameworks across this suite of countries indicates that their current trajectories are geared toward continued fossil fuel expansion.

Canada

In Canada, oil and gas production continues to climb, with 2025 marking a year of record highs. Oil production rose by 4% to reach 5.34 million barrels per day (MMb/d), while natural gas production surged by 3.4%, reaching 8.2 billion gigajoules. And only yesterday, Shell made a $13.5 bln bet on Canada’s oil and gas future.

Led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, Canada is set to implement an industrial carbon pricing scheme and could double Canada’s clean energy capacity over the next two years. However, he has also been vocal about his support for new oil and gas expansions, new pipeline developments, and has even set a goal to transform Canada’s largely non-existent liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry over the next 15 years, with aspirations to rival the production capacity of the US by 2040.

Brazil

Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras has committed to a massive USD $109 billion expansion of their production to 2030. This hefty investment follows a record 11% production increase in 2025, with Petrobras pumping out 3.77 million barrels per day. Despite hosting the UN climate negotiations last year and generating 89% of the country’s electricity from low-carbon sources in 2025, Brazil’s drive for fossil fuel expansion highlights the gap between national climate transitions and critical export opportunities. 

Australia

Australia, the world’s second-largest coal exporter, faces a similar dislocation between its domestic electricity transition and its export economy, as it prepares to assume a leadership role at COP31. Australia is home to the world’s highest solar power per capita and leads the world in home battery rollouts. However, it remains critically dependent on fossil fuel exports, even as questions arise over long-term demand. Currently, gas export volumes, which dipped in 2025, are projected to reach record levels by 2027; pending legal action against the Barossa, Scarborough, and Browse expansions. While thermal coal production is projected to decline slightly through 2030, increases in metallurgical coal are expected to offset these declines, in part due to recent pro-mining regulatory shifts in Queensland.

Mexico

Mexico is one of three major oil producers that make up over 60% of the conference’s annual oil production. However, its oil industry recorded the largest output declines of any major producer in Santa Marta over the last decade. The state-owned oil company Pemex, currently carries close to $100 billion in debt, and was granted $12bn in debt support from the government last year. When combined with import shifts from the US, and potential competition from Venezuela, there is a real chance that Mexico’s oil production could decline further going forward. However, the goal right now from Pemex and the Mexican government, is to increase current production by close to 10% by 2030.

Nigeria

Nigeria’s national oil company, NNPCL, has similarly seen declines over the last decade, but is now pursuing a $60 billion partnership to expand its oil and gas output and solidify its role as one of Africa’s largest fossil fuel producers. This comes even as the federal government was granted $800,000 to explore opportunities to transition away from oil expansion last year. 

Norway

In contrast to these countries, Norway stands as one of the few major oil producers at the conference projected to decrease its fossil fuel output. With a forecasted 15% reduction in oil and gas production by 2030, Norway appears to be taking early steps toward a transition. However, the decline in production is more a reflection of the age of its existing oil fields than a proactive shift in government policy. Despite acknowledging the need to diversify its economy, the Norwegian government continues to explore new oil and gas fields, plans to launch new licensing rounds, and hopes to spur on further oil and gas investments, which have almost doubled since 2017.  

For these nations, the road ahead is fraught with complexities. While the Santa Marta conference offers an opportunity for dialogue, and renewable energies will undoubtedly continue to expand, the largest fossil fuel producers gathered in Colombia remain structurally focused on growth, rather than phase-downs.

Dollars and cents continue to drive economic decisions, especially in the midst of a global energy crisis. Despite growing calls to utilise this opportunity to reshape development pathways, countries most economically embedded in existing energy markets will need far more convincing, before turning their backs on billions in fossil fuel revenues.

The post Six nations at Santa Marta could shape fossil fuel futures appeared first on Climate Home News.

As the UK and EU debate how to source the vast quantities of electricity they’ll need to power their grand visions of home-grown artificial intelligence (AI), the gas turbine sector is confident that governments will soon follow the lead of the United States – by clearing the way for Big Tech to embrace natural gas.

“Sooner or later there will be a wake-up call for the EU”, said Francesco Ciccola of American gas turbine manufacturer Mitsubishi Power Aero.

DeSmog spoke to Ciccola last month at Datacloud Energy Europe, a tech energy conference dedicated to “defining Europe’s AI power strategy,” held in Brussels, Belgium. 

San Francisco-based Global Energy Monitor, a research and advocacy group that tracks global fossil fuel developments tied to data centres, says that Mitsubishi Power Aero is a major provider of turbines for the AI boom in the U.S.

“This new administration in the U.S., they give you a workshop of reality”, said Ciccola, a Europe-based sales director for the manufacturer, which sponsored the conference. “It’s typical, this buffer in time between U.S. and Europe, in everything.”

After the event, Ciccola told DeSmog that “Mitsubishi Power’s mission is to help create a future that works for people and the planet by advancing innovative power solutions that support decarbonization while delivering reliable energy.”

He added: “Any remarks made at Datacloud Energy Europe were intended to describe observed market conditions and customer demand, not to comment on or advocate for any political or regulatory approach.

“Mitsubishi Power Aero operates in full compliance with all applicable permitting, planning, and regulatory requirements in every jurisdiction where we do business. References to differences between markets were descriptive of timing and demand dynamics only.”

Across the U.S., President Donald Trump has championed fossil fuel-powered AI, while tech giants are planning, constructing, and operating their own gargantuan, energy-voracious new AI data center complexes with off-grid gas power plants.

Tech companies including Meta, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Nvidia, and xAI, are currently planning or building out fleets of gas turbines that will generate at least 23 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, according to an analysis by Cleanview – roughly twice as much as New York City uses.

This American AI construction blitz has come at an enormous cost to the climate, skyrocketing the tech industry’s carbon emissions and pushing one tech giant after another to abandon its climate pledges.
 
Is it now Europe’s turn?

Datacloud Energy Europe 2026 sponsors listed at the event.

Credit: Datacloud / LinkedIn

“I just think the American market is ahead of us [and] the same thing is going to happen here”, said a turbine sales representative from UK-based manufacturer Langley Holdings, which also sponsored the March 25-26 Datacloud conference and primarily sells to the UK. “It just will take a bit longer and it will be a bit harder because more people will be saying, ‘hang on a minute, we don’t want to be burning greenhouse gasses.’”

A sales representative from MWM, the European arm of U.S.-based gas generator manufacturer Caterpillar, who asked not to be identified, told DeSmog that the company – another summit sponsor – is “definitely” confident that gas-powered AI will be coming to the UK.

The representative said MWM is working on “numerous” projects in Europe and the UK, each capable of generating up to 100 megawatts (MW). The projects are “getting more concrete” compared to last year, they said, with “actual projects” materialising in Germany and the UK.
 
MWM and Langley Holdings were approached for comment.

The Datacloud summit came at a pivotal moment. The EU and UK are due to unveil new regulations that will dictate to what extent new AI data centres can construct off-grid gas plants to power their operations – and as gas turbine manufacturers report global order backlogs running to 2030.
 
Datacloud’s organisers promised that the summit – which involved tech sector and energy leaders, gas turbine industry representatives, and European politicians – would “influence billions in investment” and “reshape regulatory pathways.”

The result was a fierce two-day debate where high-level decision makers in the world of AI and energy fought over whether data centres in Europe will be rolled out with fossil fuels.

“We have to face the reality – there is a real risk of gasification for data centres,” said MEP Nicolás González Casares, a member of the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research, and Energy. “We cannot gassify this sector. Data centres must become an enabler of the green transition.”
 
“No planet, no data centre,” said Neal Kalita, senior director of global power and energy at NTT Global Data Centres, the third largest data centre operator in the world. “Being a kind of a continent that develops a digital infrastructure that doesn’t destroy the planet is going to be not just a competitive edge – it’s an imperative.”
 
Powering Europe’s AI boom with gas, if governments allow it, could decimate net zero goals. A recent analysis by Carbon Brief found that if the UK relies heavily on gas to power data centres, the AI sector would emit 30 metric tonnes of carbon a year by 2035 – as much as the entire country of Denmark. Any increase in emissions will take the UK further away from its goal to cut emissions by 81 percent from 1990 levels by 2035.

The EU’s AI ambitions would demand up to 168 terawatt-hours (TWh) of power by 2030, according to projections by the Kiel Institute – equivalent to what Poland consumes every year. If powered by non-renewables, the report warns, data centres will be putting the EU’s climate goals “at risk.”
 
Will the gas evangelists win out? Europe is on the cusp of making that decision.

European AI Dash?

Both the UK and the EU have announced plans to triple their AI capacity – in the UK by 2030 and the EU by 2035. The pledges have set off a rush of data centre construction across Europe.
 
However, years-long wait times to connect new AI data centre projects to electricity grids have pushed many developers to try to skip the queue by requesting direct hookups to gas. In the last year, companies including Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon have pressured the UK government to approve fleets of private gas turbines and generators for their projects in Britain.
 
In that spirit, off-grid gas-powered data centre projects have begun to crop up across Europe in recent months.
 
Ireland, which has long embraced data centre development, is emerging as the canary in the coal mine. In 2024, data centres consumed 6,969 gigawatt-hours (GWh), 22 percent of the country’s total electricity consumption. Off-grid gas power is now rolling in to alleviate this energy crunch.

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Last month, British off-grid power specialist company AVK, alongside data centre operator Pure Data Centres, announced the completion of the first data centre in Dublin powered by dedicated gas-fired turbines capable of producing 90 MW, enough energy to power 100,000 homes for a year. While AVK says the turbines could theoretically be run on renewable hydro-treated vegetable oil, currently they are running on natural gas as the “primary fuel”. Neither company has given a timeline for the turbines to transition off gas.

Will governments green-light European gas-fired AI projects? Campaigners are concerned about the gas turbine industry’s confidence at this prospect.
 
“The gas industry evidently sees [European] data centres as a growing market, which is a worrying sign of apparent government apathy towards the climate implications,” said Oliver Hayes, head of big tech at environmental campaign group Global Action Plan. “Using AI as an excuse to breathe new life into destructive oil and gas projects is neither welcome nor wise.”

Gas Powered, Government Approved?

There are indications that Britain may sign on to gas-powered AI, even if it spells calamity for its climate goals.

Future Energy Network, which represents UK pipeline operators, told The Times that seven data centre projects have already been waived through to hook up to the gas grid.

In March, the Labour government gave its approval for a proposed 300 MW gas-powered data centre campus in Wapseys Wood, Buckinghamshire to apply for planning permission as nationally significant infrastructure – which allows projects to bypass the usual local planning requirements.

There are indications that the European public doesn’t support this kind of development. According to an October survey by the campaign group Beyond Fossil Fuels, two-thirds of people in the European Union don’t want data centres powered by fossil fuels.

Europeans “do not want to shoulder the costs” of powering data centres, said Jill McArdle, a campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels. She added that the opposition of Americans to sharply rising energy prices “should serve as a warning for Europe.”

“The U.S.-Iran war is exposing European countries’ over-reliance on unstable and expensive foreign imports of fossil fuels”, said McArdle. “Yet Big Tech and the gas [energy equipment] industry are plotting to keep us hooked and grow their profits.” 

It may soon become clearer whether EU or UK lawmakers agree. The EU is set to release two new AI regulations in the coming few months: a new law that is expected to include provisions about renewable energy requirements for data centres, and a data centre sustainability rating scheme.
 
In the UK earlier this year, the Labour government launched an inquiry into the future climate impacts of data centres. Energy and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband has already said these impacts are “inherently uncertain.”

In response to a request for comment, Labour said that its recently-formed AI Energy Council is “exploring opportunities to attract investment and support the development of clean power for data centres”, and that the country’s designation of five “AI Growth Zones” is “driving these partnerships forward.”

This same council pressured the government last year to support off-grid gas for data centres in Britain.

So far, many data centre operators in Europe have avoided reporting their energy usage. A new investigation by Investigate Europe, an independent journalism group, has revealed that U.S. tech companies successfully lobbied the EU two years ago to keep information on the operations of individual data centres secret, including environmental data like energy use and carbon emissions. Only 36 percent of Europe’s data centres submitted any data to a 2025 European Commission report on their energy usage. In the Netherlands, Microsoft and Google have come under fire for failing to report the energy usage of their Dutch data centers to the government.

McArdle said that the UK and EU governments need to intervene to ensure the sector is held to account. “Only regulation and fossil fuel phaseout will protect Europeans from rising energy costs,” she said. “Otherwise, we will pay the price for the reckless profit-making schemes of Big Tech and the gas industry.” 

The post Inside the Plot to Cover Europe with Gas-Powered AI Data Centres appeared first on DeSmog.

This profile is part of an ongoing series that introduces members of CalCAN’s newly formed Stewardship Council. The Stewardship Council serves...

The post CalCAN Stewardship Council Profile: Thomas Nelson appeared first on CalCAN - California Climate & Agriculture Network.

Climate Resilience and Shared Learning  Earlier this month in San Antonio, leaders from across the South Central United States gathered to confront a shared reality: climate change is already...

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a haven for wildlife — drilling in this precious place would be a mistake.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Date: April 29, 2026 
Contact: Tim Woody | twoody@tws.org

Conservation Leaders Urge Oil Giants to Stay Out of Arctic Refuge Lease Sale

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — Leaders of 13 conservation organizations have sent a letter to 11 oil company executives, strongly urging them not to bid on tracts in the sensitive coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during an upcoming oil and gas lease sale.

The federal Bureau of Land Management recently announced that the next oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic Refuge has been scheduled for June 5. Two previous lease sales in the Refuge have been massive failures. The Refuge was opened to oil and gas leasing by passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act with promises from pro-drilling members of Congress that lease sales would generate billions in revenue. The reality is that those lease sales raised a tiny fraction of that amount, likely foreshadowing the fiscal outcome of future lease sales, as well.

The letter (attached), sent to ConocoPhillips, Shell, Exxon, and Chevron, among others, reminds these business executives of the professional risks of bidding on leases in the Arctic Refuge and the strong public opposition to development in this environmentally sensitive area.

“Even at a time when the daily news cycle is frenetic and crowded, activity affecting this region would not occur quietly,” the letter states. “The Arctic Refuge stands as a crown jewel in our nation’s beloved public lands system. The public overwhelmingly supports protecting it, making any action there especially visible and consequential …

“Engagement in Arctic Refuge leasing is not a routine business decision, especially now, as the stakes are even higher than before. The current policy environment, marked by unpredictability and ever-evolving approaches to process and oversight, adds further uncertainty for long-term investment. In the Arctic Refuge, these dynamics are compounded by the region’s remoteness, lack of infrastructure, environmental sensitivity, and dramatic warming, all of which increase the complexity, cost, and risk associated with development.”

This letter follows a request from the Gwich’in Steering Committee sent to oil companies on April 28, formally requesting a meeting to discuss the opposition of the Gwich’in Nation to oil and gas exploration and activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

At 19.3 million acres, the Arctic Refuge is America’s largest wildlife refuge and provides habitat for caribou, polar bear and migrating birds from across the globe, and a diverse range of wilderness lands. House Bill 3067, the Arctic Refuge Protection Act, which has more than 100 co-sponsors, would remove leasing from the 1.6-million-acre Refuge coastal plain and permanently protect it.

Read the Full Letter

###

Photo credit: Keri Oberly © 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

April 29, 2026

Unprecedented Alliance Highlights Need for Real Affordable Housing Solutions Without Sacrificing Public Lands – 4.29.26  Leaders of the Affordable Housing and Public Lands Community unveil “Shared Ground” affirming that protecting public lands and expanding affordable housing are complementary, not competing, priorities.

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), grant@suwa.org, 319-427-0260
Ben Finzel, RENEWPR, ben@renewpr.com, 202-277-6286
Annette Larkin, RENEWPR, annette@renewpr.com, 703-772-6427

Washington, DC – Leaders from the affordable housing and public lands communities today unveiled a joint principles framework rejecting the fallacy that selling off America’s public lands is a solution to the housing affordability crisis, while highlighting the need for real, equitable housing solutions.

Shared Ground: Aligning Affordable Housing & Public Lands Priorities is a policy framework endorsed by a broad coalition of national, regional, and local organizations. The effort underscores that protecting public lands and expanding access to affordable housing are complementary, not competing priorities. Shared Ground brings together leaders from both communities to advance real solutions, reject false tradeoffs, and promote policies that engage local communities and support strong, livable communities nationwide.

This partnership comes amid escalating pressures on both issues, including continued underinvestment in federal housing programs, increasing proposals to sell or transfer public lands without public benefit, and growing bipartisan frustration with ineffective, politically driven solutions.

The joint framework outlines key principles to guide policy decisions:

• Rejecting mass public land selloffs as a housing solution
• Prioritizing proven strategies, including increased funding, zoning reform, and community-based development
• Ensuring any use of public land for housing is limited, targeted, and includes enforceable affordability requirements
• Protecting public lands as shared resources that support recreation, local economies, and community well-being

The principles are endorsed by a diverse coalition of housing advocates, conservation groups, and community-based organizations nationwide—reflecting the shared stakes and urgency of this issue.

Learn more about Shared Ground and read the principles here. 

Quotes from participating organizations below:

“The affordable housing crisis is serious but placing the blame on public lands will not solve it. Instead of focusing on actual solutions, shortsighted politicians keep pushing public lands sell off under the guise of affordable housing as they simultaneously cut effective and proven housing programs. There’s no need for a false choice: we can keep and protect public lands while also investing in creative housing solutions.” Neal Clark, Wildlands Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance 

“Protecting our public lands and ensuring every American has a safe, affordable place to call home are complementary goals. We must reject the false choice between conservation and housing. Any use of public land must come with legally enforceable requirements to ensure it serves the public interest, providing permanent affordability and equitable access for local communities.” – Donald Whitehead, Executive Director, National Coalition for the Homeless

“Americans love public lands and the freedom they provide to hunt, fish and hike—and we want them to stay as they are, public and accessible, for future generations. Backed by more than 60 organizations, these principles reject the false choice the administration is trying to force between protecting these places and addressing the housing crisis. Americans deserve real solutions on both.” – Tracy Stone-Manning, President, The Wilderness Society

“National Low Income Housing Coalition’s (NLIHC) research finds a gap between wages and rental housing costs in the U.S. Affordable rental homes are out of reach for millions of low-wage workers, seniors, families, and other renters. Governments often turn to public lands to build affordable housing in an effort to safely house residents amid shortages. These efforts are viable but must align with responsible public lands stewardship. NLIHC joins our partners in environmental and conservation spaces in opposing the mass sell-off of federal land without key guardrails or affordability requirements. Many proven solutions exist to increase housing affordability without sacrificing public lands, including preserving existing affordable housing. We encourage policymakers to adopt balanced solutions to the affordable housing crisis that advance long-term affordability and protect irreplaceable natural and cultural resources while safeguarding America’s public lands.” – Renee M. Willis, President and CEO, NLIHC

“The housing crisis demands urgent, evidence-based action, not the short-sighted liquidation of the country’s remaining natural and wild landscapes. This framework looks beyond political ideologies and prioritizes proven strategies to ensure that any use of public land is strictly targeted, limited, and bound by enforceable affordability requirements. It recognizes the reality that most of these public lands lack the infrastructure and accessibility required for viable development, and their true value lies in the clean water, recreation, and economic stability they provide to our communities.” – Chris Hill, CEO, Conservation Lands Foundation

“Land is necessary to the development of affordable housing and local governments should look to well-located surplus lands as a resource for building housing. However, preserving public land for conservation and recreation is a critical priority for our country. Current federal proposals to sell off public land are thinly veiled attempts to line the pockets of politicians’ friends and to undermine public parks, public forests and other public lands. The National Housing Law Project is pleased to release this framework that advances our shared interests in preserving public lands and making housing more affordable.” – Shamus Roller, Chief Executive Officer, National Housing Law Project

“Veterans and military families understand that strong communities require both stable housing and protected public lands. We have seen how these resources support local economies, create jobs, and improve quality of life for the people who live there. We can and should pursue practical solutions that expand housing while keeping public lands in public hands.” – Janessa Goldbeck, CEO, Vet Voice Foundation

“A powerful model during a particularly challenging time – public interest advocates from different sectors coming together to both affirm our shared values and to commit to finding ways to mutually support real solutions to expand affordable housing and to preserve the American birthright of public lands ownership. We stand together to reject the transparent attempt by cynical politicians in DC to divide us through false choices.”-  Mark Allison, Executive Director, New Mexico Wild and former Chair of the Board, National Low Income Housing Coalition

“Solving one crisis doesn’t mean creating another. The national housing crisis should not be used as a stalking horse to sell off our public lands to private developers and industry. Our communities thrive when they have both abundant housing and abundant access to the nature that unites us. Sierra Club supports the common-sense policies that increase our country’s supply of affordable housing while preserving the public lands that are our true common ground.” – Dan Ritzman, Conservation Campaign Director,  Sierra Club

“People across the country have stood up time and time again to reject the sell-off of our public lands and the notion that they are simply a corporate asset on a balance sheet. Our public lands are our shared inheritance and our legacy. They are vital to sustaining our local economies, wildlife, and communities. Anyone suggesting we must sacrifice them to solve the housing crisis is offering a false choice. We need real, community-based housing solutions, and we need to keep public lands in public hands.”- Brien Webster, Senior Public Lands Campaign Manager, Conservation Colorado 

“Large-scale sell-off of public land is not the solution to the affordable housing crisis. In Wyoming, public lands strengthen our communities and are part of our way of life. We stand behind the idea that protecting public lands and addressing the affordability crisis need to be simultaneously prioritized by those in our nation’s leadership.” – Gabrielle Yates, Public Lands Program Manager, Wyoming Outdoor Council

“Our public lands are a part of our nation’s shared resources—offering unmatched opportunities to enjoy outdoor experiences, protect natural ecosystems, and bring tourism revenue to our towns. This administration and its industry allies are attempting to create a false choice between our spectacular public lands and affordable housing. SELC is proud to join in this broad coalition of organizations that reject the idea of an unnecessary conflict between those values and to stand in solidarity with both public lands protection and common sense housing reforms.” – Alyson R. Merlin, Staff Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center

“Addressing the real need for affordable housing in our communities and opposing ongoing efforts to sell off our federal public lands are both issues with broad and bipartisan support,” said Tom Uniack, Executive Director for Washington Wild. “Advocates for both of these important issues have found common ground that solutions for both can be achieved but not at the expense of the other.”

“Our nation’s public lands are largely remote, far from any infrastructure, often steep, and if human encroachment occurs in them, they are highly susceptible to fire. Rather than proposing housing which would inevitably be expensive and risky in the Wildland/Urban Interface, the principles we adopt here will lead to real affordable housing in the places where it belongs. The highest and best use of our public lands is as wildlife habitat, places for recreation and cultural experience, and as the engines that create clean water and air for all of us.”—Mark Green, Executive Director, CalWild.

“Our national public lands belong to all Americans, providing opportunities for recreation, preserving wildlife habitat, supplying clean water, and more. While affordable housing is a critical need, selling off our common heritage is not the answer. Cities and states need to look to infill development and appropriate local lands. Furthermore, simply increasing the housing supply is not enough; strategies must be employed to ensure that the housing built is actually affordable. There is no need to sacrifice our public lands to do this.”—Michael J. Painter, Coordinator, Californians for Western Wilderness

“Over 95% of Idahoans want public lands to stay in public hands. Proposals to sell off large tracts of public lands don’t meet affordable housing needs or public desires to protect open space. By encouraging infill and by building up – and not out – we are protecting the trailheads and trail systems that make Idaho communities great places to raise families. We are also creating opportunities for our kids and future generations to stay in Idaho and enjoy the same quality of life we do today.” – John Robison, Public Lands and Wildlife Director, Idaho Conservation League

 “While access to affordable housing should be one of the highest priorities in the US, it does not need to come at the cost of despoiling public lands.  We can balance the need to provide housing without causing irreparable harm to the environment for future generations.” – Michelle Taylor, Vice President of Social Health Services, Community Care Alliance 

Government agencies at the federal, state and local level often own land within urban boundaries. These properties can and should be considered for affordable housing, if not serving other needed functions. Urban properties usually have needed infrastructure like roads and utilities, and accessibility to community services such as jobs, schools, shopping and health care for future residents. However, public lands outside of urban areas should be preserved for wildlife, recreation, domestic drinking water resources, and climate mitigation. – Darlene Chirman, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Cascade Volcanoes Chapter

 ### 

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

The post Unprecedented Alliance Highlights Need for Real Affordable Housing Solutions Without Sacrificing Public Lands – 4.29.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Today, the Supreme Court issued a decision striking down a congressional map in Louisiana with a second majority-Black district. This decision guts Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and turns the 14th and 15th Amendments against Black Americans.

Stand Up America’s Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs, Brett Edkins, issued the following statement:

“This is a tragic day for the freedom to vote and representative democracy. The Supreme Court just eviscerated the last remnants of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and opened the door to even more extreme gerrymandering that will try to drown out the voices of Black and brown voters, particularly in the South.

“The Court’s decision will escalate the arms race of partisan gerrymanders across the country and could lead to Republican-controlled states redrawing election maps to add an additional 19 GOP House seats. This partisan Court has handed a major election-year gift to Donald Trump and congressional Republicans who are trying to cling to power despite their growing unpopularity with voters.

“It’s time for Congress to act as a check on this rogue Court through major reforms, including term limits, an enforceable code of ethics, and adding more justices who will defend our fundamental freedoms once Trump leaves office.”

Since 2021, Stand Up America has been at the forefront of the fight for Supreme Court reform, mobilizing its members to take nearly one million actions in support of Supreme Court term limits, expansion, and a binding code of ethics. In 2025 and 2026, Stand Up America has been deeply engaged in efforts to oppose the White House’s mid-decade redistricting scheme, driving nearly 33,000 constituent calls, emails, and letters to state lawmakers in Indiana, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Utah, and Florida. Stand Up America members have also made hundreds of thousands of constituent calls and emails in support of federal voting rights legislation.

A few weeks ago I replied to a reader who wanted to stay active in environmentalism despite growing older and feeling put out by “ageism.” After the column came out, I received several delightful responses, one from a trio of environmentalist compadres defying the age gap and another from a Brit who wants some advice on enticing a younger generation to engage in environmentalism. Let’s explore these topics.

Hi Dr. Green!

Thank you for your answer on aging. I’m one of a trio of “old fogeys” who have had to cut back our conservation work due to various and sundry health issues, but we lift each other up and keep finding new avenues to work within our limitations. Having this group is essential! We’ve found opportunities for each other, teamed up for lectures, done some writing, pursued new observations, and are digitizing decades of our data, which is helping new research today. We haven’t formally mentored yet, though, so thanks for that advice.

Hello my friends!

Well, this is a fresh and much-needed perspective for environmentalists who have been around awhile and are opening the vaults of their considerable experience and wisdom to others — especially the next generations.

There’s power in a group, and it sounds like you’ve collectively found a solution that solves issues on several fronts: Ageism, reinventing yourselves at this time in your lives, and sharing your knowledge, hard-earned through years of experience and active commitment.

As Kate Ireland, director of youth engagement at The Nature Conservancy, has written:

“Any conservation action, any policy measure, any partnership built today must be stewarded tomorrow. The transfer of care is a continuous cycle.”

“Formal” mentoring is not always necessary, but there are programs organized by The Nature Conservancy Youth Engagement Program and the National Geographic Society Externship Program, among others, specifically for mentoring — and a lot of this can be done virtually through Zoom and other technology platforms to reach an international audience of young people eager to learn from you. If you three want to start a mentoring program of your own, you might study how these environmental giants do it, then do something modelled like that in your field, town, or city.

“To solve our biggest environmental challenges, we need leaders who are prepared to use their talents for nature,” Ireland wrote. With online mentoring and training, “each participant determines their own schedules, research topics and action steps.”

When you guys are at an event, presentation, or lecture, spend some time during breaks or meet-and-greets to scan the room for younger folks. Introduce yourselves and ask what brought them to this event. Once they’ve gone to the trouble of attending, it’s likely they’re open to making new contacts and willing to ask questions, learn, and get tips on how and where to spend their energy. You’ll make an impression.

Here’s the thing: Many of the young feel lost, lonely, and rudderless. They tell me they’re angry with older people for leaving them with a big mess to clean up, but older people don’t always let them in to step up and be heard. We older folks still have time to right that wrong. And really, it’s our obligation.

Your experience may help them to have hope, ignite their passion, or guide the way toward real solutions.

Bravo and applause for these amazing Green Amigos! Exciting work from seasoned environmentalists. Keep taking names and kicking ass!

Cheering you on,

Dr. Green

Dr. Green,

Thank you for this! I’ve already learned a lot. My story: After decades of (toots own horn: successful) activism here in the UK, I feel a disconnect with my sons’ friends. They seem to have given up on trying to make a difference. I try to engage them with stories of our wins, but I can’t seem to break through.

 They act like they have lost the battle. Any advice?

 Incidentally, we call these advice columns “agony aunties” in the UK. Not sure if that carries over in the States!

Signed, Agonized in Bath

Hello, Agonized in Bath,

Please say hello to Bath for me. It’s a beautiful town. I’ve lived in England and was actually inspired by the British “agony aunties” to create this column for environmentalists. (Tips her hat and bows to the UK agony aunties).

I understand your feelings of disconnection to your son’s friends — as I explained to the Three Green Amigos, younger generations are quite disgruntled with us older folks for leaving the planet in its current state. As much as we tried our best for the environment, we weren’t entirely successful. Young peoples’ minds have also been annexed by “social” technology that overwhelms their minds (which are still developing) with addictive tech-use habits, misinformation and often nonsensical and nihilistic content (Kops, Schittenhelm, and Wachs, 2025; Anvarovna, 2025).

Let’s take a look at some ways we can communicate with the young and meet them where they live in their hearts and minds:

My colleagues who specialize in youth psychology find that creating and facilitating intergenerational conversation should be based on mutual learning, shared values, and focusing on hope rather than anxiety or fear. Be an active and present listener, without interrupting or correcting young people (see resources below).

Pay attention to their concerns, mutually share feelings about environmental change, and plan local, practical projects to collaborate on.

Intergenerational Conversations on Climate and the Extinction Crisis Are Effective When Older People:

• • • Listen and validate their rightful concern about the future and their fears.
    • Share personal stories (after they have shared their concerns — don’t act like the expert just because you’re older). For example, talk about how much local seasons or rivers have changed over the decades.
    • Focus on action and solutions, avoiding doom-and-gloom wallowing to actionable, positive steps. Are there local green efforts you can do with them to make feel empowered? If they can make even one small, visible, local change in their community, they can brag to all their friends and get them involved. For example, creating a planting of some sort in a park, cleaning an empty lot, or arranging an information booth at local events.
    • Pinpoint shared values in protecting family, community, health, and nature.
    • Avoid intergenerational blame and steer the focus on working together to tackle climate change and the destruction of the wild.
    • Acknowledge young people’s existing knowledge and motivation to make a change in the status quo.
    • Use creative, fun and active engagement like community gardening, cleanups or other local events that bring folks together.

Never give up on the young; we owe it to them to meet them halfway.

I hope these suggestions help — and let me know how it’s going.

Cheers!

Dr. Green (who secretly hopes she’s your new favorite “agony auntie”)

Are you having trouble communicating the importance of environmental issues with younger people? What are your challenges and concerns? Do you have some success stories to share with our readers?  We want to know! Maybe together we can come up with solutions for bridging the age gap.

See you next time!

Share your challenges and success stories by sending Dr. Green your questions using the form below:

Resources:

Dr. Green: How to Stay Environmentally Active at Any Age

The National Geographic Society Externship Program

The Nature Conservancy Youth Engagement Program

Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever (CNN series, April 2026): Inspired by her own experiences with mortality, award-winning journalist Kara Swisher embarks on a deeply personal and sharp-witted journey into the science, culture, and business of longevity.

Young people and false information: A scoping review of responses, influential factors, consequences, and prevention programs. Kops, M., Schittenhelm, C., & Wachs, S. (2025). Computers in Human Behavior, 169, 108650.

Psychological characteristics of difficulties in communication in adolescence. SHOKH LIBRARY, 1(11). Anvarovna, A. S. (2025).

Engaging Teens with Story : How to Inspire and Educate Youth with Storytelling by Janice M. Del Negro and Melanie A. Kimball

7 Active Listening Techniques for Better Communication by Arlin Cuncic, MA (2026)

Republish this article for free! Read our reprint policy. Previously in The Revelator:

Dr. Green: Can Wildlife Get PTSD?

The post Dr. Green: The 3 Green Amigos and Agony in Bath! appeared first on The Revelator.

Nurses at Ascension Via Christi St Francis and St Joseph in Wichita, Kan., will hold an informational picket on May 1 to protest the administration’s refusal to address RNs’ deep concerns about patient care and safe staffing.

Islanda Micherline Aduel speaks about the struggle against imperialism and for food sovereignty in Haiti at a conference on “The peasantry in Haiti today,” organized by the Haiti support platform in France.

The post 17 April | Haiti: A global struggle against imperialism and for food sovereignty appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

Mining operations shift environmental harm from the richest communities to the poorest

Source

Western states are running out of money to fight wildfires, according to reporting in High Country News. As climate change fuels hotter fires that occur year-round, states routinely spend well over their forecasted wildfire budgets. For example, Oregon spent more than $350 million fighting wildfires in 2024, far exceeding the $10 million it had allocated for wildfire that year.

A 2022 analysis by Pew Charitable Trusts found that most states use their general fund, or revenue from state taxes and other fees, to cover wildland fire costs, pitting firefighting and fire prevention efforts against top state priorities. Skyrocketing suppression costs have also led to a reduction in fire mitigation treatments, like prescribed burns and mechanical thinning, increasing wildfire risk on state forest land and pouring metaphorical fuel on the wildfire cycle.

Some states are tackling this issue with new taxes or wildfire-specific accounts. Oregon passed a new nicotine tax to fund wildfire prevention last year, and Utah put $150 million into a new wildfire fund. Still, costs continue to rise, and drought is driving above-average wildfire predictions for the West this summer.

Burgum struggles to defend public lands budget

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum struggled to defend the Trump administration’s disastrous public lands agenda in congressional appropriations subcommittee hearings p;last week in both the House and the Senate. Members grilled him on cuts to the National Park Service, a billion-dollar payout to kill offshore wind energy, and a $10 billion request for a NPS “beautification” program in D.C. Read more in a new Westwise blog post by CWP Communications Manager Kate Groetzinger.

Burgum appears before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this morning.

Quick hits The ramifications of record-shattering heat on the West’s ecosystems

High Country News

How the Lolo National Forest planners are bracing for a roadless rule repeal

The Missoulian

Trump signs bill ending protections for Boundary Waters watershed

Associated Press | GearJunkie

University of Utah creates critical minerals institute

Utah News Dispatch

Energy execs push WY lawmakers to carry out Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda

WyoFile

Colorado farmers tighten their belts ahead of summer drought

Colorado Sun

NM breaks ground on Reforestation Center, with plans to plant 5 million seedlings a year

Albuquerque Journal

Rep. Davids introduces Truth in National Parks Act to protect Native American history

Native News Online

Quote of the day

What we’re seeing right now is a deliberate attempt to erase the experiences of Native communities and other marginalized groups from places that are supposed to educate and inform the public. That’s unacceptable.”

—U.S. Representative Sharice Davids, Native News Online

Picture This

@CAgovernor

California’s ocean is not a sacrifice zone for Big Oil.

With Donald Trump plotting to sell off our beaches to his fossil fuel industry donors, we’re celebrating California Ocean Day by reaffirming our commitment to protect every inch of it.

Feature image: A prescribed burn in Oregon on Bureau of Land Management land in 2016; Source: Justin Robinson for the BLM via Flickr

The post States can’t keep up with rising wildfire costs appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

2025 proved to be a successful nesting season at nine islands in Manatee County, where 15 species raised their young, including Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, and Reddish Egrets. In...

Forest destruction in the tropics eased by over a third in 2025, thanks in large part to Brazil’s stronger environmental protection which drove forest loss not caused by fires to a record low in the country, an annual survey showed.

In 2025, the world lost 4.3 million hectares of tropical primary rainforest – an area roughly the size of Denmark, according to data from the University of Maryland hosted on Global Forest Watch. That is 36% lower than in 2024 when climate-fuelled fires pushed forest disappearance to a record high.

Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of Global Forest Watch at the World Resources Institute (WRI), said the drop was “encouraging” and proved what “decisive” government action can achieve. But she cautioned that part of the decline reflected “a lull” after an extreme fire year and forest destruction remains far too high to meet international goals to protect forests and limit global warming to acceptable levels.

Deforestation was 70% higher than it needed to be in 2025 to meet a global pledge to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030, which 145 countries first committed to at COP26 nearly five years ago, the report said. Brazil, which holds the COP30 presidency, has promised to deliver a global roadmap guiding countries toward that goal before this year’s UN climate summit.

“Achieving this goal in the coming years will not be easy as forests become more vulnerable to climate change and as humanity’s growing demand for food, fuel and material sourced from forests in the land they stand on continues to grow,” Goldman told journalists.

Agriculture, fires cause most losses

Primary tropical forests – such as the Amazon in Latin America, the Congo Basin and rainforests in Southeast Asia – are critical carbon sinks that help regulate the global climate by absorbing vast amounts of planet-heating CO2. Their loss weakens one of the world’s most important defences against planetary heating.

Agricultural expansion, driven both by industrial agribusinesses and shifting cultivation for subsistence, returned to being the leading cause of forest destruction in the tropics last year, the Global Forest Watch analysis found. After hitting a record high in 2024, fires – which are usually started by humans – still contributed to around a third of forest destruction in those critical regions.

Climate change is increasing fire risk in the tropics by creating hotter, drier conditions that allow blazes to spread more easily.

Lula’s policies drive progress in Brazil

Trends in global forest destruction are significantly influenced by what happens in Brazil, home to the world’s largest remaining rainforest. In 2025, the South American nation recorded a 42% fall in primary forest loss and its lowest-ever rate of forest loss caused by reasons other than fire.

Analysts said Brazil’s progress in tackling forest loss is a result of the stronger environmental protection and enforcement actions introduced since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to office in 2023, after years of budget cuts and policy rollbacks under his pro-business predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula’s administration revived the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm), an anti-deforestation framework that coordinates actions across federal agencies and promotes strengthened monitoring, commodities tracking and support for sustainable livelihoods.

The Brazilian government also beefed up the activities of the federal environmental agency Ibama, which between 2023 and 2025 issued 81% more infraction notices and 64% more fines than in the previous two-year period.

“Brazil’s progress shows what’s possible when forest protection is treated as a national priority,” said Mirela Sandrini, executive director of WRI Brasil, adding that the success is derived from building partnerships between the government, civil society, academia, local communities and the private sector.

Neighbouring Amazon country Bolivia recorded the second-highest amount of primary forest loss in the world last year, despite being home to a fraction of the forest held by other rainforest nations like Indonesia or the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Fires, likely started by humans, were the main cause of forest destruction in Bolivia, alongside the expansion of cattle ranching and crops such as soy and maize, the WRI analysis said.

Forest loss also remained high last year in countries including Peru, Laos and the DRC.

Malaysia and Indonesia showed stable and relatively low levels of forest loss compared to the highs reached in the mid-2010, although experts said Jakarta’s plans to massively expand food and energy production risk threatening the progress seen in the past decade.

Global policies and cash needed

Analysts said protecting the world’s remaining tropical forests will depend not only on national political leadership but also on global policy and financial developments.

Those include the creation of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a major new rainforest protection fund launched by Brazil at COP30. The mechanism, which gives financial rewards to countries that keep trees standing, has been billed as an historic opportunity to finance forest production. But it is far from raising the $125 billion of public and private investment needed for it to reach a meaningful scale and is unlikely to start making payments until 2028.

• Apr 10, 2026 Comment How a global roadmap can meet the promise to halt deforestation Meeting the goal requires political will and a pathway that brings together efforts and drives implementation. An international roadmap can deliver this Read more
• Apr 10, 2026 Aviation’s Green Dream UK imports of “green” jet fuel linked to Amazon deforestation A Texas refinery shipping sustainable aviation fuel to Europe has sourced beef tallow with links to a meatpacking firm fined over illegal cattle purchases Read more

After failing to secure a negotiated agreement on forest protection at COP30, Brazil promised it would deliver this year a global roadmap charting a course to end deforestation by 2030.

The COP30 presidency said it has received 177 contributions from governments, UN agencies, business groups and civil society with suggestions on what the document should include.

What countries want in the roadmap

The Coalition of Rainforest Nations, which includes 50 countries, wants the roadmap to adopt a “global carbon budget” lens, mapping out region by region where CO2 emissions cuts are most urgent and where existing forest carbon stocks must be protected.

The negotiating bloc also wants finance, including from carbon markets, to be given a prominent space in the document, which will need to obtain broad support from governments to be effective. Without it, the roadmap “risks becoming yet another [plan] collecting dust on the shelves of posterity”, its submission said.

Colombia said interventions should focus on tackling the root causes of deforestation, pointing out that forest loss in the country is concentrated in regions afflicted by deep inequalities, high levels of poverty and the widespread presence of organised crime.

Indonesia wants the roadmap to function as a collaborative platform that “strengthens partnerships”, but warns that international initiatives should “avoid unilateral measures that may undermine trust and effective cooperation”, a thinly veiled rebuke of the European Union’s deforestation regulation.

In its submission, the United Kingdom said the roadmap should focus on a small number of “critical interventions” that can unlock the greatest progress, such as securing legal land rights for Indigenous communities, encouraging sustainable land use and introducing demand-side measures to promote deforestation-free products.

Meanwhile, Russia voiced its opposition to the creation of a “universal roadmap” to end deforestation, saying it instead wants to see a “dedicated dialogue” on forests where countries just exchange best practices.

The post Brazil leads “encouraging” decline in global rainforest destruction in 2025 appeared first on Climate Home News.

Huguenot Memorial Park is a critical Northeast Florida nesting site for coastal birds, including Royal Terns and Laughing Gulls. Thousands of birds nest here each year, typically at the north end of...

The “Coastal Education Team,” made up of Girl Scout Cadettes from Troops 328 and 446 of the Girl Scouts of Gulf Coast Florida Council, is working toward their Silver Award. For their “Take...

Infographics originally appeared in the 2025 Coastal Report. Click here to read full report.22372