Humans to push deeper into wildlife habitats, and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week
Human expansion is taking wildlife habitats away from a variety of species around the world. Image: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
- This weekly round-up contains the key nature and climate news from the past week.
- Top nature and climate news: Humans to edge further into wildlife habitats; US supports global plastic treaty; Heat deaths to triple in Europe by 2100.
1. Humans will encroach further into wildlife habitats over the next 45 years
By 2070, human populations are set to expand in wildlife habitats across more than half of the world's land, raising environmental and health concerns, scientists warn.
The global population currently stands at 8 billion, impacting at least 70% of the world’s terrestrial land area.
In the next 45 years, the "spatial overlap" between people and 22,374 terrestrial vertebrate species is expected to increase across 57% of Earth's land surface, researchers at the University of Michigan say.
This could fuel further biodiversity loss and may also increase the potential for disease transmission, they add, as humans and wildlife species are forced to share evermore crowded habitats.
The biggest human expansions into wildlife habitats are expected in countries with already high population densities, such as India or China.
2. US to support global treaty aimed at reducing plastic production
The US, one of the world's biggest plastic makers, has thrown its support behind a global treaty seeking to reduce plastic production.
This is a major policy shift as the US has previously advocated for each nation to dictate its plastic production autonomously.
It is now in closer alignment with "high ambition countries" such as many EU member states, which have called for a global plastics treaty to cap and phase out plastic production.
Additionally, the US supports creating a list of harmful chemicals used in plastic production to be phased out.
3. News in brief: Other top nature and climate stories this week
Heat deaths in Europe could triple by the end of the century, with the biggest rise seen in southern European countries such as Italy, Greece and Spain, new research published in The Lancet shows.
To mitigate floods and conserve water, India will spend almost $300 million in two years to expand water bodies like lakes and build drains in seven cities including Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, Reuters reports.
China's carbon dioxide emissions fell by 1% in Q2 2024 - the country's first quarterly fall since COVID-19.
An electric superhighway has been approved between Scotland and England, consisting of two 507km cables able to move vast amounts of renewable energy.
UK researchers say drones could soon work together in swarms of up to 30 to tackle wildfires, the BBC writes.
The climate crisis is putting the medical blood supply in the US under strain, as fewer people turn out to donate blood under heat advisory warnings, The Guardian reports.
How is the World Economic Forum fighting the climate crisis?
4. More on the nature and climate crisis on Agenda
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Global heat records are consistently being broken, with the 14 months to July 2024 all the hottest months on record. Here's everything you need to know about extreme heat, from health implications to natural solutions.