News
January 14, 2026
Scientists call for 'systems reset' to redefine sustainable development. A new international study calls for a fundamental reset in how humanity understands and pursues sustainable development. The article is published in the journal Communications Sustainability.
The paper argues that current sustainability frameworks—built on a three-pillar model separating nature, society and economy—have not been fit for purpose in a world facing accelerating climate change, biodiversity loss and inequalities.
January 14, 2026
Japan plans 'world first' deep-sea mineral extraction. Japan will from January attempt to extract rare earth minerals from the ocean floor in the deepest trial of its kind, the director of a government innovation program said Thursday.
Earlier this week the country pledged to work with the United States, India and Australia to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals, as concern grows over China's dominance in resources vital to new technologies.
January 10, 2026
Heavy Venezuelan oil may become a trap for the United States. The desire of American President Donald Trump to take control of Venezuelan oil can lead to serious problems and financial losses for the United States itself.
The Chinese publication Sohu writes about this, pointing to the large potential costs for Washington in implementing the project to seize Venezuelan deposits.
January 9, 2026
Ukraine Awards Major Lithium Project to Investors With Links to Trump. Ronald S. Lauder, a billionaire friend of Mr. Trump, is among the investors. The move comes as the Trump administration looks for investment opportunities in Ukraine.
Ukraine on Thursday awarded a bid to mine a major state-owned lithium deposit to investors that include a billionaire friend of President Trump, as his administration has indicated it is looking for investment opportunities in the war-torn country.
November 20, 2025
Russia has developed a method for oil extraction in the Arctic that does not require melting permafrost. Scientists from Perm Polytechnic University (PNRPU) have proposed an innovative technique for extracting oil in the Arctic, which prevents permafrost degradation.
Ensuring the stability of frozen soils is a critical task in the development of northern fields, as their thawing can lead to well collapses and damage to expensive equipment.
October 2, 2025
Sharks, rays, chimaeras further threatened by deep-sea mining. The habitat of thirty species of sharks, rays, and chimaeras, also called ghost sharks, overlap with areas where proposed deep-sea mining may occur, according to new research published in Current Biology and led by University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa oceanographers.
August 27, 2025
Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 547 dated 08/06/2025 "On reducing greenhouse gas emissions" instructed the Government of the Russian Federation to ensure by 2035 a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 65-67 percent relative to 1990 levels.
August 25, 2025
Bolivia right-wing candidate pledges to scrap lithium deals with China, Russia. Bolivian right-wing presidential hopeful Jorge Quiroga on Monday vowed to scrap billion-dollar lithium extraction deals struck by the outgoing government with Russia and China if elected leader.
"We don't recognise (outgoing President Luis) Arce's contracts... Let's stop them, they won't be approved," the US-educated Quiroga, who has vowed a major shake-up in Bolivia's alliances if elected president in October, told AFP in an interview.
August 19, 2025
Unprecedented Arctic heatwave melted 1 per cent of Svalbard's ice. A six-week period of extraordinary heat in 2024 melted 62 gigatonnes of ice on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, obliterating all previous melt records.
During the summer of 2024, six weeks of record-smashing heat led to a record-obliterating amount of ice melting on the islands of Svalbard in the Arctic. By the end of the summer, 1 per cent of all the land ice on the archipelago had been lost – enough to raise the global average sea level by 0.16 millimetres.
August 18, 2025
Exceeding functional biosphere integrity limits: Study finds 60% of the world's land area is in a precarious state. A new study maps the planetary boundary of "functional biosphere integrity" in spatial detail and over centuries.