News of environment

Nuclear power has role to play, says atomic energy head Rafael Grossi

02-12-2023 10:08 It would be a mistake to reject nuclear power because of problems at a handful of projects, says Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

ENVIRONMENT

Storms kill three, displace thousands in southern South America

04-11-2023 13:16 El Niño leaves thousands displaced by floods in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil.

Science & Nature

Storms swell Iguazú waterfalls to near decade-high flow

31-10-2023 20:25 Heavy rains have swollen the famed Iguazú waterfalls, with the flow reaching gushing to 24.2 million litres per second – more than 16 times the falls' normal level.

ECONOMY & SOCIETY

Trash is a lifeline for ‘los cartoneros,’ Argentina’s army of recyclers

20-10-2023 10:52 Argentina’s ‘cartoneros’ emerged in 2001, when the country experienced the worst economic, social and political crisis in recent history. Today, more than 150,000 people face the daily struggle of recycling rubbish in a nation stricken by crisis.

ENVIRONMENT

Climate change main culprit for hot South American winter

10-10-2023 15:05 Global warming caused by human activity was the main driver of the recent heat wave that hit South America, a new report finds.

BIRD FLU FEARS

Several sea lions on Atlantic coast die from suspected bird flu

30-08-2023 12:09 Animal health authorities in Argentina report death of more than 50 sea lions from suspected bird flu on the Atlantic coast, raising fears the virus could spread more easily among humans.

Lithium demand

Lithium players race for breakthrough to meet electric car demand

30-08-2023 11:50 Dozens of firms aim to prove sceptics wrong as they push ahead with new lithium extraction methods.

ENVIRONMENT

South America seeks roadmap to save Amazon at 'landmark' summit

08-08-2023 13:34 Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opened what he called a "landmark" summit Tuesday, urging fellow South American leaders to chart an ambitious roadmap to save the Amazon rainforest.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

Huge blue whale washes ashore in southern Chile

07-08-2023 11:21 Enormous blue whale washes up onto a beach in the city of Ancud, on Chiloe island, southern Chile, probably after dying at sea.

latin america

Deep ocean targeted for mining is rich in unknown life

24-07-2023 18:31 The Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean, a potential site for deep-sea mining, is found to be home to thousands of unknown and complex species, raising concerns about the potential ecological impact of mining activities.

Economy

Argentina's trade gap hits record as drought foreshadows recession

20-07-2023 13:58 Argentina's worst drought in history led to a record trade deficit in June, raising recession fears as the economy faces a 3% contraction in 2023.

ENVIRONMENT

Race against time to find fresh water for Uruguay's capital

14-07-2023 10:11 Uruguay is frantically laying pipes and digging wells as it races to find fresh sources of precious H2O amid a record drought.

SUMMIT IN PUERTO IGUAZÚ

Mercosur meet ends with disputes over EU deal, trade, Venezuela

07-07-2023 12:49 Argentina, Brazil take aim at EU's environmental trade deal terms; Uruguay and Paraguay expose rift with Brasília and Buenos Aires over Maduro regime’s treatment of opposition politician in Venezuela.

DROUGHT EMERGENCY

Thirsty Uruguayans launch quest to find underground water

11-06-2023 09:11 Water shortages in Montevideo, Uruguay's most populous city, remain "very critical"; Lacking freshwater reserves for the capital and its surroundings, drilling is underway to tackle the crisis.

indigenous rights

With bows and spears, Brazilian indigenous 'warriors' defend the Amazon

09-06-2023 18:20 Guardians of the Brazilian Amazon: indigenous "warriors of the forest" take a stand with bows and spears, confronting illegal activities and defending their land and resources.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

French official: EU, Mercosur will 'take time' to conclude deal

06-06-2023 11:12 French government official says European Union and Mercosur both want to "take their time" to finalise trade deal.

Murder in the Amazon

Lula leads tributes on anniversary of Amazon double murder

06-06-2023 11:03 Loved ones and admirers stage commemorations for British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, who were murdered a year ago while documenting environmental crimes in the Amazon rainforest.

Celeste Saulo interview

Incoming UN climate agency chief forecasts wind of change

03-06-2023 08:34 Celeste Saulo, the head of Argentina's Servicio Meteorológico Nacional since 2014 and the new incoming head of the UN's weather and climate agency, insists it's not too late to change how the climate crisis story ends.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

France: EU-Mercosur trade deal still long way from being signed

02-06-2023 13:34 Free-trade agreement is not close to being signed, French diplomatic source says.

ENVIRONMENT

Celeste Saulo elected first female chief of World Meteorological Organization

01-06-2023 08:42 Celeste Saulo, who has headed Argentina's weather agency since 2014, elected as the first female leader of UN climate agency.

ENVIRONMENT

Argentine in running to be UN weather agency's next chief

31-05-2023 10:13 The World Meteorological Organization, which plays a critical global role in tracking climate change, chooses a new leader this week to turbocharge that work over the next four years. UBA professor and the WMO's first vice-president Celeste Saulo is among the frontunners.

ENVIRONMENT

Brazil's Amazonian city of Belém to host COP30 in 2025

28-05-2023 10:21 The city of Belém on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon has been chosen to host the COP30 round of global climate talks in 2025.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

European lawmakers urge environmental protections from Brazil

18-05-2023 20:45 European Union lawmakers tell Brazil to show it is serious about protecting the environment and Amazon rainforest iflong-stalled EU trade deal with Mercosur is to be finalised.

ENVIRONMENT

Study: Half world's largest lakes and reservoirs drying up

18-05-2023 17:16 More than half of the world's largest lakes and reservoirs are dwindling and placing humanity's future water security at risk, warns new study.

Minerals and metals

EU nears critical-materials agreements with Argentina and Chile

17-05-2023 16:55 EU working on deals with Argentina and Chile that will widen access to critical minerals and metals such as lithium needed for electric-vehicle batteries.

ENVIRONMENT

Patagonia's underwater defence against climate change

16-05-2023 14:27 Kelp forests are crucial for battling climate change by capturing carbon, but more than half of the world's kelp forests have been decimated by human activity and climate change.

ENVIRONMENT

World's 'oldest' tree able to reveal planet's secrets

24-04-2023 10:40 In a forest in southern Chile, protected from fires and logging that decimated the species, a giant alerce tree has survived for thousands of years. Scientists see in its trunk a valuable record of how life adapts to the changes on the planet.

ENVIRONMENT

United Nations reports 'off the charts' melting of glaciers

21-04-2023 09:45 United Nations says world's glaciers melted at dramatic speed last year and saving them is effectively a lost cause.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU explores options to tackle Latin America’s green deal worries

20-04-2023 17:34 Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay have expressed concerns about the impact of the European Green Deal.

Oil corruption

Venezuela's oil minister resigns over graft probe

21-03-2023 12:24 Venezuela's oil minister Tareck El Aissami resigned on Monday after prosecutors opened a corruption investigation into officials at the state oil company PDVSA.

Rosangela 'Janja' da Silva

Brazil's first lady turns heads, champions causes with fashion

16-03-2023 10:20 Whether sporting her party's colours on her wedding dress, breaking taboos, or rocking eco-friendly clothing, Brazil's new first lady is turning heads and making statements with her fashion choices.

SCORCHING SUMMER

Forests in Corrientes Province burn amid heatwave, drought

14-03-2023 21:27 Raging fires have devoured some 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) of forests in Corrientes Province in just days, officials reported Tuesday.

TRADE & DIPLOMACY

Spain: EU closer than ever to unlock Mercosur trade deal

10-03-2023 10:39 Spain is confident that the European Union can finally unlock a free-trade agreement with a group of South American countries, including Brazil and Argentina, and push forward a process that has dragged on for decades.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Why climate change is the greatest threat to human progress

07-03-2023 15:00 The Human Development Index is flashing red for the first time in three decades and adding to the urgency of reducing greenhouse gases.

Lithium in Latin America

Government moves to stop wetlands bill from foiling lithium boom

07-03-2023 13:07 Government in talks with firms, policy makers to prevent wetlands-protection bill from slamming brakes on lithium exploration.

ENVIRONMENT

EU announces US$865 million for ocean protection in 2023

03-03-2023 10:09 Officials hope the effort helps to ensure more focus on ocean safety in the fight against climate change.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Macron warns EU-Mercosur deal hinges on environment

25-02-2023 15:30 French president says long-delayed trade deal between the EU and four Latin American nations "is not possible" if they do not follow European environmental policies.

ENVIRONMENT

Heat and cold records broken in just five days in Argentina

17-02-2023 22:25 Argentina broke records for heat and cold within a short window of just five days this week, with temperatures plummeting a jaw-dropping 30 degrees Celsius as a heatwave gave way to historic snowfalls.

SWELTERING SUMMER

National Meteorological Service issues health warnings amid record heatwave

11-02-2023 15:17 Buenos Aires residents awoke Saturday to temperatures of 36 degrees Celisus with a predicted high of 38 degrees Celisus, which would be the highest in February in 61 years.

FOREIGN RELATIONS & DIPLOMACY

US, Brazil to seek reset with Biden-Lula meeting

08-02-2023 17:18 The US and Brazil will seek to reset ties this week when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva travels to Washington to meet Joe Biden, both keen to turn the page on the Jair Bolsonaro years.

CRIME & ENVIRONMENT

Colombia's war on illegal gold mines hits outlaw armed groups

08-02-2023 12:06 Colombian security forces are taking aim at illegal mining for gold which not only provides resources for rebel armed groups, but is also responsible for contaminating water sources with Mercury.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

Chile sinks controversial mining project over environmental concerns

18-01-2023 16:11 Chile's government on Wednesday torpedoed a controversial billion-dollar mining project due to be built near a nature reserve that is home to a rare species of penguin.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

Two condors born in captivity in Chile ignite hopes of population boost

17-01-2023 12:22 Alhué and Mailén, two Andean condors, were born in captivity at a rehabilitation centre near Santiago. Caretakers hope that they can be released and breed in the Andes to increase the population of the world's largest flying bird.

ENVIRONMENT

Government creates new unit to probe ‘environmental crimes’

16-01-2023 16:50 Argentina’s government has created a new unit to investigate and prevent environmental crimes, responding to the deliberate destruction of terrain for commercial purposes.

ENVIRONMENT

Court approves offshore oil exploration projects off coast of Buenos Aires Province

07-12-2022 14:15 Judges impose three conditions on companies seeking to carry out seismic exploration studies in offshore areas of Mar Argentino.

ENVIRONMENT

Mountains of waste overwhelm Buenos Aires effort to curb methane

03-12-2022 08:43 Norte III landfill operator Ceamse said last year emissions were poised to fall. Satellite observations suggest they haven’t.

CHILE

Chile's unique Atacama desert sullied by world's junk

30-11-2022 13:59 Mountains of discarded clothing, a graveyard of shoes, and rows upon rows of scrapped tires and cars blight at least three regions of the arid desert.

ENVIRONMENT

Agriculture and livestock farming devours the forests of Gran Chaco

09-11-2022 15:39 The Gran Chaco indigenous forest, spanning one million square kilometres across three nations, is a little-known victim of 25 years of gradual invasion by agriculture and livestock farming, with deforestation causing immeasurable harm to local fauna and flora.

ARGENTINA

Three recipes for extracting lithium from rocks or salt flats

29-10-2022 10:04 Environmental and economic factors at play for mineral extractors.

Lithium in Latin America

'We don't eat lithium': Latin America longs for benefits of metal boon

27-10-2022 18:08 Global demand has exploded for lithium – the "white gold" found in huge quantities in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. But in Latin America's "lithium triangle," there are growing concerns about the impact on regional groundwater sources and doubts about whether the benefits of a metal bonanza will truly local communities near plants, many of whom live in poverty.

News of environment

Nuclear power has role to play, says atomic energy head Rafael Grossi

Storms kill three, displace thousands in southern South America

Storms swell Iguazú waterfalls to near decade-high flow

Trash is a lifeline for ‘los cartoneros,’ Argentina’s army of recyclers

Climate change main culprit for hot South American winter

Several sea lions on Atlantic coast die from suspected bird flu

Lithium players race for breakthrough to meet electric car demand

South America seeks roadmap to save Amazon at 'landmark' summit

Huge blue whale washes ashore in southern Chile

Deep ocean targeted for mining is rich in unknown life

Argentina's trade gap hits record as drought foreshadows recession

Race against time to find fresh water for Uruguay's capital

Mercosur meet ends with disputes over EU deal, trade, Venezuela

Thirsty Uruguayans launch quest to find underground water

With bows and spears, Brazilian indigenous 'warriors' defend the Amazon

French official: EU, Mercosur will 'take time' to conclude deal

Lula leads tributes on anniversary of Amazon double murder

Incoming UN climate agency chief forecasts wind of change

France: EU-Mercosur trade deal still long way from being signed

Celeste Saulo elected first female chief of World Meteorological Organization

Argentine in running to be UN weather agency's next chief

Brazil's Amazonian city of Belém to host COP30 in 2025

European lawmakers urge environmental protections from Brazil

Study: Half world's largest lakes and reservoirs drying up

EU nears critical-materials agreements with Argentina and Chile

Patagonia's underwater defence against climate change

World's 'oldest' tree able to reveal planet's secrets

United Nations reports 'off the charts' melting of glaciers

EU explores options to tackle Latin America’s green deal worries

Venezuela's oil minister resigns over graft probe

Brazil's first lady turns heads, champions causes with fashion

Forests in Corrientes Province burn amid heatwave, drought

Spain: EU closer than ever to unlock Mercosur trade deal

Why climate change is the greatest threat to human progress

Government moves to stop wetlands bill from foiling lithium boom

EU announces US$865 million for ocean protection in 2023

Macron warns EU-Mercosur deal hinges on environment

Heat and cold records broken in just five days in Argentina

National Meteorological Service issues health warnings amid record heatwave

US, Brazil to seek reset with Biden-Lula meeting

Colombia's war on illegal gold mines hits outlaw armed groups

Chile sinks controversial mining project over environmental concerns

Two condors born in captivity in Chile ignite hopes of population boost

Government creates new unit to probe ‘environmental crimes’

Court approves offshore oil exploration projects off coast of Buenos Aires Province

Mountains of waste overwhelm Buenos Aires effort to curb methane

Chile's unique Atacama desert sullied by world's junk

Agriculture and livestock farming devours the forests of Gran Chaco

Three recipes for extracting lithium from rocks or salt flats

'We don't eat lithium': Latin America longs for benefits of metal boon

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Victoria Villarruel hold ‘historic’ transition meeting

Karina Milei: How the most important member of Argentina’s next government thinks

Attack on fans overshadows Argentina historic win over Brazil

Who will be in Javier Milei’s Cabinet? The ministers and secretaries confirmed so far

Victoria Villarruel, the first vice-president to play down dictatorship’s crimes

El destino del PAMI en la era Milei, en manos del PRO

Gabinete de Javier Milei: ya se confirmaron los nombres de seis ministros y seis secretarios

Aguinaldo: ¿Javier Milei puede decidir que no se pague?

Habló David Nalbandian tras ser acusado por acoso sexual y hostigamiento a su ex pareja

Malena Galmarini salió a responderle a Javier Milei por la privatización de AySA