A view of St. Peter's Square (Keystone/Andrew Medichini)

Mobilising the church for the environment. For nearly five years Molly Burhans, an American environmentalist and cartographer, has been working with the Vatican to map its landholdings and repurpose them for the environment and for social justice. With an estimated 200 million acres of land, this project can be expected to have an important impact. But getting a centuries-old institution to move forward is no easy task, even with Pope Francis having recognised the global climate emergency.

🌍 ⚖️ A soaring demand for climate justice. Environmental rights groups are becoming tired of governments and businesses dragging their feet on their obligations to protect the planet and are taking them to court. In the past three years, the number of legal cases related to climate inaction have nearly doubled, according to the UN Environment Programme.

🐸 💧The carbon sinks in your backyard. Despite their small size, wetlands are key components of the environmental cycle. In fact, all ponds put together absorb more carbon than the world's oceans. But climate change and human activity are threatening their existence and the biodiversity they host.

🛣️ Setting the environmental roadmap. The UN-led conference on the environment due to be held in two weeks will set the environmental agenda for the next few years. While ministers hope to send a clear message that they remain committed to protecting the environment despite the pandemic, NGOs will be demanding that polluters are punished and states are expected to call for a new treaty on plastic pollution.

The enormous untapped potential of middle-society in fighting climate change. What if mid level community organisations such as aid agencies, hospitals and universities played their fair part in reducing emissions to avoid the worst impacts? A new Climate Action Accelerator plans to mobilise these social amplifiers, help them on the way to net zero, turn them into champions and share solutions as a common good.

A group of workers participate in the construction of 'super adobe' houses in the town of Tizapan El Alto, Jalisco state, Mexico, 23 January 2021 (Keystone/Francisco Guasco)

Living in igloos made of adobe is the new buzz in Mexico. A cheap and eco-friendly construction technique from the 1990s is being popularised near Chapala, in the Western state of Jalisco, by a couple who are teaching it to anyone who is interested in living in a more eco-friendly home. The material used, known as 'superadobe', can resist bad storms and even earthquakes.

10 February | Environmental degradation, climate change, and mass violence: Intersections with gender. Experts explore how gender affects and is affected by environmental conflict dynamics.

10 February | Science-based target setting on biodiversity. As companies begin to consider setting nature-targets, experts address some of the basic questions businesses must ask themselves before getting started.

11 February | The role of international law in addressing climate change. A virtual discussion with a legal expert that has represented states before international courts on several occasions.