Amid hard times brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, one sight is putting a smile on people's faces in Portugal: dolphins splashing around near Lisbon's shores.

Almost all species of lemur, the small saucer-eyed primates native to Madagascar, face extinction, an international conservation body warned on Thursday, adding to its growing list of animals and plants under threat.

Reading some environmental literature – sometimes called “eco-literature” – can also give us the opportunity to think about the world around us in different ways.

Global efforts to stop the destruction of tropical forests have faltered so far largely because poor understanding of the value of preserving them has led to weak political will - a barrier that may be overcome with stronger evidence of their benefits.

Air pollution has caused an estimated 49,000 deaths and $23 billion in economic losses in the cities of Beijing and Shanghai alone since Jan. 1, 2020, according to a "clean air counter" launched by environmental groups on Thursday.

Veteran broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough has appealed for donations to save the conservation charity behind two leading British zoos, which has been hammered financially by the coronavirus pandemic.

Just a year ago, Rambo was confined to a shallow, chlorinated pool in an Indonesian hotel on the island of Bali entertaining visitors from around the world by jumping through hoops.

Marine life in the Mediterranean off Italy flourished during the coronavirus lockdown as water quality improved and species moved into spaces vacated by people and ships.

US-based animal rights protection group PETA has been accused of double standards and cultural racism after it claimed that the use of monkeys in harvesting coconuts in Thailand is cruel, and its call to ban Thai coconut products.

Land degradation, wildlife exploitation, intensive farming and climate change are driving the rise in diseases that, like the coronavirus, are passed from animals to humans, United Nations experts said on Monday.

In a classic case of "poacher turning gamekeeper", the fishermen of Senegal have joined forces to protect one of the ocean's most endangered species -- the sea turtle.

Scientists in Italy are investigating the mysterious appearance of pink glacial ice in the Alps, caused by algae that accelerate the effects of climate change.

Agustaviano Sofjan, a senior official at the Foreign Ministry, said that the pandemic was a step back “in terms of achieving by 2030 the 17 economic, social and environmental goals stipulated in the SDGs”.

The move is part of the cosmetics company's recently launched global sustainability program dubbed L’Oréal for the Future, which aims to use such eco-friendly plastics for all its product packaging by 2030.

Environmental sound pollution dropped by as much as 90 percent in some areas of Paris during confinement, according to Fanny Mietlicki, the executive director of BruitParif, an organization that measures urban noise pollution. 

Humans discarded more than 50 million tons of electronic waste last year -- an increase of 20 percent in just five years -- making tech refuse the world's fastest growing waste problem, the United Nations said Thursday.

Eco-friendly program Kota Tanpa Sampah recently launched a virtual seminar to encourage composting culture.

A slice of the Australian outback almost the size of greater London will be turned into a national park to help protect threatened species, in a move welcomed by green groups.

The South Pole has warmed three times faster than the rest of the planet in the last 30 years due to warmer tropical ocean temperatures, new research showed Monday.

In economic terms, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) estimates the cost of inaction on ecosystem decline at US$9.87 trillion over 2011-2050.

A Russian mining giant behind an enormous Arctic fuel spill last month said Sunday it had suspended workers at a metals plant who were responsible for pumping wastewater into nearby tundra.

After a lengthy delay, Pakistan's ambitious electric vehicle (EV) policy was approved for implementation this month, but a late-stage change leaves cars out of its first phase.

Experts at the global weather agency are worried by satellite images showing that much of the Russian Arctic is in the red. 

Amazon on Tuesday pledged to invest $2 billion in projects aimed at combating climate change, stepping up efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the tech giant and others.

Scientists have found bits of polystyrene in the guts of tiny, soil-dwelling organisms in the Antarctic, raising concern that microplastics pollution has already "deeply" entered the world's most remote land-based food systems.

Spain's cabinet approved on Tuesday a decree aimed at smoothing the rollout of renewable energy generation, with measures to combat speculation in the market, cut red tape and overhaul an outdated auction system to reassure investors and lower prices.

Plants in dense tropical forests are able to mask their chemical scents in order to avoid being detected and eaten by insects -- a key advantage in the "information arms race" between themselves and plant-eating herbivores. 

Just when you thought it was beyond the social and environmental pale, single-use plastic is making a comeback, be it for throwaway facemasks, gloves or shrink-wrapped vegetables.

At least two-thirds of people in countries home to a fifth of the world's population support stricter laws and enforcement to tackle air pollution, the Clean Air Fund said Wednesday.

Diego the giant Galapagos tortoise whose tireless efforts are credited with almost single-handedly saving his once-threatened species, was put out to pasture Monday on his native island after decades of breeding in captivity, Ecuador's environment minister said.