Reptile sex, Venezuelan oil and a discount on the climate crisis
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Despite having the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela produces relatively little oil.
That could soon change, with the U.S. now claiming to have control of the country’s oil industry after capturing President Nicolás Maduro.
Read on to unpack what this means for the planet as 2026 gets off to an eventful start.
This month on ThinkLandscape
New year, new climate events: here’s our exclusive guide to the most important environmental summits and conferences of 2026.
But first, it’s time to take a step back and reappraise the Paris Agreement as it turns 10 – and also turn our eyes to a lesser-known treaty that could power the fight for climate justice.
If you like lists of four, you’re in for a treat. Here are four youth innovations restoring Africa’s landscapes, and four ways to protect land rights across Africa.
And on opposite sides of the Pacific, communities are recruiting nature to protect them against floods – and forging new connections in the process.
What we’re reading
People
The first climate refugees from Tuvalu have arrived in Australia as part of the world’s first climate migration agreement, signed between the two countries in 2023.
The richest 10 percent of humanity now controls three-quarters of wealth. Here’s how global wealth and income are distributed, illustrating the staggering inequality both between and within countries.
You’re probably inhaling extremely high levels of ultrafine particles every time you board a plane – and nothing is being done about it.
How do forever chemicals end up on your plate? The seafood industry is a leading culprit.
Plenty of people want to do their bit for the planet. The key? Don’t force them.
Planet
If we don’t tackle the climate, biodiversity and land crises together, we’ll miss out on USD 20 trillion a year by 2070, says the latest Global Environment Outlook from the UN Environment Programme.
That warning has already fallen on deaf ears, with the report’s co-chair accusing the U.S. and several other countries of sabotaging the findings.
Props to Scientific American for this incredible headline: “Rising temperatures could trigger a reptile sexpocalypse.”
Remember these stingless bees from the Peruvian Amazon? They’ve just become the first insects in the world to be granted legal rights.
Polar bears may be in trouble, but their DNA is evolving to help them adapt to a warmer climate.
Climate
Last year’s top 10 most expensive climate disasters caused USD 122 billion in insured losses, with floods and storms across Asia causing the most damage.
A 2024 climate study in Nature has been retracted and the figures revised. Now, the climate crisis is set to cost just USD 32 trillion a year by 2049, rather than 37 trillion. Yay!
Extreme heat isn’t just uncomfortable. It’s also hampering children’s learning abilities.
Despite the Trump administration’s best efforts, the world has largely broken the link between economic growth and carbon emissions.
Business
The U.S. plans to seize 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil and ramp up the country’s oil production. Here’s what Maduro’s ousting could mean for fossil fuels – and the climate.
Global coal demand hit another record high in 2025, though it’s expected to decline by 2030 as renewables, nuclear and gas eat into its market share.
African countries earmarked millions of hectares of forest for carbon credits. What happened next is anyone’s guess.
Just how damaging is deep sea mining to marine life? A new five-year-long study paints a worryingpicture.
The climate crisis is coming for winter sports. Nearly 200 French ski resorts have already closed down due to a lack of snow – most of which now lie abandoned.
Policy
Plenty to report from the European Union. Let’s start with the good news: the bloc’s new carbon border tax has now come into force.
The bad news: the EU has delayed and watered down its deforestation regulation and scrapped plans to ban gasoline and diesel-powered cars by 2035.
It will also scale back laws on corporate sustainability and plans to ease environmental rules on AI data centers.
Elsewhere, drought-hit Iraq is trading its oil for Turkish water expertise, and South Korea has finally stopped breeding bears for their bile.
China has invested USD 80 billion in clean energy projects in other countries in the past year – consolidating its position as the world leader in renewables.