U.N. Environment Programme

The world is unprepared for the increasing ferocity of wildfires turbocharged by climate change, scientists say, as blazes from North America to Europe greet the northern hemisphere summer in the hottest year on record.

Representatives from 175 nations meet in Nairobi from Nov. 13 to negotiate for the first time what concrete measures should be included in a binding global treaty to end plastic pollution.

What can be done to prevent Africa from becoming the world's biggest dumping ground for plastic?

That's one of the big questions facing United Nations members next week at a stock-taking on Earth's environmental woes.

From Antananarivo to Dakar via Nairobi and Conakry, African cities are scarred by huge landfills where plastic waste is measured in the thousands of tonnes.

The use of leaded petrol has been eradicated from the globe, a milestone that will prevent more than 1.2 million premature deaths and save world economies over $2.4 trillion annually, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Aug. 30.

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Turkey's coastal city of Antalya will host COP22, an international convention on the protection of the Mediterranean marine environment and coastline in 2021, the country's minister of environment said on Dec. 18.

The Paris Agreement to combat climate change became international law on Nov. 4, putting pressure on countries to take action to slash greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming. 

This action comes after record-fast ratification by nations reassembling next week for a fresh round of U.N. climate talks.