We handpick and explain the most important stories at the intersection of climate, land, food and nature over the past fortnight.
This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s fortnightly Cropped email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
Key developments
US ocean actions cause alarm
DEEP-SEA BREACHES: US president Donald Trump signed an executive order “aimed at making it easier for companies to mine the deep seafloor”, including in international waters, according to National Public Radio. BBC News reported that the move “has been met by condemnation from China, which said it ‘violates’ international law”. In the South China Morning Post, two researchers at Nanjing University wrote that the order “will force China to act”, adding that Trump has “set the stage for heightened geopolitical tensions”. They concluded: “Should the US insist on unilateral mining, China, in collaboration with international partners, may implement maritime monitoring initiatives…[that] could document the environmental impact and breaches of standards.”
RISKY BUSINESS: Meanwhile, a Trump proclamation to loosen fishing regulations surrounding federally protected areas of the ocean – issued in mid-April – “poses major risks”, the Guardian reported. The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine national monument is home to the “most undisturbed coral reef within the US”, as well as “many threatened, endangered and depleted species”, the outlet added. Other experts said that the order – which purportedly aims to promote US fishing interests – “will negatively impact American fishers in the long run, leading to higher seafood prices for American consumers”.
OCEAN FUNDING FALLS: The 10th edition of the Our Ocean conference was held in Busan, South Korea, over 28-30 April, EFE Verde reported, where it was “attended by ministerial representatives from 100 different countries”. The newswire added that the conference would “serve as an impetus for participants to announce effective actions to accelerate the achievement of the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030”. According to Mongabay, delegates to the conference announced funding commitments “totalling around $9.1bn”, but added that “this year’s numbers were the lowest since 2016”. The outlet noted that this edition was the first time the US “did not send an official delegation or make any pledges”.
Between tariffs and traceability
TARIFF-DRIVEN DEFORESTATION: US tariffs on Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil could drive up demand for soybean oil – a cheaper but more land-intensive option – and exacerbate deforestation, according to climate experts consulted by BusinessGreen. Elsewhere, Dialogue Earth reported on expectations that Brazil could expand its export of agricultural commodities to China, increasing the risk of deforestation in the South American country. Experts told the outlet that products such as soya, corn, beef and chicken could experience a surge in international demand. It added that Brazil captured a significant share of the Chinese soya market from the US during Trump’s first term.
BACKWARDS STEPS: Brazil’s supreme court ruled that Mato Grosso, the country’s biggest farming state, is allowed to withdraw tax incentives for signatories of the “soy moratorium” initiative, Reuters reported. The soy moratorium, a 2006 voluntary ban aimed at disincentivising soybean purchases from deforested areas of the Amazon, has been praised by conservationists for “slowing damage to the world’s largest rainforest”, the newswire said. However, farm lobbyists interested in increasing production are opposed to the agreement. The ruling needs to be ratified by a panel of supreme court justices before entering into force in January 2026.
COFFEE TRACEABILITY: The EU deforestation regulation has coffee farmers in Ethiopia “scrambling”, the New York Times reported. Under the new EU environmental regulation, which will enter into force at the end of the year, producers of major commodity crops will have to provide geolocation data to demonstrate that their products were not grown on recently deforested land. The outlet quoted the head of a coffee farmers’ cooperative, who said they need support to carry out the traceability of their products, adding that to do so is “very challenging and costly, and we don’t have any help”.
Spotlight
The climate uncertainties for west Africa’s fishers
This week, Carbon Brief unpacks three key takeaways from a recent report, published by the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, on the sustainability of west African fisheries.
In west Africa, coastal fishing communities underpin a large proportion of the region’s economies and traditional ways of life.
Their number has only increased in recent years as a result of population growth and migration, driven by economic opportunity – even as fishers have faced declining catches.
A new report detailed the challenges facing the Gulf of Guinea’s fisherfolk amid a warming climate, as well as offering insight into what the future of the fishery could look like.
Here, Carbon Brief unpacked three key messages from the report.
1. Key fish catches have declined dramatically since the 1990s.
The report identified three major factors that have contributed to the decline of fish stocks in the Gulf of Guinea: climate-change-driven ocean warming, illegal fishing by industrial Chinese trawling ships and overfishing by fisherfolk using traditional methods.
According to the report, sea surface temperatures along the Ghanaian coast have increased at a rate of 0.011C annually since the 1960s – and could increase by another 1.6C by the end of the century under a high-emissions scenario. This warming is driving “significant geographic shifts” in the range of the species targeted by west Africa’s fisherfolk, the report said.
The report also identified other climate-driven threats to fishers, such as sea level rise, deoxygenation of ocean waters and beach erosion.
As a result of dwindling numbers, catches have fallen significantly – in some cases, by more than 50% – since the early 1990s “despite an increased number of workdays spent fishing, evidence of an underlying stock collapse”, the report warned.
Even under good fisheries management in the future, the report warned that the maximum catch potential will continue to decline due to warming.
2. Current management strategies are not sufficient to allow fish stocks to recover.
The climate pressures on the Gulf of Guinea fish stocks are compounded by overfishing from two main sources – industrial trawling ships, predominantly from China, and an increasing number of artisanal fisherfolk using improved equipment, such as outboard motors.
Ghana’s artisanal fishing fleet has grown from around 8,000 canoes in 1990 to more than 12,000 in 2022. Previous research has estimated that this fleet lands up to 70% of the small fish taken in the country. The report did not mince words:
“They clearly contribute to overfishing.”
Both Ghana and neighbouring Ivory Coast have implemented “closed seasons” during peak spawning months in an attempt to allow the fish populations to recover, but the policies “have produced disappointing results so far”, the report noted. It said:
“To be technically effective in rebuilding fish stocks, the closed seasons should have begun prior to 2016, before spawning stock biomass had been so badly harmed.”
3. Diversifying income will be key for adapting these communities to climate change.
The researchers surveyed fishing communities in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria that relied on fishing for “nearly all” of their livelihoods. Most of the individuals identified a decrease in catch over the preceding years.
A large majority of respondents answered “no” when asked if their children would be able to make a living off fishing or fishing-related activities.
The researchers then evaluated programmes in Ghana, undertaken alongside the US Agency for International Development, that were focused on helping fishing households diversify their income. The weekly earnings “were far from a full replacement for fishing income, but to a varying extent they did provide a useful supplement”, the authors wrote.
However, funding for these programmes was cancelled by the Trump administration in its attempt to dismantle USAID in early 2025. The report added:
“Finding substitute funding…will be difficult.”
News and views
CONSERVATION REFORM: The Washington Post editorial board called for “reforming” the US Endangered Species Act “to better incentivise citizens to protect the country’s precious biodiversity”, amid Trump’s attempted weakening of the landmark law. It argued for “giving landowners financial incentives to assist in conservation efforts” – similar to existing subsidy programmes from the US agriculture department. The editorial said: “The scale of the threats to biodiversity…makes it essential to expand federal conservation strategy beyond punitive measures.”
IMPORT IMBALANCE: Amid growing US-China tensions, top Chinese policymakers “said the country could do without American farm and energy imports”, according to the Financial Times. China’s state planner, Zhao Chenxin, “said domestic farm and energy production, along with imports from non-US sources, would be more than enough to satisfy demand”, the outlet reported. At the same time, the FT said, the “loss of the Chinese market would be a substantial hit for US farmers”. It added: “China has shown little appetite for negotiations and repeatedly blasted Washington’s claims of ongoing discussions as false.”
WAYWARD WHALES: Australia’s whale-watching season “started early” this year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, which said the early migration was a “possible sign of stress from climate change”. A population of humpback whales migrates from Antarctica to Australia at the end of the southern hemisphere summer in “one of the longest migrations of any mammal”, the outlet said. The newspaper cited Dr Olaf Meynecke, a research fellow at Australia’s Griffith University, who explained that the “earlier migration was probably because record-low sea ice reduced krill numbers, making it harder for whales to find food”.
COFFEE GOES UP: The Associated Press reported that coffee prices have remained high due to drought and heat last year that impacted production in Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s largest coffee growers. US tariffs on coffee-producing countries “are expected to drive up costs for Americans”, the newswire added. Elsewhere, extreme weather conditions, such as drought and tropical cyclones, have affected major coconut-growing countries, with the Philippines’ output expected to decline by 20%, Bloomberg reported.
OFFSET OPPOSITION: Inhabitants of the Kajiado county, in Kenya, clashed over a carbon-offsetting initiative that would have set up a 40-year land lease deal, the Daily Nation reported. The project involved leasing 168,000 acres of the community’s ancestral land in return for “promis[ed] financial benefits”. Opponents of the deal said they were “misled and misinformed about the whole process”, but the community’s chair “dismissed the allegations of fraud or coercion”. The final signing of the deal was “postponed indefinitely”, as the two sides could not come to an agreement.
INCOMPLETE ACCOUNTING: Science Feedback questioned a recent study, published in Environmental Research Letters and covered in the media, that claimed agriculture is the largest greenhouse gas-emitting sector. According to climate scientists consulted by the outlet, while methane emissions from agriculture and fossil fuels are comparable, fossil fuels have a greater impact on CO2 emissions. Prof Pierre Friedlingstein, a climate scientist at the University of Exeter, told the outlet that the paper only considered gross emissions, not factoring in the carbon sequestration that occurs in agriculture.
Watch, read, listen
ATTENBOROUGH’S OCEAN: BBC News covered Sir David Attenborough’s new documentary, which chronicles the Earth’s oceans.
SIGHTING BIRDS: The New York Times chronicled a bird-watching trip to the Panama Canal, home to a thousand native and migratory birds.
WHALE SONGS: A Mongabay podcast interviewed biological oceanographer Dr John Ryan, who explained why listening to whales’ songs is important for their conservation.
FORESTS MONITORING: A short video by France24 featured the European Space Agency’s new satellite, which is aimed at monitoring the world’s forests.
New science
- Research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution found that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to preserving biodiversity amid growing agriculture. The scientists found that neither agricultural expansion and intensification “consistently benefits biodiversity” and urged a “context-dependent balance” between the two.
- Intense tropical cyclones may pose an extinction risk to organisms living on five island chains that are biodiversity hotspots, a Biological Conservation study found. The researchers tracked the trajectory and frequency of severe tropical cyclones over the last 50 years and used the IUCN red list to identify species at risk.
- Another Nature Ecology and Evolution study found that implementing strategic restoration measures – such as those outlined in the EU nature restoration law – could improve the conservation status of more than 20% of endangered species and increase carbon sequestration.
In the diary
- 5-8 May: World Bank Land Conference | Washington DC
- 5-9 May: 20th session of the UN Forum on Forests | New York
- 10 May: World Migratory Bird Day
- 22 May: International Day for Biological Diversity
Cropped is researched and written by Dr Giuliana Viglione, Aruna Chandrasekhar, Daisy Dunne, Orla Dwyer and Yanine Quiroz. Please send tips and feedback to cropped@carbonbrief.org
The post Cropped 7 May 2025: Ocean alarm; Tariff deforestation risk; West Africa’s fisheries appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Cropped 7 May 2025: Ocean alarm; Tariff deforestation risk; West Africa’s fisheries
Climate Change
Greenpeace slams NSW government decision to reverse decade-long freeze on gas exploration
SYDNEY, Wednesday 29 April 2026 — In a major policy backflip, the Minns government has today announced it will reverse a more than decade-long ban on gas exploration in NSW, opening up huge new areas in Far West NSW for harmful gas drilling.
The decision comes in the midst of the ongoing energy crisis spurred by the illegal war on Iran and advice from the chief of the International Energy Agency that further investment in fossil fuels doesn’t make business or climate sense.
Solaye Snider, Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said:
“It’s deeply unsettling to see the NSW government once again bending over backwards to please the gas lobby, who have been pushing aggressively to expand exploration under the cover of the illegal war on Iran.
“This decision won’t solve any problems for Australians – in fact it will create them. Any new gas coming from the Far West would be more expensive than renewable energy and take decades to come online. It would also destroy the environment, cause enormous and irreversible climate damage, and delay the transition to what is irrefutably a cheaper, cleaner source of energy, renewables.
“If the fossil fuel crisis driven by the illegal war on Iran has taught us anything, it is clear that we should be rapidly unhooking ourselves from volatile fossil fuels like gas, and that our politicians should be rapidly unhooking themselves from the gas lobby who consistently pollute their decision making.
“We don’t have a gas supply problem here in Australia, we have an export problem. Instead of opening up more areas for drilling, the Federal Government should have the courage to make gas giants prioritise supply for domestic use instead of shipping away 80% of it – as proposed under the Gas Market Review.”
-ENDS-
Media contact
Lucy Keller on 0491 135 308 or lucy.keller@greenpeace.org
Greenpeace slams NSW government decision to reverse decade-long freeze on gas exploration
Weather extremes fuel wildfires that have burned through tens of thousands of acres across Georgia, Florida and other states.
Drought and fire are a dangerous duo. The Southeastern United States is witnessing this firsthand as several major blazes burn tens of thousands of acres across the parched region, destroying homes and prompting evacuations in some areas. Florida and Georgia have been particularly hard hit, and strong winds and unusually low humidity have made it difficult to combat the flames.
Drought Turns Southeastern US Into ‘Tinderbox’ as Wildfires Rage
Climate Change
Night Skies and Shifting Stars: How Indigenous Celestial Knowledge Tracks a Changing Climate
When the land no longer answers the stars the way it once did, Indigenous peoples are among the first to notice — and the first to ask why.
A Sky Full of Knowledge
Look up on a clear night on Turtle Island and you’re seeing a sky that has guided human life for thousands of years. Across Indigenous nations in Canada, detailed systems of celestial knowledge developed not as abstract science but as living, practical guides —telling people when to plant, when to harvest, when herds would move, and when ice would come. This astronomical knowledge was woven into language, ceremony, and everyday life, passed down through generations with remarkable precision.
The Mi’kmaq and the Celestial Bear
Among the Mi’kmaq of Atlantic Canada, star stories are ecological calendars, precise and functional. The story of Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters connects the annual movement of what Western astronomy calls Ursa Major to the seasonal cycle of hunting and harvest: the bear rises in spring, is hunted through summer, and falls to earth in autumn. This knowledge was brought to broader public attention in 2009 during the International Year of Astronomy, when Mi’kmaq Elders Lillian Marshall of Potlotek First Nation and Murdena Marshall of Eskasoni First Nation shared the story through an animated film produced at Cape Breton University narrated in English, French, and Mi’kmaq.¹ The story encodes specific observations about when and where to hunt, and which species to expect at which time of year. It is science in narrative form.
The Anishinaabe and the Seasonal Star Map
Among the Anishinaabe peoples of the Great Lakes and northern Ontario, celestial knowledge forms part of a comprehensive seasonal understanding. Knowledge keepers like Michael Wassegijig Price of Wikwemikong First Nation have described how Anishinaabe constellations quite different from those of Western astronomy connect the movement of the heavens to naming ceremonies, seasonal gatherings, and land practices.² The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada now offers planispheres featuring Indigenous constellations from Cree, Ojibwe, and Dakota sky traditions, recognizing their value as both cultural heritage and ecological knowledge systems.³
When the Stars and the Land Fall Out of Rhythm
Here’s the challenge that climate change has introduced: the stars still move on their ancient, reliable schedule. But the land no longer always responds as expected. Migratory birds that once arrived when certain constellations appeared are now showing up earlier or later. Ice that once formed in predictable windows is forming weeks late, or not at all. Berry harvests, fish runs, animal migrations, all once timed by celestial cues accumulated over millennia are shifting. Indigenous knowledge holders across Canada describe this as a kind of dissonance: the sky remains faithful, but the land has changed.⁴
Long-Baseline Ecological Records
Far from being historical curiosity, Indigenous celestial knowledge systems are now being recognized by researchers as long-baseline ecological calendars —records of how nature behaved over centuries, encoded in story and ceremony. When an Elder observes that a particular star rising no longer predicts the arrival of certain geese, that observation represents a departure from a pattern that may have held true for hundreds of years. The Climate Atlas of Canada integrates Indigenous knowledge observations alongside western climate data, recognizing that both contribute meaningfully to understanding ecological change.⁵
Keeping the Knowledge Alive
Language revitalization and land-based education programs are helping ensure this knowledge reaches the future. From youth astronomy nights on-reserve to the integration of Indigenous sky stories in school curricula, there is growing recognition that these knowledge systems belong to what comes next, not only what came before. As Canada grapples with accelerating ecological change, the quiet precision of thousands of years of skyward observation offers something no satellite can fully replicate: a continuous record of the relationship between the cosmos and a living land.
Blog by Rye Karonhiowanen Barberstock
Image Credit: Dustin Bowdige, Unsplash
References
[1] Marshall, L., Marshall, M., Harris, P., & Bartlett, C. (2010). Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters: A Mi’kmaw Night Sky Story. Cape Breton University Press. See also: Integrative Science, CBU. (2009). Background on the Making of the Muin Video for IYA2009. http://www.integrativescience.ca/uploads/activities/BACKGROUND-making-video-Muin-Seven-Bird-Hunters-IYA-binder.pdf
[2] Price, M.W. (Various). Anishinaabe celestial knowledge. Wikwemikong First Nation. Referenced in: Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Indigenous Astronomy resources.
[3] Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. (2020). Indigenous Skies planisphere series. RASC. https://www.rasc.ca/indigenous-skies
[4] Neilson, H. (2022, December 11). The night sky over Mi’kmaki: A Q&A with astronomer Hilding Neilson. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/hilding-neilson-indigenizing-astronomy-1.6679072
[5] Climate Atlas of Canada. (2024). Prairie Climate Centre, University of Winnipeg. https://climateatlas.ca/
The post Night Skies and Shifting Stars: How Indigenous Celestial Knowledge Tracks a Changing Climate appeared first on Indigenous Climate Hub.
https://indigenousclimatehub.ca/2026/04/night-skies-and-shifting-stars-how-indigenous-celestial-knowledge-tracks-a-changing-climate/
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