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By Catherine Gamper, Sophie Lavaud and Agnes Szuda, OECD Environment Directorate 17 June marks the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, a year after unprecedented droughts plagued regions across the world. In Europe, the Po River basin – Italy’s breadbasket – faced the worst drought in 70 years, after rainfall in early 2022 was about half of the yearly average of the…

The Forest Pulse draws on the most recent data and analysis to reveal the latest trends in global forest loss and deforestation. How much forest was lost in 2022? This section of the Forest Pulse is updated annually using annual tree cover loss data to provide a comprehensive overview on where forests have been lost around the world. Annual updates are released each year and…

Cities occupy just 3 percent of the Earth’s land, but account for most of the global energy consumption and carbon emissions. Many cities are also more vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters due to their population densities and interconnected infrastructure. To avoid the most harmful impacts from climate change — including human, social and economic losses — we know…

Issue 603: Droughts in catchment areas in the Alps affect several major European rivers. This study reports that drops in snowmelt are causing drought to become more common, affecting the timing and characteristics of water shortages downstream. Four of Europe’s major rivers – the Rhine, Rhône, Danube, and Po – originate in the Alps. A range of weather-related processes determine the water…

By 2075, one-third of the world's population—and of the working-age population—will be African. It is the only region where the workforce will grow continuously in the coming decades. This gives Africa an enormous opportunity to drive economic growth and prosperity through investments in education, skills, and health. Africa's Heads of State are gathering at the Africa Human Capital…

Land degradation adversely affects the businesses, communities, and species that depend on that land. It also contributes significantly to climate change and reduces land productivity. And it is the communities that are often already exposed to climate-related risks that are made even more vulnerable when the land they depend on is degraded. For instance, competition for scarce land resources is…