Why does the Amazon matter?

Climate change is having major health impacts around the world, which are only expected to increase as our planet gets warmer. These impacts range from heat stroke to the spread of tropical diseases, from hospitals losing power during extreme weather to the effect on our mental h ...  Show more

Lithium and copper are at the heart of the green energy transition, but what's the environmental cost of extraction? From the lithium mines of Salar de Atacama in Chile to the historic copper mines of Butte Montana, author James Crawford has visited the extraordinary landscapes a ...  Show more

The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest but this crucial carbon sink is facing increased deforestation. Land clearing for mining or agriculture has increased under Brazil's president Jair Bolsanaro. But the world needs the Amazon jungle to keep absorbing carbon if more ambit ...  Show more

In the past half-century, 17 percent of the Amazon — an area larger than Texas — has been converted to croplands or cattle pasture. Less forest means less recycled rain, less vapor to cool the air, less of a canopy to shield against sunlight. Under drier, hotter conditions, ev ...

After decades of exploitation, time is running out for the Amazon rainforest. Eight South American nations came together this week for the first time in 14 years in an attempt to draw up a plan for a more sustainable future. The BBC’s South America correspondent Katy Watson sends ...  Show more