Patrick Greenfield
About Patrick Greenfield
Patrick Greenfield is a biodiversity and environment writer for the Guardian and the Observer.
Trees and land absorbed almost no CO2 last year. Is nature’s carbon sink failing?
The sudden collapse of carbon sinks was not factored into climate models – and could rapidly accelerate global heating
Why climate experts are wary of the Bezos Earth Fund
Jeff Bezos has won considerable plaudits for his widespread philanthropy in the climate sector, but some are questioning his motives — and the outsized voice the Bezos Earth Fund has seemingly bought.
A quarter of the world’s freshwater fish face extinction
From the large-toothed Lake Turkana robber in Kenya to the Mekong giant catfish in Southeast Asia, many are at risk of disappearing, the first International Union for Conservation of Nature red list assessment of the category found.
Let forests grow old to store huge amounts of carbon
A new report says cutting emissions should still be a key priority as it cautions against mass monoculture tree-planting.
Global heating and the curious case of shrinking fish
An analysis of thousands of species finds some invertebrates and plants are also getting smaller, while others are increasing in body size.
Delta Air Lines faces lawsuit over $1-billion carbon-neutral claim
The American airline pledged to go carbon neutral, but plaintiffs say it is relying on offsets that do almost nothing to mitigate global heating.
Svalbard’s mysterious ‘doomsday’ seed vault offers a virtual peek inside
Buried in Arctic permafrost, the collection safeguards the world’s crop species — and is a magnet for conspiracy theories. Now, the public can take a look around.
What does ‘nature positive’ mean — and can it slow biodiversity loss?
The catchphrase aims to emulate the success of "net zero" in climate campaigning. Yet some fear it is too vague and open to greenwashing
What is COP15 and why does it matter for all life on the planet?
Once-in-a-decade plans to protect the natural world and halt its destruction will be decided in Montreal in December.
Across the globe, nature loss is reaching catastrophic levels
The huge scale of human-driven loss of species demands urgent action, say the world’s leading scientists.