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Colombia’s presidential runoff could impact the future of the Amazon rainforest and fossil fuels

Colombia’s presidential runoff between Iván Cepeda, an ally of President Gustavo Petro, and lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, who has been endorsed by U.S.

 

Invasive plant threatens livelihoods in Colombia’s largest coastal wetland

Colombia’s Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta wetland is facing an environmental crisis due to an invasive plant native to Asia.

 

Indigenous Amazon groups urge the UN to curb organized crime, not militarize territories

Indigenous organizations from across the Amazon and Latin America have sent a letter to the United Nations warning that organized crime — including illegal mining, drug trafficking and logging — is driving violence and environmental destruction in Indigenous territories.

 

Countries end Colombia fossil fuel summit with focus on next steps and financing

Countries have wrapped up a first-of-its-kind summit in Colombia on phasing out fossil fuels with no binding commitments but a growing momentum to shift from pledges to action.

 

High-level talks begin on moving away from fossil fuels at Colombia conference

Ministers and officials are gathered in Colombia for a high-level conference aimed at accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels, with financing emerging as a key challenge.

 

Colombia climate conference highlights lack of financing for shift from fossil fuels

A lack of financing is emerging as a major barrier to moving away from fossil fuels, officials and experts said at a global conference in Colombia.

 

Countries to gather in Colombia for summit aimed at breaking fossil fuel reliance

Governments from nearly 50 countries will meet in Colombia’s Caribbean city of Santa Marta to discuss how to move beyond fossil fuels, amid frustration that U.N. climate talks have failed to directly tackle oil, gas and coal production.

 

Colombia’s environment minister says Middle East crisis should speed energy transition

Colombia’s environment minister said global crises, including conflict in the Middle East, should accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels, even as geopolitical tensions complicate the energy transition.

 

Peru election highlights lack of plans to tackle illegal mining despite growing environmental crisis

As Peru heads into elections, most political parties lack concrete plans to tackle illegal mining, a major driver of deforestation and mercury pollution in the Amazon.

 

Iran war puts focus on petrochemicals used in numerous products and a driver of climate change

The Iran war is highlighting global dependence on petrochemicals. The oil- and gas-based chemicals are used in products from plastics to fertilizers.

 

Indigenous women tour Ecuador oil field as warning against Amazon drilling expansion

About 30 Indigenous women from seven Amazon nationalities have traveled to Ecuador’s northern oil region to witness the environmental impacts of decades of oil and gas extraction.

 

Illegal gold mining surges into new parts of Peru’s Amazon, threatening rivers and lives

Illegal gold mining is spreading into new parts of Peru’s Amazon, and experts say it is driving a growing environmental and health crisis.

 

Why Chile’s wildfires are spreading faster and burning hotter

Chile is facing a severe wildfire emergency marked by unusually large and fast-moving fires that have killed people, destroyed homes and forced tens of thousands to flee.

 

Interpol-backed police make nearly 200 arrests in Amazon region gold mining sweep

Police from Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname have arrested nearly 200 people in their first-ever joint cross-border operation targeting illegal gold mining in the Amazon.

 

Five face trial in Peru in rare prosecution over the killing of an Amazon defender

Five men are set to stand trial in Peru over the 2023 killing of an Indigenous Amazon defender. The rare case, which is due to start on Tuesday, could test the legal accountability for violence linked to illegal logging and drug trafficking.

 

Why boosting production of Venezuela’s ‘very dense, very sloppy’ oil could harm the environment

Environmental experts warn that U.S. plans under President Donald Trump to restart and control Venezuelan oil exports could intensify pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and ecological damage in a country already burdened by decades of oil-related degradation.

 

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‘It’s not safe to live here.’ Colombia is deadliest country for environmental defenders

Jani Silva is a renowned environmental activist in Colombia’s Amazon, but she has been unable to live in her house for nearly a decade.

 

Mercury treaty summit criticized for inaction on gold mining crisis

A global mercury summit in Geneva has faced criticism from environmental and Indigenous groups for failing to act on mercury use in small-scale gold mining, the world’s top source of mercury pollution and a growing threat to the Amazon.

 

Interpol announces a new global fight against illegal deforestation

Interpol and partners have launched a global law enforcement effort to fight illegal deforestation in tropical areas.

 

A decade after Brazil’s deadly dam collapse, Indigenous peoples demand justice on the eve of COP30

Ten years after Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, the Indigenous Krenak people are still mourning what they call “the death of the river.”

 

Brazil dismantles hundreds of illegal dredges in major Amazon mining crackdown

Brazilian police with support from Interpol have destroyed 277 dredges used in illegal gold mining along the Madeira River in one of the largest coordinated crackdowns in the Amazon.

 

Brazil’s Amazon deforestation falls 11% even as fires surge to record levels

Brazil’s government says deforestation in the Amazon fell 11% in the year through July 2025 to its lowest level in nearly a decade, helped by stronger enforcement and monitoring.

 

Uncontacted Indigenous groups could vanish within a decade without stronger protections, experts say

A report says at least 196 uncontacted Indigenous groups remain worldwide and face growing threats from logging, mining, missionaries and organized crime.

 

Interpol-led crackdown on environmental crime leads to 225 arrests in Latin America

An Interpol-led operation spanning nine Latin American countries has led to 225 arrests and hundreds of new investigations into illegal logging, wildlife trafficking and gold mining.

 

UN warns Colombia over mercury contamination in Atrato River, calls crisis a human rights emergency

A United Nations letter to Colombia warns that mercury contamination from illegal gold mining in the Atrato River basin is causing a grave human rights crisis for Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.

 

Biking to Brazil, activists urge greener transport at UN climate talks

A group of climate activists is cycling to the world’s biggest climate summit and without stepping onto a plane.

 

Gold demand puts Peru’s Amazon at greater risk from mercury poisoning, bishop warns

A Catholic bishop in Peru’s Amazon is warning that mercury from illegal gold mining is contaminating rivers, fish and people across the region.

 

South American trade bloc orders Peru to crack down on mercury trafficking and illegal gold mining

A South American trade bloc has ruled that Peru is failing to curb illegal gold mining and mercury trafficking.

 

As Amazon’s ‘flying rivers’ weaken with tree loss, scientists warn of worsening droughts

Scientists warn that “flying rivers” — invisible streams of moisture that carry rain from the Atlantic Ocean westward across the Amazon — are weakening as deforestation and climate change advance.

 

Suriname pledges to shield 90% of forests, far beyond global conservation goal

Suriname has pledged to permanently protect 90% of its forests, far surpassing the global 30x30 goal.

 

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