Smoking chimneys at an industrial plant at sunset. This is the tar sands upgrader plant at the Syncrude plant in Alberta, Canada. The tar sands are the largest deposits of bitumen in the world, and the extraction and processing into synthetic crude forms the largest industrial project on the planet. It has attracted criticism for its environmental impact. The oil produced is three times more carbon intensive than oil from conventional supplies. The area has also seen a very fast rate of deforestation, and polluted water from the plant has leached out into the Athabasca River.

Aerial view of the Climeworks carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Getec Muttenz, near Basel in Switzerland. The facility employs direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Unlike traditional carbon capture methods that focus on capturing emissions from industrial sources to prevent new emissions from entering the atmosphere, DAC enables permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The facility uses specialised filters to extract carbon dioxide from the air. Once captured, the carbon dioxide is concentrated and purified to ensure it is suitable for storage deep underground. This process consists of several filtration and separation steps to eliminate impurities and increase the carbon dioxide concentration. DAC is expected to play a crucial role in mitigating global warming.

Aerial view of the Climeworks carbon capture and storage (CCS) and research facility in Getec Muttenz, near Basel in Switzerland. The facility employs direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Unlike traditional carbon capture methods that focus on capturing emissions from industrial sources to prevent new emissions from entering the atmosphere, DAC enables permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The facility uses specialised filters to extract carbon dioxide from the air. Once captured, the carbon dioxide is concentrated and purified to ensure it is suitable for storage deep underground. This process consists of several filtration and separation steps to eliminate impurities and increase the carbon dioxide concentration. DAC is expected to play a crucial role in mitigating global warming.

Aerial view of the Climeworks carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Getec Muttenz, near Basel in Switzerland. The facility employs direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Unlike traditional carbon capture methods that focus on capturing emissions from industrial sources to prevent new emissions from entering the atmosphere, DAC enables permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The facility uses specialised filters to extract carbon dioxide from the air. Once captured, the carbon dioxide is concentrated and purified to ensure it is suitable for storage deep underground. This process consists of several filtration and separation steps to eliminate impurities and increase the carbon dioxide concentration. DAC is expected to play a crucial role in mitigating global warming.

Aerial view of the Climeworks carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Getec Muttenz, near Basel in Switzerland. The facility employs direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Unlike traditional carbon capture methods that focus on capturing emissions from industrial sources to prevent new emissions from entering the atmosphere, DAC enables permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The facility uses specialised filters to extract carbon dioxide from the air. Once captured, the carbon dioxide is concentrated and purified to ensure it is suitable for storage deep underground. This process consists of several filtration and separation steps to eliminate impurities and increase the carbon dioxide concentration. DAC is expected to play a crucial role in mitigating global warming.

Aerial view of the Climeworks carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Getec Muttenz, near Basel in Switzerland. The facility employs direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Unlike traditional carbon capture methods that focus on capturing emissions from industrial sources to prevent new emissions from entering the atmosphere, DAC enables permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The facility uses specialised filters to extract carbon dioxide from the air. Once captured, the carbon dioxide is concentrated and purified to ensure it is suitable for storage deep underground. This process consists of several filtration and separation steps to eliminate impurities and increase the carbon dioxide concentration. DAC is expected to play a crucial role in mitigating global warming.

Aerial view of the Climeworks carbon capture and storage (CCS) and research facility in Getec Muttenz, near Basel in Switzerland. The facility employs direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Unlike traditional carbon capture methods that focus on capturing emissions from industrial sources to prevent new emissions from entering the atmosphere, DAC enables permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The facility uses specialised filters to extract carbon dioxide from the air. Once captured, the carbon dioxide is concentrated and purified to ensure it is suitable for storage deep underground. This process consists of several filtration and separation steps to eliminate impurities and increase the carbon dioxide concentration. DAC is expected to play a crucial role in mitigating global warming.

Aerial view of the Climeworks carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Getec Muttenz, near Basel in Switzerland. The facility employs direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Unlike traditional carbon capture methods that focus on capturing emissions from industrial sources to prevent new emissions from entering the atmosphere, DAC enables permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The facility uses specialised filters to extract carbon dioxide from the air. Once captured, the carbon dioxide is concentrated and purified to ensure it is suitable for storage deep underground. This process consists of several filtration and separation steps to eliminate impurities and increase the carbon dioxide concentration. DAC is expected to play a crucial role in mitigating global warming.

Aerial view of the Climeworks carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Getec Muttenz, near Basel in Switzerland. The facility employs direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Unlike traditional carbon capture methods that focus on capturing emissions from industrial sources to prevent new emissions from entering the atmosphere, DAC enables permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The facility uses specialised filters to extract carbon dioxide from the air. Once captured, the carbon dioxide is concentrated and purified to ensure it is suitable for storage deep underground. This process consists of several filtration and separation steps to eliminate impurities and increase the carbon dioxide concentration. DAC is expected to play a crucial role in mitigating global warming.

The 2000 MW Ratcliffe on Soar, coal fired power station near Loughborough, in Nottinghamshire, UK

Silhouetted tar sands upgrader plant at the Syncrude mine, north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, at sunset. The tar sands are the largest industrial project on the planet, and the world's most environmentally destructive. The synthetic oil produced from them is three times more carbon intensive than conventional oil supplies, a disaster for the climate. They are responsible for the second fastest rate of deforestation on the planet, second only to the Amazon Rainforest. They produce millions of litres of highly polluted water every day which leaches out into the Athabasca river and has serious health impacts on First Nation peoples living downstream.

Microplastic particles floating in water. Small particles of plastic like this have been found in huge quantities in marine environments, where they pose a serious threat to marine life and ecosystems. Such small particles typically form from the breakdown of larger plastic objects, such as bottles and bags, that have been improperly disposed of and made their way into the sea. They are swept up by ocean currents and concentrated in gyres, the most famous being the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is estimated that this area of the ocean contains up to two trillion particles with a mass approaching 100,000 tonnes, over an area of nearly two million square kilometres. Despite its dramatic name, it is not evident to the naked eye, as most of the particles are tiny.

Time-lapse satellite footage of California, USA, from the 6th to the 19th of January 2025 during the Los Angeles wildfires. During the day smoke from the fires is visible. Several fires ignited between the 7th and 15th January. Their spread was helped by dry conditions caused by a severe drought and fanned by Santa Ana winds. These are strong, dry winds that blow from the deserts to the Southern Californian coast. Two of the fires were still burning on the 19th January, including the first and largest, the Palisades Fire (large smoke plume nearest to coast), which by that time had spread over 95 square kilometres. A total area of 164 square kilometres was burned, with at least 28 deaths, over 200,000 people evacuated and over 12,000 structures destroyed. Human-driven climate change is creating conditions that are increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires. Footage obtained by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 18 (GOES-18).

Time-lapse satellite footage of California, USA, from the 6th to the 19th of January 2025 during the Los Angeles wildfires. During the day smoke from the fires is visible. Several fires ignited between the 7th and 15th January. Their spread was helped by dry conditions caused by a severe drought and fanned by Santa Ana winds. These are strong, dry winds that blow from the deserts to the Southern Californian coast. Two of the fires were still burning on the 19th January, including the first and largest, the Palisades Fire (large smoke plume nearest to coast), which by that time had spread over 95 square kilometres. A total area of 164 square kilometres was burned, with at least 28 deaths, over 200,000 people evacuated and over 12,000 structures destroyed. Human-driven climate change is creating conditions that are increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires. Footage obtained by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 18 (GOES-18).

Animation showing red blood cells (erythrocytes) affected by microplastics within a blood vessel. Microplastics can enter the bloodstream via ingestion, inhalation, or absorption. The potential effects are not fully understood, but microplastic accumulation in key blood vessels could increase heart attack and stroke risk.

Exhaust gases from the turbine engine of a passenger plane before take-off.

Thick smoke from a fire.

Flames from burning logs in a domestic fireplace.

Water bottle on cracked earth.

Tyre dumped at water's edge.

Polluted riverbank of the Rio Negro, Barcelos, Brazil.

Animation of a look around a desolate landscape on Earth in the future. Dead trees are silhouetted against a dusty sky, and ruined buildings stand amongst them. This may represent the end point of runaway global warming, in which so much carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere that the greenhouse effect raises temperatures to levels at which it is impossible to sustain the current human population.

Plastic bag caught on staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis). Plastic waste makes up 80 percent of all marine pollution, with around 8 to 10 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean each year. Research indicates that by 2050, plastic could outweigh all fish in the sea. As of 2006, staghorn coral is listed as Critically Endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Staghorn coral is a stony coral characterised by thick, upright branches which resemble the antlers of a stag. As of 2006, staghorn coral is listed as Critically Endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Captured in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Please note that this was staged to illustrate water pollution and the plastic was removed afterward.

Plastic bottles floating on the surface of the ocean in front of an island. Plastic waste makes up 80 percent of all marine pollution, with around 8 to 10 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean each year. Research indicates that by 2050, plastic could outweigh all fish in the sea. Captured in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Please note that this was staged to illustrate water pollution and the plastic was removed afterward.