After more than two decades in a cage at an Albanian restaurant for diners to look at, brown bear Mark is heading towards a better life in an Austrian sanctuary.

Until now, he has spent his life entertaining visitors to the Sofra e Ariut (Bear's Table) restaurant in Tirana along with his sister Liza.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused Russia of "ecocide" for the devastation he said its invasion has wrought on Ukraine's wildlife.

In a bustling metro area of 4.3 million people, Yale University wildlife biologist Nyeema Harris ventures into isolated thickets to study Detroit's most elusive residents — coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks among them.

Harris and colleagues have placed trail cameras in woodsy sections of 25 city parks for the past five years. They've recorded thousands of images of animals that emerge mostly at night to roam and forage, revealing a wild side many locals might not know exists.

Environmental groups on Wednesday welcomed a decision by Britain's Conservative government to lift its opposition to onshore wind farms. But they warned that any benefit would be erased if the government backs plans to open the U.K.'s first new coal mine in three decades.

Thursday is the deadline for a decision on the proposed mine in the Cumbria area of northwest England. Opponents say approving it will obliterate the U.K.'s image as a world leader in replacing polluting fossil fuels with clean renewable energy.

Environmentalists in Switzerland criticized the election Wednesday of a top car and oil industry lobbyist to the country's new government, calling it a "disaster for climate policy."

Lawmakers picked Albert Roesti of the nationalist Swiss People's Party as one of two new members of the Cabinet, or Federal Council.

Much of the Arctic is in a burst of freak December warming.

In Utqiagvik, Alaska's northernmost community formerly known as Barrow, it hit 40 degrees (4.4 degrees Celsius) Monday morning. That's not only a record by six degrees (3.3 degrees Celsius) but it's the warmest that region has seen on record from late October to late April, according to Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Amid warnings that biodiversity is in freefall, environmental leaders will gather in Montreal to hammer out measures aimed at shoring up the world's land and marine ecosystems and coming up with tens of billions of dollars to fund these conservation efforts.

Delegates from about 190 countries will assemble for nearly two weeks, starting Wednesday, at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, to finalize a framework for protecting 30% of global land and marine areas by 2030. Currently, 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas are protected.

From her home under the baking sun of Peru's southern Andes, Vilma Huamaní can see the small Cconchaccota lagoon, the axis of her community's life. It has been a source of trout, fun for children eager to swim, beauty as flamingos flew from over the mountains and water for thirsty sheep.

Nowadays, all Huamaní sees of the lagoon 4,100 meters (13,120 feet) above sea level is a plain of cracked and broken soil surrounded by yellow grass.

California water agencies that serve 27 million people will get just 5% of what they requested from the state to start 2023, water officials announced.

The news of limited water comes as California concludes its driest three-year stretch on record and as water managers brace for a fourth year with below-average precipitation. But if the winter is wetter than expected, the state could boost how much supply it plans to give out — as it did last year when allocations started at 0% and ended the winter at 5%.

India officially takes up its role as chair of the Group of 20 leading economies for the coming year Thursday and it's putting climate at the top of the group's priorities.

Programs to encourage sustainable living and money for countries to transition to clean energy and deal with the effects of a warming world are some of the key areas that India will focus on during its presidency, experts say. Some say India will also use its new position to boost its climate credentials and act as a bridge between the interests of industrialized nations and developing ones.