A human rights advocacy group says it found allegations of dozens of labor and environmental abuses by Chinese-invested companies involved in mining or processing minerals used in renewable energy.
The report released Thursday by the Business and Human Rights Resource Center in London says it found 102 cases of alleged abuses in all phases of using such minerals: from initial explorations and licensing to mining and processing.

Nigeria's government activated its national response plan ahead of what is expected to be another round of annual flooding related to climate change, putting several states on alert, authorities told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Following floods last year that killed more than 600 people, the National Emergency Management Agency said it was preparing for another dangerous deluge. The agency requested support from the country's air force and activated its offices to be ready to respond quickly across the country, spokesperson Manzo Ezekiel said.

Germany's governing coalition has put off until September a vote on contentious legislation to encourage the replacement of fossil fuel heating systems after the country's top court shot down plans to push the bill through parliament this week.
The Federal Constitutional Court's last-minute ruling on Wednesday night was awkward for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition, denying it the chance to move on quickly from a lengthy dispute over a central climate policy plan that has dragged it down in polls.

Grigor Dimitrov was about to serve at Wimbledon when two environmental activists jumped out of the stands at Court 18 and disrupted his match by scattering orange confetti and puzzle pieces on the grass. His initial instinct Wednesday? Get involved and try to stop them.
"But then I also realized," the three-time Grand Slam semifinalist said, "that's not my place to do that."

The head of global energy giant Shell says it would be "irresponsible" to cut oil and gas production at a time when the world economy is still dependent on fossil fuels.
In an interview with the BBC released Thursday, Shell CEO Wael Sawan also refused to rule out moving the company's headquarters and stock market listing from Britain to the United States.

Earth's average temperature remained at a record high Wednesday, after two days in which the planet reached unofficial records. It's the latest marker in a series of climate-change-driven extremes.
The average global temperature was 17.18 Celsius (62.9 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyzer, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world's condition. That matched a record set Tuesday of 17.18 Celsius (62.9 Fahrenheit), and came after a previous record of 17.01 Celsius (62.6 degrees Fahrenheit) was set Monday.

The International Seabed Authority — the United Nations body that regulates the world's ocean floor — is preparing to resume negotiations that could open the international seabed for mining, including for materials critical for the green energy transition.
Years long negotiations are reaching a critical point where the authority will soon need to begin accepting mining permit applications, adding to worries over the potential impacts on sparsely researched marine ecosystems and habitats of the deep sea.

Kenyan President William Ruto has lifted a six-year ban on logging over the concerns of environmentalists.
The president said Sunday it was "foolish" to have mature trees rotting in forests while local industries lacked timber.

Luis Ramirez leapt onto the roof of his bright blue water truck to fill the plastic tank that by day's end would empty into an assortment of buckets, barrels and cisterns in 100 homes.
It was barely 11 a.m. and Ramirez had many more stops to make on the hilly, grey fringes of Tijuana, a sprawling, industrial border city in northwestern Mexico where trucks or "pipas" like Ramirez's provide the only drinking water for many people.

At least 15 people have been killed by floods in southwestern China as seasonal torrents hit mountain areas, authorities said Wednesday.
Another four people were reported missing by mid-morning in Chongqing, a vast mountainous region of 31 million, almost all of which has now been designated as having flood risk, according to the local government website.
