How Trump's 'drill, baby, drill' pledge is affecting other countries

The UN climate summit in the United Arab Emirates in 2023 ended with a call to "transition away from fossil fuels". It was applauded as a historic milestone in global climate action.

'The sixth great extinction is happening', conservation expert warns

With her signature shawl draped over her shoulders and silver hair pulled back from her face, Jane Goodall exudes serenity - even over our slightly blurry video call.

In a Vienna hotel room, a press team and a small group of filmmakers, who are documenting her latest speaking tour, fuss around her.

A tenth of the world's wilderness has vanished in the past two decades, research shows. New maps show "alarming losses" of pristine landscapes, particularly in South America and Africa, according to World Conservation Society scientists. They argue in Current Biology that wild areas are ignored in international conservation agreements, despite their ecological and cultural value.

About 20% of the world's land area is classed as wilderness. By this, scientists mean landscapes free of large-scale human disturbances such as housing, development and industry. The majority of these untouched spaces are found in North America, north Asia, north Africa and Australia. They are often home to indigenous peoples as well as endangered plants and animals.

James Watson of the University of Queensland, Australia, and the US Wildlife Conservation Society in New York said wilderness areas "are completely ignored in environmental policy". "International policy mechanisms must recognise the actions needed to maintain wilderness areas before it is too late," said Prof Watson. "We probably have one to two decades to turn this around."