Climate envoys John Kerry of the U.S. and Xie Zhenhua of China met in California in November. As the world's two-largest greenhouse gas emitters, agreement between the two countries is considered key for significant developments at the UN climate summit. William Vasta/The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands hide caption
After getting hit with Hurricane Irma in 2017, Antigua and Barbuda is still recovering. It's one of many countries that will need hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare for stronger storms and other climate impacts. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
This GOES-East GeoColor satellite image taken June 2 shows Tropical Storm Arlene, the first named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via AP hide caption
COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber at the opening ceremony for the annual United Nations climate summit, held this year in Dubai. Peter Dejong/AP hide caption
Martha Durr, seen at her home in Lincoln, Nebraska, left her job earlier this month as the state's principal communicator of climate information. "It gets draining over time," she said. Elizabeth Rembert/Harvest Public Media hide caption
Vice President Harris speaks outside the White House on Nov. 8. Harris is planning to travel to the COP28 international climate summit this week, according to a source familiar with the plans. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
This photo provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, from a remote camera set by biologist Chris Stermer, shows a wolverine in the Tahoe National Forest near Truckee, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2016, a rare sighting of the elusive species in the state. Scientists estimate that only about 300 wolverines survive in the contiguous U.S. Chris Stermer/California Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP, File hide caption
Summers could get dramatically hotter if the world fails to slow the pace of climate change. Brent Jones/NPR hide caption
A woman breastfeeds her child at a camp for displaced people in Somalia, where climate change is fueling severe drought. Jerome Delay/AP hide caption
Wind turbines generate electricity off the coast of England. World leaders will meet later this week in Dubai to discuss global efforts to reduce emissions of planet-warming pollution and transition to renewable energy sources. Frank Augstein/AP hide caption
Taylor Swift fans wait for the doors of Nilton Santos Olympic stadium to open for her Eras Tour concert amid a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023. A 23-year-old Taylor Swift fan died Friday night after suffering from cardiac arrest due to heat at the concert, according to a statement from the show's organizers in Brazil. Silvia Izquierdo/AP hide caption
A man picks through plastic waste at a garbage dump in Kenya. TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Emissions from a power plant in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2022. Global emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases increased between 2021 and 2022, according to a new report from the United Nations. Mark Thiessen/AP hide caption
The USFS is proposing changing a rule that would allow the storage of carbon dioxide pollution under national forests and grasslands. It's controversial. Julia Simon/NPR hide caption
Tourists walk around the base of the Washington Monument as smoke from wildfires in Canada casts a haze of the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall in June of this year. Air pollution alerts were issued across the United States due to the fires. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
Pope Francis attends the welcoming ceremony of World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon on August 3, 2023. Pope Francis urged young people to focus on caring for the planet and fighting climate change, calling for an "integral ecology" that melds environmental protection with the fight against poverty and other social problems. Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Children wade through floodwater on Nyangai Island, Sierra Leone. Most of the island has already been lost to the sea, and what remains is routinely flooded at high tide. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption
The sun sets behind pumpjacks on Sept. 15, 2021, in the oilfields of Penwell, Texas. Eli Hartman/AP hide caption
A wildfire burns south of Fort McMurray, Alberta, near Highway 63 on Saturday, May 7, 2016. A book about an inferno that ravaged a Canadian city and has been called a portent of climate chaos has won Britain's leading nonfiction book prize. Jonathan Hayward/AP hide caption
Climate activists protest on the first day of the ExxonMobil trial outside the New York State Supreme Court building on 2019. Last month, prosecutors described how ExxonMobil tried to take advantage of material stolen by hackers working for Aviram Azari. ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A resident rides past the Guohua Power Station in northern China's Hebei province. China and the U.S. have pledged to accelerate their efforts to address climate change ahead of a major U.N. meeting on the issue. Ng Han Guan/AP hide caption