The citizens of four major European countries think the impacts of climate change such as severe floods and storms are already affecting them, according to a major new polling study. The research dispels the idea that global warming is widely seen as a future problem, and also shows strong support for action to tackle global warming, including subsidies for clean energy and big financial penalties for nations that refuse to be part of the international climate deal signed in Paris in 2015 - as US president Donald Trump has threatened.

With grand speeches, new climate strategies, the offloading of carbon intensive assets and even changes in executive pay structures, the last few weeks have provided some intriguing evidence that oil firms  finally may be starting to take the climate threat seriously.

Many groups define the circular economy in terms of the types of activities and concepts associated with it: the use of new business models, such as leasing; collaboration across supply chains, or using waste as a resource. However, these characterizations ultimately don't tell us what the circular economy actually is because they don't describe its end state: what will the world actually look like when it is "circular"?

A new report by WRI and Waste & Resources Action Programme found that, on average, for every $1 a company invested in food loss and waste reduction-through training programs, providing equipment like scales to quantify food, and improving storage and packaging-they received a $14 return on investment.

Carbon Brief analysis shows the UK's CO2 emissions fell by 5.8% in 2016, after a record 52% drop in coal use.

McDonald's purchases 2.5% of all the beef produced in the European Union alone-is a key player in the launch of two sustainable beef pilot programs in the U.S. One will attempt to measure beef sustainability through the entire supply chain in a research initiative conducted by the Noble Foundation. The other is a $4.5 million matching grant program run by a group of researchers to test grazing practices that can lead to a negative carbon impact.

"Just 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling globally, one third ends up in the natural environment and if current trends continue, by 2050 our oceans could contain more plastics than fish, by weight," says Rob Opsomer, lead of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's new plastics economy initiative. "We need to fundamentally rethink the way we produce, use and recover plastics, redesign plastic packaging and adopt common standards."

A brown cloud of pollution now frequently shrouds much of northern India. It's a growing health and environmental problem, and scientists are working to understand its many causes, which range from burning agricultural waste to auto emissions.

Bacardi's 42Below Vodka brand's circular economy initiative - the project collects used lemons, martini olives and other fruit waste from bars, turns it into liquid soap and sends it back to the bars for free - has diverted 400 kilograms of fruit waste from landfills since it launched in December 2016.

H&M, one of the most eco-conscious fashion stores out there, has been battling against just that since 2013, and is hoping to enlist the help if its customers with a powerful new video. Entitled Bring it on, a short film shows what happens to the garments you recycle, from being turned into new fabrics for new clothes to being used as cleaning clothes. In doing this, it hopes to collect 25,000 tonnes of unwanted clothes per year by 2020. 

Global oil demand will continue to grow into the 2040s even as electrical vehicle fleets expand and the low-carbon energy transition gains traction around the world, BP revealed in its annual Energy Outlook, an industry benchmark report forecasting long-term trends and informs the company's internal strategy. The predictions come as other oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell prepare for demand to peak by the early 2030s and countries make the shift to cleaner forms of energy.

The events of 2016 have underscored just how volatile, complex and ambiguous the world is today. Drawing on insights that we have collected around the world from thousands of interviews and engagements with stakeholders and consumers, we take a look at the global shifts that will continue to shape the world for leadership organizations in 2017.

With carbon dioxide emissions continuing to rise, an increasing number of experts believe major technological breakthroughs - such as CO2 air capture - will be necessary to slow global warming. But without the societal will to decarbonize, even the best technologies won't be enough.

Gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans - our great ape cousins teeter on the precipice of extinction. And it's not much of a secret that we humans have had a lot to do with putting them there. But what about the other primates? The news isn't much better, it turns out. According to a new study, 60 percent of primates - including drills and gibbons, lemurs and tarsiers, bush babies and spider monkeys - face the threat of extinction. Even those not in immediate danger of dying out are at risk, as the numbers of three-quarters of all primate species are trending downward.

If you don't like lifeless hair, dandruff on your shoulders and plastics in your ocean, you can tackle all three in the shower. Procter & Gamble announced Thursday that its Head & Shoulders shampoo bottles will be recyclable and made of up to 25 percent "beach plastics," from trash removed from beaches, oceans, rivers and other waterways.

The World Economic Forum's (WEF) flagship annual report surveyed 750 experts to identify the most significant global concerns. Here are the top five:

While 2016 lacked the drama of Indonesia's 2015 fire and haze crisis, surging deforestation in Earth's largest rainforest and ongoing destruction of forests for industrial plantations meant that it was far from a quiet year for the planet's rainforests. So what's ahead for 2017? Here are eight things we'll be closely watching in the new year.

PepsiCo has announced it will restore and protect a handful of watersheds in Latin American countries in which it operates, including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala. The company announced plans to "replenish" all the water used during manufacturing in high water risk areas by returning it to the watershed from which it was taken.

People working in green buildings think better in the office and sleep better when they get home, a new study has revealed. The research indicates that better ventilation, lighting and heat control improves workers' performance and could boost their productivity by thousands of dollars a year. It also suggests that more subjective aspects, such as beautiful design, may make workers happier and more productive.

According to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, before 1900, the cheetah population numbered over 100,000 and its range included the majority of Africa through the Middle East and into Asia. Since then, however, the animal has gone extinct in more than 20 countries, with a mere 7,100 animals remaining globally