Environment

The UN climate change talks will wrap up this week in Cancun, Mexico. But while countries discuss climate issues, so too does the insurance industry. Scott Tong reports.

The pledge was made to help poorer nations to cope with the effects of climate change. But one fundraising idea -- taxing air travel and shipping -- may be challenging to implement.

Norfolk was once a penal island for Australia, but now it is home to the first experimental personal cap and trade program. Citizens will be allotted carbon points which they will trade for commodities. Professor Gary Egger explains.

From individuals to cities, people are trying to "green" themselves on their own, instead of waiting for legislation. Marketplace's Adriene Hill reports.

While big policymakers in the U.N. consider climate change resolutions at the summit in Cancun, some communities back here in the U.S. are tackling environmental problems on their own. Even if they don't consider it that way. Adriene Hill reports.

The White House announced that it'll ban new drilling in the mid- and southern Atlantic coast and the west coast of Florida. Marketplace's Sarah Gardener reports.

No one's expecting earth shaking news out of the UN Climate Conference in Cancun. But in other global climate news, a major economic power wants to back out of the world's only legally binding climate change treaty. Eve Troeh has more.

While the U.N. summit in Cancun undertakes big environmental initiatives, some small businesses are already taking up the green cause. What they're discovering is that beyond the environmental factors, going green is helping out their bottom line, too.

Some states and energy companies are taking it upon themselves to transition into clean energy. Marketplace's Scott Tong looks into the potential risks and benefits for the preemptive thinking.

Swiss Re, and insurer, has issued a report, saying that the cost of this year's global catastrophes is $220 billion. Christopher Werth has more.