Half to three-quarters of major Antarctic penguin colonies – including the iconic Emperor Penguin, which was made famous by the blockbuster hit March of the Penguins – will likely experience significant decline or disappearance as a result of climate change, according to a new report from World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Declining ice thickness and what is looking like the second lowest coverage on record means that Arctic sea ice may well have reached its lowest levels ever in terms of total volume, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said today. The final figures on the minimum ice coverage for this year are expected in a matter of days, but this year’s minimum figures are already flirting with last year’s record low of 1.59 million square miles.

World Wildlife Fund announced today that JohnsonDiversey, one of the world’s largest providers of commercial cleaning products and services, has joined the WWF Climate Savers program, pledging to significantly reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions from their operations.

An aerial survey by government scientists in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea this week found at least nine polar bears swimming in open water – with one at least 60 miles from shore – raising concern among wildlife experts about their survival. A World Wildlife Fund (WWF) polar bear expert said the bears could have difficulty making it safely to shore and risk drowning, particularly if a storm arises.

Former Vice President Al Gore today called upon the United States to embark on a path toward energy independence by committing to generate 100 percent of its electricity from clean, domestic, non-emitting energy sources, such as solar, wind and geothermal. Dr. Richard Moss, vice president for climate change at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), issued this statement.

As the Southeast contends with the second consecutive year of exceptional drought, a new report commissioned by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) projects that climate change will increasingly stress water resources and affect water quality over a major portion of the region. The report, which was presented at a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill today, concludes that climate impacts on water resources are likely to be further exacerbated by population growth and land use changes. At risk are hundreds of unique, threatened, or endangered aquatic vertebrate species.

Dr. Patrick N. Halpin, a leading expert in marine conservation, will discuss “Protecting the Large Pelagics: New Technologies for Marine Conservation in the Open Ocean” at World Wildlife Fund on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. The lecture is part of the Kathryn Fuller Science for Nature Seminar series, which brings distinguished scientists from a variety of fields to Washington, D.C. to present cutting edge research of central importance to international conservation.

Tomorrow, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Allianz Foundation for North America and the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will host a briefing on the results of a climate change vulnerability assessment of the Cumberland, Mobile, and Tennessee River Basins. The river basins are globally unique and ecologically important, and are vital sources of clean water. The assessment comes at a time when portions of the region are experiencing exceptional drought conditions for the second consecutive year.

In advance of next week’s G8 summit in Japan, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has released a new report examining the progress of each of the G8 countries toward addressing climate change, a main focus of this year’s meeting.

Environmental degradation is a key factor in turning extreme weather events and natural hazards, like floods, earthquakes, cyclones, forest fires and hurricanes into catastrophic natural disasters, according to a new report from World Wildlife Fund. In the wake of a series of recent devastating events, like the flooding in the Midwest, the massive earthquake in China and the typhoon in the Philippines, among others, this report illustrates how natural resource protection could have helped to mitigate the effects of these disasters and highlights the potential for conservation now to help alleviate impacts from future episodes.

In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives today, Tom Dillon, senior vice president for field programs at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), urged a new paradigm in international species conservation, comprised of a globally based strategic vision and greater funding for conservation efforts.

A key government report issued today concludes that climate change is having a significant and irreversible impact on sensitive ecosystems and resources and urges the immediate implementation of ecosystem adaptation strategies on federally protected and managed lands and waters. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) officials called on Congress and the administration to provide the leadership, funding and reforms that federal managers require to implement the report’s recommendations.

Climate change is altering the frequency and severity of many extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts and hurricanes, according to a government report issued today. In the wake of devastating flooding throughout the Midwest – for which President Bush is seeking nearly $2 billion in emergency aid – the report illustrates the nation’s economic vulnerability to climate change and reinforces the urgency of developing a national preparedness strategy for climate change impacts, said a senior World Wildlife Fund (WWF) official.

The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 3036) today failed to garner a 60 vote supermajority necessary to advance the legislation in the U.S. Senate. However, the 48-36 vote in favor of proceeding marked a significant shift in political support for addressing climate change, said Dr. Richard Moss, vice president of climate change at World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Eleven major corporations today urged the U.S. Senate to pass climate change legislation, saying the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 3036), which will be voted on this week, “represents a real effort to establish the regulatory framework that we need.”

A report focusing on the impacts of climate change in the U.S. that was issued today by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) is consistent with previously published research, but falls far short of meeting the needs of decision-makers for timely and useful information on the growing impacts of climate change, said World Wildlife Fund (WWF) officials.

Climate change is fueling forest fires, creating water scarcity, harming animal habitats, and causing other significant changes throughout the United States that will only worsen as global temperatures increase, concludes a new federal government assessment of current and future climate change impacts.

Climate change is destroying vital polar bear habitat, putting the species at risk of extinction, the U.S. government said today as it listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world’s largest conservation organization, said the government’s decision clearly indicates that climate change impacts are already threatening the survivability of animals and habitats, and illustrates the urgency of preparing for and adapting to a rapidly changing climate.  

WASHINGTON—Twenty-five high school students displaced by Hurricane Katrina will join WWF and scientists to examine the southeastern United States’ vulnerability to climate change under research awards from WWF and Allianz Foundation for North America this spring.

WASHINGTON – Climate change is having a greater and faster impact on the Arctic than previously thought, according to a new study by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

WASHINGTON -- National and international plans to combat climate change must address the root causes of deforestation, which is responsible for nearly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) official said in testimony before the U.S. Senate today. 

World Wildlife Fund announced today that an estimated 36 million Americans took part in Earth Hour, a global event in support for action on climate change that took place March 29, 2008.

WASHINGTON – Officials at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today expressed doubt that President Bush’s Rose Garden speech this afternoon will offer any hope for meaningful action on climate change before the end of his term and called on his would-be successors to demonstrate leadership on the issue, specifically urging them to participate in a debate on climate change and other science and environmental issues.

WASHINGTON, D.C.– The Gold Standard for carbon offsets in the energy sector has come out on top after research which, for the first time, rates voluntary offset standards according to clear quality criteria.

Pekanbaru, Sumatra-Turning just one Sumatran province's forests and peat swamps into pulpwood and palm oil plantations is generating more annual greenhouse gas emissions than the Netherlands and rapidly driving the province's elephants into extinction, a new study by WWF and partners has found.

A groundbreaking report by WWF and partners analyzes the local-to-global connections between deforestation, climate change and the rapid decline of tigers and elephants in the Riau Province, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 15, 2008 – Momentum continues to build for Earth Hour 2008, as World Wildlife Fund announced today that four major US cities will take part in a global effort to turn off the lights on March 29, 2008 to demonstrate concern about climate change.

What: Climate Camp is a week-long program where conservationists, policymakers and resource managers from Papua New Guinea to Northern California learn how to develop programs that help wildlife, habitats and communities prepare for the consequences of global climate change. Climate scientists from around the world will explain the impacts of climate change and help them design programs to help places like the Congo, Amazon and Rockies prepare for a changing climate. They present these programs to their peers and funders and if the last climate camp is any guide, most will successfully implement projects when they return home.

Tokyo – A business group including leading companies such as HP, Sony, Nokia and Nike today released the Tokyo Declaration, a joint call to tackle the urgent issue of climate change. Signing the declaration at the Climate Savers Summit 2008 held by WWF and Sony in Tokyo, a dozen business leaders highlighted that the world’s greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by more than 50 percent by 2050. They added that emissions must peak and start to decline within the next 10 to 15 years in order to keep global warming below the dangerous threshold of 2 degrees Celsius.

WASHINGTON D.C. – HP has joined the WWF Climate Savers program, a group of leading corporations from around the world that are working with World Wildlife Fund to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, WWF and HP announced today.

WASHINGTON – The head of the climate change program at World Wildlife Fund, the world’s largest environmental organization, today issued the following statement:

Washington D.C.— As 17 countries and 30 organizations launch the International Year of the Reef today, three major environmental groups – World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International – call on governments, businesses, scientists, non-governmental organizations and individuals around the world to vastly increase actions to protect coral reefs. The International Year of the Reef 2008, designated by the International Coral Reef Initiative, is a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs and to motivate action to protect them.

WASHINGTON D.C. – World Wildlife Fund (WWF) expressed disappointment over the announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on January 7, 2008 that it will delay by up to one month a final decision on  whether to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), an agency within the Department of Interior (DOI), issued its Final Notice of Intent for the Chukchi Lease Sale 193 opening approximately 29.7 million acres of the pristine Chukchi Sea to oil and gas activities on January 2.

WASHINGTON, December 18, 2007 - WWF today announced the official launch of Earth Hour, a global initiative in which cities and communities will turn out their lights to symbolize their leadership and commitment to finding solutions for climate change.

Bali, INDONESIA – Political leaders meeting in Bali for the UN’s Climate Change Summit hammered out a deal which launches formal negotiations with a 2009 end date, but the deal falls short in its ambition, says World Wildlife Fund.

Bali, Indonesia – A move by the U.S. government could push the Bali climate negotiations to the brink of failure, WWF officials warned tonight. The U.S. proposal would eliminate language that called upon developed nations to consider specific, internationally binding, quantified reduction commitments, replacing it with text that calls upon countries to adopt any measures they deem appropriate.

New data from the government of Brazil shows that deforestation rates for the Brazilian Amazon from August 2006 to July 2007 have fallen for the third consecutive year - and are the lowest registered for the region since 1991.

Bali, Indonesia - The penguin population of Antarctica is under pressure from global warming, says WWF’s latest briefing.

Bali, Indonesia – Officials with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said landmark climate change legislation sent to the floor of the US Senate by the Environment and Public Works Committee this week will help put the US on the path towards meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Bali, Indonesia – A vicious feedback loop of climate change and deforestation could wipe out or severely damage nearly 60 percent of the Amazon forest by 2030, says a new report from WWF. 

Bali, Indonesia– The past year has seen yet more weather records smashed as extreme weather events take a firmer hold of the planet, says WWF.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Leaders of 150 global companies today called on world leaders to agree on a comprehensive, legally binding United Nations framework to tackle climate change during negotiations that begin next week during the Conference of the Parties in Bali, Indonesia.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Leaders of 150 global companies today called on world leaders to agree on a comprehensive, legally binding United Nations framework to tackle climate change during negotiations that begin next week during the Conference of the Parties in Bali, Indonesia.

Ted Ligety:
“With the start of the 2007 ski season, it’s never been clearer that the sport I love is at risk. Global warming has made skiing conditions progressively worse – the seasons are getting shorter and there seems to be less snow on the slopes. Without immediate action to halt global warming we could lose the sport as we know it all together. Scientists say we have less than 10 years to do something before it’s too late.

WASHINGTON - Want to make your Thanksgiving a little more environmentally-friendly? World Wildlife Fund offers some easy steps to make your celebration more sustainable:

Washington D.C. – A new tool from WWF allows people around the world to document first-hand the impacts of climate change on their communities and livelihoods, from melting glacial lakes in the Himalayas threatening to flood Sherpa villages to rising sea levels in the Pacific putting fishermen out of business. Through the Climate Witness Program, WWF collects testimony from citizens in vulnerable areas, verifies it with leading climate scientists and then shares it with the world.

WASHINGTON - World Wildlife Fund announced today that internationally-recognized climate expert Richard Moss has been named WWF's vice president and managing director for Climate Change for the United States. In that role, Moss will be at the forefront of WWF's efforts to secure a strong global climate agreement that includes steep emissions reduction targets, addresses forest carbon policy and protects the world's key eco-regions from the effects of global warming.

WASHINGTON, October 16, 2007 -In the new fantasy adventure film "The Golden Compass," polar bears protect themselves with suits of armor. In the real world, threats to polar bears are not so easily abated. This majestic species is one of many in danger of extinction due to harsh changes in climate, which is why New Line Cinema has launched a unique partnership today with the World Wildlife Fund to help educate the public about the impact global warming is having on animals throughout the world.

WASHINGTON DC - The CEO of World Wildlife Fund, the world's largest environmental organization, said today that the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to former Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognizes that climate change is one of the great destabilizing forces of our era and a root cause of some of the world's most violent conflicts.

What do Scarlett Johansson, Orlando Bloom and Rachael Ray have in common? They’ve joined together with 13 other hot celebrities to support an online auction for World Wildlife Fund. Each has signed a WWF “Hotter than I Should Be” t-shirt to be auctioned off on eBay starting today with funds going to support WWF’s global climate change and other conservation initiatives.

Brasilia, Brazil - Today nine Brazilian conservation organizations, including WWF-Brazil, launched an initiative to protect the Amazon's rainforests. This historic pact establishes a system of economic incentives for conservation with a goal of eliminating deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon by 2015 - an ambitious 7 year target.

WASHINGTON— A new report on the fate of polar bears in a world of rapid climate change predicts disaster for one of the world's most charismatic species, World Wildlife Fund said today.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - At yesterday's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, 21 world leaders endorsed a new proposal to safeguard the rich marine resources of the Indo-Pacific region for future generations. The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security aims to bring together six governments in a multilateral partnership to conserve the extraordinary marine life in the region. The proposal was endorsed in the Sydney APEC Leaders' Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development.  U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed this Initiative during the Summit.

WASHINGTON—World Wildlife Fund and the Allianz Foundation for North America today announced a new opportunity for high school students displaced by Katrina and now residing in nine U.S. cities to assess the climate change vulnerability of the Southeastern United States.

As you make your Back to School list, you might want to check it twice, according to World Wildlife Fund who offers ten important tips on how you can make a positive impact on the environment by making sure the school supplies that make it into your backpack are good for the Earth:

Coral reefs attract a diverse abundance of marine animals and plants that rely on each other for food and shelter. They create rich spawning grounds for fisheries and feeding grounds for sea turtles. They protect coastal areas from extreme ocean storms. They provide areas for tourism and recreation. There is even evidence that some organisms found within the reefs are a valuable resource for modern medicine.

WASHINGTON – Despite the enormous potential of energy efficiency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the planet from dangerous climate change, too many of the existing efficiency policies and measures in the G8 industrialized countries, including the United States, are ineffective according to a new WWF report, Making Energy Efficiency Happen: From Potential To Realization. The report outlines what each of the G8 plus 5 countries can do to save energy and the climate while promoting their energy security with sustainable economic growth.

WASHINGTON – Whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) are facing increasing threats from climate change, according to a new report published by WWF and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) released in advance of the 59th meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Anchorage, Alaska, May 28-31.

World Wildlife Fund today introduced a bold consumer campaign created to aid in the world's fight against global warming.  A series of public service announcements will air this month dramatically demonstrating how unchecked climate change will affect average lives.  The new public service announcements show a young boy playing baseball elbow deep in water and a couple being married amid a torrential hurricane.

WASHINGTON– Sustainable energy and technology can curb climate change and meet projected growth in demand for energy but only if key decisions are made within the next five years, according to a new WWF report.  Climate Solutions: WWF’s vision for 2050 concludes that sustainable technologies can meet global projected energy demand while avoiding the most dangerous impacts of climate change.  But it warns that the governmental policies needed to propel this transition are not now in place, or even in prospect in most cases. 

The dramatic effect climate change is having on our oceans is especially evident in the waters surrounding the island nation of Madagascar, which boasts some of the richest arrays of marine biodiversity in the Indian Ocean.

From organizing an Earth Day-themed karaoke fundraiser to participating in a trash clean-up in their local community, Americans have pledged to take action to conserve mother earth for Earth Day 2007. More than 2,000 people have made pledges for change on World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Day website.

WASHINGTON ­– A new report from WWF shows how global warming threatens ten of the world’s greatest natural wonders, including two in the United States.  Saving the World's Natural Wonders from Climate Change finds that global warming is already affecting places like the Amazon and Himalayas.

Placencia, Belize — A WWF survey shows that rising temperatures, altered rainfall and coral bleaching are among the main threats to Central America's Mesoamerican Reef.

Technology-based solutions eyed as part of new agreement with World Wildlife Fund-US

The insurance industry should do more to address the growing impact of climate change-induced damages, according to a new report released today. This is the first time that a major insurance company has publicly released a study of this kind in the U.S. The report examines the latest scientific findings about climate change, specifically on forest fires, storms and floods, and the potential impact on the insurance industry and its customers.

Washington - World Wildlife Fund congratulates Sony, which has agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from both operations and its product range as part of a deal struck with WWF. The company's commitment, which was announced today in Tokyo, includes all its subsidiaries and its production facilities globally, including Japan, China, Europe, and the US.

Washington, D.C. - The Earth could see massive waves of species extinctions in around the world if global warming continues unabated, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Conservation Biology.

Washington, DC - Tetra Pak and WWF today signed a three year agreement to cooperate to improve management of the world's forests and to reduce industrial emissions contributing to climate change. Under the agreement, Tetra Pak will take steps to strengthen its purchasing of forest-based products from well-managed forests and to reduce its CO2 emissions over the next five years by an absolute 10 percent.

In an effort to reduce the effects of global warming, including an increase in polar bear drownings, World Wildlife Fund is working to educate people, businesses and governments around the world about the importance of reducing CO2 emissions.

One year after the Southeast Asian tsunami, reconstruction is finally under way. But some of the hardest hit areas risk sowing the seeds of future disasters unless donor countries include sustainably sourced building materials in their long-term aid packages, according to experts from the World Wildlife Fund.

A World Wildlife Fund report released last week said that 2005 is on track to be the warmest year on record, surpassing the record set in the 1998 El Niño year. By October of this year, NASA reported that the global average temperature was already 0.06ºC (0.1ºF) warmer than 1998.

A week ahead of a key Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in Montreal, Canada, the global conservation organization's report " Are we putting our fish in hot water? " shows that global warming is causing the world's waters to warm while rainfall patterns, currents and sea levels are changing.

WASHINGTON - The cities of Aspen and Annapolis, along with NorskeCanada (TSX:NS), a leading paper producer, have reached agreements with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Center for Energy & Climate Solutions (CECS) committing to significant actions that will reduce heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions. WWF and CECS also announced that IBM (NYSE:IBM), a participant in their Climate Savers program, has surpassed its reduction target and avoided more than 1.28 million tons of CO2 emissions since the 1998 base year of its Climate Savers goal, saving $115 million in reduced energy costs. These efforts are part of the growing trend of businesses, states and local communities taking direct action to address the challenge posed to nature and people by global warming.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - With a strong endorsement from Indonesian officials, World Wildlife Fund Tuesday unveiled a set of reconstruction guidelines designed to promote both the economic and environmental recovery of tsunami-ravaged Aceh province.

WASHINGTON - "As the world celebrates the launch of the first international agreement to protect our living planet from global warming, the United States shouldn't remain paralyzed by inaction--it can do its share by passing the bi-partisan Climate Stewardship Act now in Congress.

State Senator Shannon Robinson (D-17, Bernalillo) and Representative Mimi Stewart (D-21, Bernalillo) introduced the Water Efficient Technology act (WET) today in the New Mexico Senate and House of Representatives. The bill would raise $10-20 million annually to increase the productivity of the state's water supplies by fixing leaking pipes, funding infrastructure, water-efficient technology and other water projects. Cosponsors include Representatives Ben Lujan, (D-Santa Fe), Speaker of the House, Irvin Harrison, (D-McKinley, San Juan), Manuel Herrera, (D-Grant, Hildago), Antonio Lujan (D-Doña Ana), Jim Trujillo (D-Santa Fe), Ernest Chavez (D-Bernalillo), Edward Sandoval (D-Bernalillo), Roger Madalena (D-Bern, McK., R.A. & Sandoval), Nick Salazar (D-Mora, R.A., S.M., S.F. & Taos), Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe), Joni Gutierrez (D-Dona Ana), Gail Beam (D-Bernalillo), Danice Picraux (D-Bernalillo).

Washington, DC - In the aftermath of the tsunami disaster, WWF, the global conservation organization, is calling on governments to support the devastated communities by ensuring that efforts to rebuild their livelihoods are environmentally sustainable. The call comes as a UN conference on the vulnerability of small island developing states gets underway in Mauritius in the Indian Ocean -- the area severely impacted by the tsunami.

Washington, DC - Despite their role as the biggest contributors to climate change, a new report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reveals that the planet's largest power companies are failing to make use of available technologies to address the threat that climate change poses to the environment. Ranking Power, a new WWF report, documents the overall failure of major power sector companies around the world to significantly invest in renewable and efficient energy in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Almost two thirds of the companies evaluated received a score of less than one out of a possible ten for their response to global warming, with more than 90% rating below three. Rankings are based on the companies' current use of available technologies to reduce CO2 emissions, as well as clear commitments they have made for future improvements.

WASHINGTON - People are consuming the earth's natural resources 20 percent faster than nature can renew them--a dangerous imbalance that is fueling the loss of species and may lead to critical resource shortages in the years ahead, according to a World Wildlife Fund study released on Thursday.

WASHINGTON - A new World Wildlife Fund report shows that the corals of the Great Barrier Reef may continue to degrade over the coming decades if the world fails to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by rapidly switching to clean, renewable energy sources and limiting CO2 emissions.