Ciara Nugent

Ciara Nugent is a staff writer for TIME, based in London. She covers how climate change is reshaping our built and natural environments, as well as regional news from Latin America.

Recent Articles

The Messy Reality of Cities Touting Climate-Friendly Utopias

Ostensibly hyper-sustainable "eco-cities" are popping up around the world. Environmentalists say they do more harm than good.

By Ciara Nugent

What Would Happen if South America Formed an OPEC for Lithium

Leaders in South America hope the crucial energy transition mineral can deliver a big pay day.

By Ciara Nugent

Climate Change Hurts U.S. Progress on Air Pollution

Pollution is spiking to dangerous levels more often as the U.S. warms

By Ciara Nugent

Why Recycling Plants Keep Catching on Fire

The plants recycling our waste are facing a cocktail of new combustion risks

By Ciara Nugent

Rich People Are Threatening Cities' Water Supplies

A new study lays the blame for rising urban water crises on city elites—not climate change

By Ciara Nugent

Where Mining and Energy Projects Will Hurt Wildlife the Most

A new study shows how mining, oil and gas extraction, and power plants will proliferate across crucial wildlife sites around the world.

By Ciara Nugent

Russia Wants a Committed Fossil Fuel Relationship. China Has Cold Feet

If approved, the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline would help Russia permanently reorient its gas industry to the east.

By Ciara Nugent

Why Climate Activists Want to Stop Denmark's New Island-City

Activists say Copenhagen's new artificial island-city of Lynetteholm could kill marine life across the Baltic Sea.

By Ciara Nugent

Anti-Racism Minister Gets to Work in Brazil

Brazilian racial equality minister Anielle Franco is fighting a personal battle

By Ciara Nugent

This Mexican Activist Is Helping Americans Defy Abortion Bans

For Verónica Cruz Sánchez, the past year has felt like traveling back in time. Since 2000, Cruz’s feminist activist network, Las Libres, has transformed the experience of getting an abortion in Guanajuato, a deeply conservative...

By Ciara Nugent

Why Climate Activists are Protesting Wind Farms

A global backlash against clean energy on Indigenous land is complicating the energy transition

By Ciara Nugent

The Unexpected Climate Impact of Russia's War in Ukraine

By most measures, Russia's year-long war in Ukraine has been an unremitting tragedy. For the climate, it's a little different.

By Ciara Nugent

Should Flood-Hit Pakistan Give Up Concrete?

Yasmeen Lari, an 82 year old architect, wants Pakistan to swap concrete for bamboo as it rebuilds from devastating floods.

By Ciara Nugent

Plants Are Struggling To Find New Homes To Escape Climate Change

Plants are searching out cooler places to grow in North America. But studies suggest they are struggling to keep up with climate change.

By Ciara Nugent

Why One Country Wants to Stop Building Roads to Fight Climate Change

The Welsh government has decided that building new roads would encourage more car use—hurting its emissions goals.

By Ciara Nugent

Brazil's Controversial Plan to Sink a 34,000-Ton Ship at Sea

Environmentalists say the Brazilian navy's plan to abandon a massive aircraft carrier is a disaster for marine life.

By Ciara Nugent

Aging Populations Can Be Good for the Climate

Rich countries don't want their populations to shrink. But that could be good for the planet.

By Ciara Nugent

Arizona's Dilemma: Import Water or End its Housing Boom

The drama of a suburb cut off from water in Arizona forces an existential question for the state's real estate industry.

By Ciara Nugent

Agroforestry Could Save Brazil’s Rain Forests

A movement in Brazil is reimagining agriculture to save the industry—and the rain forest.

By Ciara Nugent/Timburi, Brazil

A New Jersey Town Takes Climate Action Into Its Own Hands

New Jersey is suing a beach town for taking "self-help" measures to protect itself from rising seas. More such climate conflicts are coming.

By Ciara Nugent
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