Climate & Biodiversity News (October 2026)

Pennsylvania Landing, Philadelphia, Pennsyvania / HargreavesJones

By Jared Green

World Faces Nature Reality Check at UN Biodiversity Conference, Reuters, October 19 

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity meets in Yerevan, Armenia this week. The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP) is the first major progress check on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which set ambitious goals to protect and restore 30 percent of the world's land and ocean ecosystems by 2030. According to a draft UN report, governments are off track on 22 of the 23 goals established in the framework. But there is some good news: 27.5 percent of the planet's land area is now slated for protection.    

Latest Climate Report Warns of Major Upheaval to California Way of Life, The New York Times, October 19 

California released its fifth climate assessment, which found that the state will see temperatures 4°F higher by mid century, with warmer temperatures lasting for 45 more days on average. Snowpack levels are expected to decrease by 40 percent by 2050, leading to more drought. And sea level rise is expected to impact three-quarters of the state's beaches and $78 billion worth of coastal property by the end of the century.  

COP31 Host Urges Wealthy Countries to Spend ‘Much More’ on Climate Than Defense, The Guardian, October 9 

Ahead of the next major climate gathering in Antalya, Türkiye, COP31 President-designate Murat Kurum, Türkiye's climate change minister, asked world leaders to spend more than 5 percent of their budgets on the climate crisis, the amount NATO countries have promised for defense, because "the climate issue is a security issue." 

L.A. Planning Commission Approves Water Plant Overhaul in Atwater Village, Urbanize LA, October 9 

The Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant will be revamped to add 18,000 square feet of public park space along the Los Angeles River. The new waterfront park will be designed by landscape architecture firm Studio-MLA, and the facility will be designed by Lerner Architects. 

In Philadelphia, a Series of Green Corridor Projects Will Promote Walkability and Connection, The Architect's Newspaper, September 28 

In the City of Brotherly Love, landscape architects are reimagining outmoded transportation infrastructure. OJB has partnered with Gensler to lead a $150-million redesign of the Avenue of the Arts. Andropogon Associates is transforming a half-mile of Washington Avenue into a green multimodal corridor. And HargreavesJones is leading the design of a 11.5-acre park that will cap a highway and create new green connections into the city. As part of the project, the city is creating a bridge that will give pedestrians and bicyclists better access to the Delaware River.