<p>Due to government mismanagement of waste disposal in Lebanon, people and municipalities have turned to burning garbage, with adverse effects on nearby residents. The waste problem came to a head when the government closed the main landfill near Beirut without arranging an alternative. According to Human Rights Watch, the government has failed to find a solution since.

<p>The new French president, Emmanuel Macron, promised to rid France of the weedkiller glyphosate within three years. This goal is viewed as too ambitious by the European nation's farmers. Many French farmers believe that even five years is too short a time frame because there is currently no economically viable alternative that is more environmentally friendly. Glyphosate was determined to cause cancer by the World Health Organization in 2015.

<p>Delegations for the United States, Russia, and China, along with other countries, struck a deal to refrain from commercial fishing in the high Arctic seas until scientists can determine what fish are there and whether they can be sustainably harvested. The agreement will protect an area of the central Arctic Ocean for at least 16 years. Waters in the region were once frozen year-round but the area is now the earth's fastest-warming. The other parties to the legally binding agreement were Canada, Norway, Greenland, Iceland, Japan, South Korea and the European Union.