In this April 23, 2015 photo, friends Jia Haixia, left, and Jia Wenqi work to plant a tree in a field in Yeli village near Shijiazhuang city in northern China's Hebei province. For the past 13 years, Jia Wenqi, who has no arms, and Jia Haixia, who is blind, have worked together to plant and water more than 12,000 trees near their village. (Photo by Helene Franchineau/AP Photo)

In this photo taken on Sunday, July 5, 2015, police officers walk along a giant poster to give an improved appearance, in downtown Ufa, Russia. Ufa will host SOC (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summits July 7 to July 9, 2015. (Photo by Vadim Braydov/AP Photo)

A dramatic rise in owning exotic pets in China is fuelling global demand for threatened species. The growing trade in alligators, snakes, monkeys, crocodiles and spiders is directly linked to species loss in some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Here: A fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is groomed in a pet store in central Beijing. Native to the Sahara in North Africa, the species became a popular pet after being depicted as a character in Disney’s 2016 animated movie Zootopia. Individuals can cost between $2,000–$3,000. (Photo by Sean Gallagher/The Guardian)

“Dubai is sometimes called the “City of Gold” because of its stunning growth from a sleepy Gulf port to a world-famous business crossroads in the space of a single generation. Its nickname has a literal meaning for traders in the precious metal. The city is building itself up as a center for the gold trade, between sources in Africa and consumers in the rising economies of China and India”. – Kamran Jebreili via Associated Press

Photo: A gold press operator collects 10 gram gold blanks to press them with the logo of the Emirates Gold company in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Gold prices remained relatively steady in 2012, close to $1,700 an ounce. (Photo by Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo)

A model stands in a light backstage after presenting the collection by Russian designer Alena Akhmadullina at The Russian State Library, one of the three national libraries of Russia, the largest library in the country, largest in Europe, in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

A female pitch invader is caught by a steward during Day Two of the Fourth Test between South Africa and England at Wanderers on January 25, 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Sustainable development goal target 12.5 is to reduce waste. But with a planet increasingly dependent on technology, is that even possible? As of today, over 30m tonnes of electronic waste has been thrown out so far this year, according to the World Counts. Most e-waste is sent to landfills in Asia and Africa where it is recycled by hand, exposing the people who do it to environmental hazards. Kai Loeffelbein’s photographs of e-waste recycling in Guiyu, southern China show what happens to discarded computers. (Photo by Kai Loeffelbein/laif Agentur)

Internationally acclaimed German three-dimensional artist Manfred Stader adds finishing touches to his artwork in Cape Town, South Africa on 21 November 2010. Stader created this masterpiece to celebrate the opening of Speedo's first dedicated concept store in Africa. (Photo by Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)