Launch of third generation of Leaf follows investment of more than 450m into model, including 300m direct to UKNissan has started the production of its latest electric car in Sunderland, a crucial step in the UK automotive industry's transition away from petrol and diesel.The Japanese manufacturer will launch the third generation of the Leaf on Tuesday, which was the first mass-market battery electric car to be built in the UK. Nissan has made 282,704 Leaf models at the north-east England plant so far. Continue reading...
Britain's fifth-biggest grocer postpones goal by 15 years to 2050, saying revised plan will now cover entire supply chainMorrisons has become the first UK supermarket chain to postpone its net zero carbon emission targets, delaying them by 15 years to 2050.Britain's fifth-biggest grocer said its new targets would cover the entire supply chain, as well as Morrisons stores, including emissions from agriculture and land-use sources. Continue reading...
by Yannis Baladi as told to Phoebe Weston on (#726EF)
I went from selling flats in Paris to being alone in a cabin in Guinea looking after primates. It changed my life, but one relationship marked me like no otherIn 2022, I had a job at an estate agents in Paris selling ridiculously expensive flats, and decided I needed to do something more meaningful with my life. I resigned, and six months later arrived in Guinea.In hindsight I was a young kid, full of anger, not happy with his life. That 26-year-old is definitely not me now - and it was living with primates that changed my life. Continue reading...
RHS predicts big shift in gardening habits as green-fingered Britons adapt to climate breakdownBouquets of cut flowers will be swapped for tabletop vegetable plants next year, the Royal Horticultural Society has said, as the UK charity announces its top plant trend predictions for 2026.Mini-planters of aubergines, chillies, peppers and tomatoes will be displayed in homes instead of flowers, as breeders develop dwarf varieties that are decorative and capable of supplementing the weekly shop, the RHS says. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Catherine Howard's exit comes amid disagreements at top of government about how far to push deregulation agendaRachel Reeves's attempts to overhaul Britain's planning laws have been dealt a blow after a senior lawyer whom she appointed as an adviser decided to leave the government after just four months.Catherine Howard will leave the Treasury when her contract ends on 1 January, despite having been asked informally to stay on indefinitely. Continue reading...
This week's weather system dumped 5tn gallons of rain on Washington state - and another one is threatening CanadaJust as record-level flood waters that triggered widespread evacuations begin to recede in western Washington state, residents of the Pacific north-west are bracing themselves for another strong weather system that is likely to swell rivers back to dangerous levels - again.An extraordinarily strong system known as an atmospheric river hit the region earlier this week, dropping more than a foot of rain and flooding rivers that stretch across the state toward Canada to dangerous levels. As a result of the nonstop rain, mudslides tore through communities, washing away homes and stranding families on rooftops as they waited for rescue. Continue reading...
by Lisa Cox Environment and climate correspondent on (#724R9)
Regis Resources told a federal court hearing the partial protection order, which blocks construction of a planned tailings dam, would make its development unviable
Chris Bowen says first 50kWh of a system would still be eligible, but discounting would not be as generous per kWh for medium- and larger-sized batteries
Repeated fall storms led to the temporary lake, known as Lake Manly, appearing in basin 282ft beneath sea levelAfter record-breaking rains, an ancient lake in Death Valley national park that had vanished has returned to view.The temporary lake, known informally as Lake Manly, has appeared once more at the bottom of Badwater Basin, which sits 282ft beneath sea level, in California. The basin is the lowest point in North America, according to the National Park Service. Continue reading...
In many parts of the country, there are new work requirements to get food aid. But starving people doesn't motivate them - despite centuries of this rhetoricFor more than 200 years, common wisdom and policymakers have assumed that to get people to work, you had to make them hungry. New work requirements for Snap food benefits, which went into effect in most of the US on 1 December, are only the latest in a long line of policies based on this idea. The new rules cut off benefits for any non-disabled adult up to age 65 who cannot prove that they are working or seeking work at least 80 hours every month (that includes homeless people, veterans and former foster youth). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 2.7 million people will lose their benefits.You've heard this reasoning before: people are motivated to work because they and their families have to survive. If you give someone welfare - especially food aid - they become dependent and lazy. The Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative thinktank that has been campaigning for years to cut welfare, calls this the dependency trap". Starving people by taking away their food stamps is supposed to incentivize individuals to better themselves and transition from dependency to work and self-reliance". Continue reading...
Torrential rain has caused mudslides, washed out roads and submerged vehicles with more deluges expected on SundayThe Pacific north-west is reeling from catastrophic flooding that inundated communities across the region this week, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate and prompting a federal emergency declaration.Torrential rain rapidly filled rivers and triggered flooding on Thursday from Oregon north through Washington state and into British Columbia, causing mudslides and tearing homes from their foundations. Authorities have closed dozens of roads in response to the emergency and issued evacuation warnings for 100,000 people. Continue reading...
Gaza has been hit by heavy rains and low temperatures, deepening the misery of most of its 2.2 million population who are living in tents after two years of Israeli bombardment. Thousands of homeless people have been washed out of their makeshift shelters and forced to seek emergency refuge Continue reading...
Conservationists fear up to 11% of Tapanuli orangutan population perished in disaster that also killed 1,000 peopleThe skull of a Tapanuli orangutan, caked in debris, stares out from a tomb of mud in North Sumatra, killed in catastrophic flooding that swept through Indonesia.The late November floods have been an extinction-level disturbance" for the world's rarest great ape, scientists have said, causing catastrophic damage to its habitat and survival prospects. Continue reading...
Scientists in Kansas believe Kernza could cut emissions, restore degraded soils and reshape the future of agricultureOn the concrete floor of a greenhouse in rural Kansas stands a neat grid of 100 plastic plant pots, each holding a straggly crown of strappy, grass-like leaves. These plants are perennials - they keep growing, year after year. That single characteristic separates them from soya beans, wheat, maize, rice and every other major grain crop, all of which are annuals: plants that live and die within a single growing season.These plants are the winners, the ones that get to pass their genes on [to future generations]," says Lee DeHaan of the Land Institute, an agricultural non-profit based in Salina, Kansas. If DeHaan's breeding programme maintains its current progress, the descendant of these young perennial crop plants could one day usher in a wholesale revolution in agriculture. Continue reading...
There's much more to do, but we should be encouraged by the progress we have madeToday marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris climate treaty, one of the landmark days in climate-action history. Attending the conference as a journalist, I watched and listened and wondered whether 194 countries could ever agree on anything at all, and the night before they did, people who I thought were more sophisticated than me assured me they couldn't. Then they did. There are a lot of ways to tell the story of what it means and where we are now, but any version of it needs respect for the complexities, because there are a lot of latitudes between the poles of total victory and total defeat.I had been dreading the treaty anniversary as an occasion to note that we have not done nearly enough, but in July I thought we might be able celebrate it. Because, on 23 July, the international court of justice handed down an epochal ruling that gives that treaty enforceable consequences it never had before. It declares that all nations have a legal obligation to act in response to the climate crisis, and, as Greenpeace International put it, obligates states to regulate businesses on the harm caused by their emissions regardless of where the harm takes place. Significantly, the court found that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is fundamental for all other human rights, and that intergenerational equity should guide the interpretation of all climate obligations." The Paris treaty was cited repeatedly as groundwork for this decision. Continue reading...
Announcement draws anger from Labour MP over refusal to remove tonnes of rubbish dumped near school in WiganThe Environment Agency is to spend millions of pounds to clear an enormous illegal rubbish dump in Oxfordshire, saying the waste is at risk of catching fire.But the decision announced on Thursday to clear up the thousands of tonnes of waste illegally dumped outside Kidlington has drawn an angry response from a Labour MP in Greater Manchester whose constituents have been living alongside 25,000 tonnes of toxic rubbish for nearly a year. Continue reading...
Still rare only 20 years ago, the charismatic animals are in almost every UK river and a conservation success storyOn a quiet Friday evening, an otter and a fox trot through Lincoln city centre. The pair scurry past charity shops and through deserted streets, the encounter lit by the security lamps of shuttered takeaways. Each animal inspects the nooks and crannies of the high street before disappearing into the night, ending the unlikely scene captured by CCTV last month.Unlike the fox, the otter has been a rare visitor in towns and cities across the UK. But after decades of intense conservation work, that is changing. In the past year alone, the aquatic mammal has been spotted on a river-boat dock in London's Canary Wharf, dragging an enormous fish along a riverbank in Stratford-upon-Avon, and plundering garden ponds near York. One otter was even filmed causing chaos in a Shetland family's kitchen in March. Continue reading...
Levels during boarding and taxiing were far above those defined as high by the World Health OrganizationA study has revealed the concentrations of ultrafine particles breathed in by airline passengers.A team of French researchers, including those from Universite Paris Cite, built a pack of instruments that was flown alongside passengers from Paris Charles de Gaulle to European destinations. The machinery was placed on an empty seat in the front rows or in the galley. Continue reading...
Analysis marking 10 years since Paris climate agreement underscores effectiveness of strong government policiesThe once-rigid link between economic growth and carbon emissions is breaking across the vast majority of the world, according to a study released ahead of Friday's 10th anniversary of the Paris climate agreement.The analysis, which underscores the effectiveness of strong government climate policies, shows this decoupling" trend has accelerated since 2015 and is becoming particularly pronounced among major emitters in the global south. Continue reading...
Manchester Metropolitan University again wins top spot for climate and social justice in league tableMore universities have severed ties with fossil fuel companies, banning them from recruitment fairs and refusing to advertise roles in the industry, according to the latest higher education league table.The analysis found that eight more universities had signed up to end recruitment ties with the fossil fuel industry - an increase of 80% since last year. This means 18 higher education institutions, or 12% of the sector, now refuse to advertise roles with fossil fuel companies to their students. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Use of toxic plastic beads in treatment works is unnecessary and outdated, say conservationistsThe use of tiny, toxic plastic beads at sewage works should be banned nationwide, an MP and wildlife experts have said after a devastating spill at an internationally important nature reserve.Hundreds of millions of biobeads" washed up on Camber Sands beach in East Sussex last month, after a failure at a Southern Water sewage treatment works caused a catastrophic spill. It has distressed and alarmed local people and conservationists, as not only are the beads unsightly but they pose a deadly threat to wildlife. Continue reading...
Wildlife smuggling is serious organised crime that fuels corruption and drives species to extinction', Home Office saysMore than 250 endangered species and illegal wildlife products were seized at the UK border in a single month, new figures have revealed, including spiders, snakes and birds.The illicit cargo was uncovered as part of an annual crackdown on wildlife smuggling known as Operation Thunder, which is led by Interpol and the World Customs Organisation. Continue reading...
Ecologically important Diadema africanum almost eliminated by unknown disease in Canary IslandsA marine pandemic is bringing some species of sea urchin to the brink of extinction, and some populations have disappeared altogether, a study has found.Since 2021, Diadema africanum urchins in the Canary Island archipelago have almost entirely been killed by an unknown disease. There has been a 99.7% population decrease in Tenerife, and a 90% decrease off the islands of the Madeira archipelago. Continue reading...
In 2023, court ruled in favor of 16 plaintiffs that officials violated their constitutional right by promoting fossil fuelsThe young Montanans who scored a landmark triumph in the lawsuit Held v Montana are calling on the state's highest court to enforce that victory.In a groundbreaking legal decision in August 2023, a Montana judge ruled in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs who had accused state officials of violating their constitutional rights by promoting fossil fuels. The state's supreme court affirmed the judge's findings in late 2024. But state lawmakers have since violated her ruling, enshrining new laws this year that contradict it, argue 13 of the 16 plaintiffs in a petition filed on Wednesday. Continue reading...
A fin whale washed ashore in Anchorage and was left there for months. Then a self-described wacko' museum director made a planWhen a whale dies, its body descends to the bottom of the deep sea in a transformative phenomenon called a whale fall. A whale's death jump-starts an explosion of life, enough to feed and sustain a deep-ocean ecosystem for decades.There are a lot of ways whales can die. Migrating whales lose their way and, unable to find their way back from unfamiliar waters, are stranded. They can starve when prey disappears or fall to predators such as orcas. They become bycatch, tangled in fishing lines and nets. Mass whale deaths have been linked to marine heatwaves and the toxic algae blooms that follow. Continue reading...
by Tauseef Ahmad and Sajid Raina in Srinagar on (#7224X)
Kolahoi is one of many glaciers whose decline is disrupting whole ecosystems - water, wildlife and human life that it has supported for centuriesFrom the slopes above Pahalgam, the Kolahoi glacier is visible as a thinning, rumpled ribbon of ice stretching across the western Himalayas. Once a vast white artery feeding rivers, fields and forests, it is now retreating steadily, leaving bare rock, crevassed ice and newly exposed alpine meadows.The glacier's meltwater has sustained paddy fields, apple orchards, saffron fields and grazing pastures for centuries. Now, as its ice diminishes, the entire web of life it supported is shifting. Continue reading...
The 550lb bear living under Ken Johnson's home for two weeks is unmoved by lure', with caramel and cherry smellsA hefty 550lb black bear has laid claim to the crawl space under an Altadena home, marking the latest in a series of bear incursions into the Los Angeles community.On 25 November, homeowner Ken Johnson noticed the bear leaving the crawl space and later contacted California's department of fish and wildlife for assistance removing it from below his home. Despite sweet-scented lures and ammonia-towels, the bear has remained in place for more than two weeks. Continue reading...
Weak regulation is to blame for disastrous failures in relation to pollution. But there are solutions if people get behind themA study suggesting that as many as 168m light-up Christmas ornaments and similar items could be thrown out in a single year, in the UK, is concerning if not surprising in light of longstanding challenges around recycling rates and waste reduction. Even if the actual figure is lower, there is no question that battery-powered and electrical toys, lights and gifts are proliferating as never before. Despite a great deal of commentary aimed at dialling down consumptionoverthe festive season, especially surplus packaging andrubbish, strings of disposablelights and flashing figures have gained in popularity. Homes, front gardens and shopping streetsgrow sparklier by the year.Batteries and electrical devices present particular difficulties when it comes to disposal, because they cause fires. But they are just one part of a more generalproblem of excessive waste - and weakregulatory oversight. British plastic waste exportsrose by 5% in 2024 to nearly 600,000 tonnes. A new report on plastics from the Pew Charitable Trustswarns that global production is expected to riseby 52% by 2040 - to 680m tonnes - outstrippingthecapacity of waste management systems around theworld. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#721T0)
Green light intended to limit amount consumers pay for windfarms to turn off during periods of high generationThree major UK electricity superhighways" could move ahead sooner than expected to help limit the amount that households pay for windfarms to turn off during periods of high power generation.Current grid bottlenecks mean there is not enough capacity to transport the abundance of electricity generated in periods of strong winds to areas where energy demand is highest. Continue reading...
Federal judge declared January executive order unlawful, ruling in favor of a coalition of state attorneys generalA federal judge on Monday struck down Donald Trump's executive order blocking wind energy projects, saying the effort to halt virtually all leasing of windfarms on federal lands and waters was arbitrary and capricious" and violated US law.Judge Patti Saris of the US district court for the district of Massachusetts vacated Trump's 20 January executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#721B2)
UN GEO report says ending this harm key to global transformation required before collapse becomes inevitable'The unsustainable production of food and fossil fuels causes $5bn (3.8bn) of environmental damage per hour, according to a major UN report.Ending this harm was a key part of the global transformation of governance, economics and finance required before collapse becomes inevitable", the experts said. Continue reading...
by Sarah Marsh Consumer affairs correspondent on (#721AM)
Consumers spent 1.7bn on festive lighting last year and much of it is treated as disposableUK households have thrown away an estimated 168m light-up Christmas items and other fast-tech" gifts over the past year, a study suggests.The research by the non-profit group Material Focus found about 1.7bn was spent last year on Christmas lighting, including 39m sets of fairy lights. Continue reading...
Destructive' marine heatwaves driving loss of microalgae that feed coral, says Global Coral Reef Monitoring NetworkCaribbean reefs have half as much hard coral now as they did in 1980, a study has found.The 48% decrease in coral cover has been driven by climate breakdown, specifically marine heatwaves. They affect the microalgae that feed coral, making them toxic and forcing the coral to expel them. Continue reading...
Tapanuli orangutans survive only in Indonesia's Sumatran rainforest where a mine expansion will cut through their home. Yet the mining company says the alternative will be worseA small brown line snakes its way through the rainforest in northern Sumatra, carving 300 metres through dense patches of meranti trees, oak and mahua. Picked up by satellites, the access road - though modest now - will soon extend 2km to connect with the Tor Ulu Ala pit, an expansion site of Indonesia's Martabe mine. The road will help to unlock valuable deposits of gold, worth billions of dollars in today's booming market. But such wealth could come at a steep cost to wildlife and biodiversity: the extinction of the world's rarest ape, the Tapanuli orangutan.The network of access roads planned for this swath of tropical rainforest will cut through habitat critical to the survival of the orangutans, scientists say. The Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis), unique to Indonesia, was only discovered by scientists to be a separate species in 2017 - distinct from the Sumatran and Bornean apes. Today, there are fewer than 800 Tapanulis left in an area that covers as little as 2.5% of their historical range. All are found in Sumatra's fragile Batang Toru ecosystem, bordered on its south-west flank by the Martabe mine, which began operations in 2012. Continue reading...
Study of 11,000 births in New Hampshire shows residents' reproductive outcomes near contaminated sitesDrinking water contaminated with Pfas chemicals probably increases the risk of infant mortality and other harm to newborns, a new peer-reviewed study of 11,000 births in New Hampshire finds.The first-of-its-kind University of Arizona research found drinking well water down gradient from a Pfas-contaminated site was tied to an increase in infant mortality of 191%, pre-term birth of 20%, and low-weight birth of 43%. Continue reading...
Sun-dimming risks putting the planet's thermostat under Donald Trump's control. Better to adopt the precautionary principle with high-stakes scienceIt is fitting that this week's UN environment talks are in Nairobi, with Africa shaping the global climate conversation. The continent's diplomats are dealing with the vexed question of whether it is wise to try to cool the planet by dimming the sun's rays. While not on the formal summit agenda, on the sidelines they are arguing that it's time to stop promoting solar geoengineering technology as a solution to global heating. It's hard to disagree.African nations have acted because they don't want their continent to become a test bed for unproven schemes to spray particles into the high atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from Earth for a small, uncertain cooling gain. They point to environmental, ethical and geopolitical risks. That's why the continent is pushing for a global non-use" agreement that would rule out public funding, outdoor experiments, patenting and official promotion of these technologies.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#720WT)
Leader John Swinney says independence could cut household energy bills by a third in the long termThe future of Scottish renewables will underpin the Scottish National party's Holyrood election campaign, the party leader, John Swinney, has said, as he claimed independence could cut household energy bills by a third in the long term.At what was billed as the first campaign event before next May's elections to the Scottish parliament, Swinney declared: It's Scotland's energy" - mirroring the famous 1970s slogan It's Scotland's oil", which bolstered the SNP's first Westminster breakthrough. Continue reading...
Charity worker had joined 40 demonstrators bearing witness' to the loss of three lime trees in FalmouthA charity worker suffered a head injury when police tried to remove her from a protest against trees being felled in a Cornish seaside town.Debs Newman, 60, was bearing witness" to the loss of three mature lime trees in Falmouth when she was seized by officers. Continue reading...
Species extinct as breeding birds in Britain since 1416 to be reintroduced in Barking and Dagenham as part of rewilding effortAbove the roar of traffic, the rumble of the tube and the juddering construction noise of a towering new datacentre in Dagenham, east London, will soon rise a beautiful and unlikely melody: the bill-clattering of white storks.The birds will next year make a historic return to the UK capital as part of an ambitious rewilding effort to bring charismatic nature into busy city communities. Continue reading...
At a time when the UK and other countries are finally taking bold steps for climate, Canada is preparing a new oil pipelineLast week, the United Kingdom did something all too rare: it chose leadership by backing science and prioritizing public safety. The Labour government announced it would ban new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, strengthen a windfall tax and accelerate phasing out of fossil-fuel subsidies.These are not symbolic gestures. They are an acknowledgment that the global energy system is shifting and that mature economies must shift with it.Tzeporah Berman is a Canadian environmental activist, campaigner and writer Continue reading...
Environment | The Guardian