Environment | The Guardian

Exclusive: Volunteers express frustration at lack of beach cleanup support after significant pollution event' on Sunshine Coast

Emissions by world's most polluting country could peak this year after surge in clean energy investmentsChina's carbon emissions could peak this year before falling into a structural decline for the first time from next year after a record surge in clean energy investments, according to research.Emissions from the world's most polluting country have rebounded this year after the Chinese government dropped its Covid restrictions in January, according to analysis undertaken for Carbon Brief. Continue reading...

Government says legislation designed to strengthen state's response to animal security, while critics describe move as ag-gag by stealth'

Robert Hill, Peter Garrett and former state ministers back teal MP Sophie Scamps' call on all governments to work together on transition

The French president has called for action at a climate summit in Paris attended by heads of state and scientists before Cop28France will spend 1bn (880m) on polar research between now and 2030, amid rapidly rising scientific concern over the world's melting ice caps and glaciers.A new polar science vessel will spearhead the effort, and France is calling for a moratorium on the exploitation of the seabed in polar regions, to which the UK, Canada, Brazil and 19 other countries have so far signed up. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Australian scientific agency rejects ghostwriting' claims made by US law firm representing victims of Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Mark Barrow returned to the site of an earlier shoot five years later and found aquatic life devastated by sewageFive years ago, when Mark Barrow started his project to film along the 65-mile River Wharfe in Yorkshire, he captured footage of majestic shoals of grayling, the fish known as the Lady of the Stream", some 200 or 300 strong.Recently, Barrow returned to the same spot, near the historic Harewood House on the outskirts of Leeds, to reshoot some video because he wasn't happy with the quality of his earlier attempt. Continue reading...

Animal welfare groups urge retailers to switch to slow-growing birds in face of record deaths last yearMore than 80 million chickens died before reaching slaughter weight in the UK last year, with mortality rates the highest for at least a decade, reveal official figures.Animal welfare organisations say the fast-growing chicken breeds that dominate production have higher mortality rates, lameness and muscle disease than slower-growing breeds. They are calling on retailers to switch to slower-growing breeds and provide more space for the birds. Continue reading...

Fears grow that Rishi Sunak's anti-green policy shift is driving investment in renewable energy abroadThe government has received no new applications for onshore wind farms in England since cabinet ministers eased planning rules earlier this year - in a further sign that Rishi Sunak's anti-green policy shift is driving investment abroad.So far this year, only one new project, with a single turbine, has become fully operational in England, with many more being built in the EU - and in Scotland and Wales, where planning rules are less burdensome. This is despite renewables being seen as the cleanest and safest form of power, and having wide public support. Continue reading...

Move is bad news for local environmental groups, whose motion to halt construction will be heard on 15 NovemberA federal agency that monitors water quality says it stopped measuring sediment pollution levels in a creek that runs alongside the controversial police and fire department training center known as Cop City" months ago due to safety concerns.The issue is particularly important as a local environmental group's motion to stop construction of the project will get its day in federal court on 15 November. Continue reading...

A rancher in California is training a new generation to fight fires - and foster deeper connections to the land - with farm animalsDust swirls around Brittany Cole" Bush as she coaxes dozens of stubborn sheep and goats toward a small enclosure. They aren't going willingly, but she can't help but smile.Bush is the founder of Shepherdess Land & Livestock, a ranch in the Ojai Valley that uses grazing animals to reduce the risk of wildfires in southern California. Continue reading...

Hottest US city, buffeted by extreme temperatures, sees 579 heat-related in 2023, with large proportion among unhoused peopleHeat deaths surged by 50% in Phoenix in 2023 - the deadliest year on record after extreme temperatures pummeled America's hottest city, official figures show.At least 579 people lost their lives to heat this year, with senior citizens accounting for one in three deaths, according to the year's final heat surveillance report by the medical examiner's office in Maricopa county, where Phoenix is located. Another 56 suspected heat deaths are still under investigation. Continue reading...

Charity says research dispels myth that wood burning, which has health risks, is a cheaper energy optionWood burners are a more expensive way to heat homes than gas boilers or heat pumps, research shows.A study found that as well as causing significant health and environmental dangers for the home's occupants and their neighbours, it is at least 15% more costly to heat a home using a wood burner rather than a gas boiler. Continue reading...

Developers say higher prices across their supply chains mean costs have climbed by about 40%The government is poised to offer higher subsidies for new offshore windfarms to avoid missing its green energy targets as developers grapple with a rise in supply chain costs.Ministers are expected to set out within the next week a new starting price for the next subsidy auction, which is likely to offer higher levels of support to offshore wind developers. Continue reading...

Chris Skidmore says use of negative political tactics by fellow Tory MPs is putting climate and people at riskThe Conservative party is going in a very dark direction", a Tory former minister has said, as misinformation around climate continues.Chris Skidmore, the MP for Kingswood in Gloucestershire, served as energy minister under Theresa May when she signed the target of net zero emissions by 2050 into law. He was appointed last year as Liz Truss's net zero tsar, and asked to review the UK's net zero plan, which is now being published in paperback.Mission Zero is published on 28 November by Biteback Publishing Continue reading...

A new study doubles the number of species at risk of extinction to 2m, driven by the latest data on insects. Losing these tiny creatures would have huge implications for life on EarthRead more: Number of species at risk of extinction doubles to 2 million, says studyCut an apple in half, and the white flesh reveals a cluster of black pips arranged in the shape of a star. It is a tiny constellation of seeds hidden in the fruit bowl. But it reveals an interlinked universe of pollination and nature's abundance - a delicate system, and one that can easily be thrown off course.When the apple blossoms are pollinated, seeds pump out hormones telling the plant to produce the right vitamins, minerals and rate of growth. They help formulate crunchiness, size and shape. Lose those pollinators, however, and this fragile system becomes unbalanced. If only three or four of the seeds get pollinated, our apple may grow lopsided. The nutritional value might decrease, as could the shelf-life of the fruit, turning it brown and wrinkled before its time. Continue reading...

Species now extinct in 20 counties in England due to loss of woodland scrub and milder wintersPopulations of the hazel dormouse, perhaps the most elusive native British mammal, have plummeted by 70% this century.The nocturnal, tree-dwelling animals are now extinct in 20 counties in England and the species must be reclassified as endangered" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list, according to a study by the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES). Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

As the climate crisis changes habitats across the Arctic and drives the animals closer to people, the search is under way for new ways to live togetherIt's pretty easy to know when there's a bear in your community - you hear the shots going off," says Churchill's mayor, Mike Spence. That's the conservationists' patrols - they use a 12-gauge shotgun with a noise-banger cartridge on it as a deterrent. The sound also means our people know there's a bear in the community."The town of Churchill, on the west shore of Hudson Bay in the far north of Manitoba, Canada, is known as the polar bear capital of the world. The fact that bangers" - rather than live rounds - are being used here marks a significant shift in attitudes. Back in the early 1970s, people would shoot a bear," says Spence. Now people use a shotgun to move the bear out of the community." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lib Dems call for water companies to be more transparent with their data on sewage spillsThames Water has pumped at least 72bn litres of sewage into the River Thames since 2020 - roughly equal to 29,000 Olympic swimming pools - new figures reveal.Water firms have no legal obligation to report the amount of sewage discharged, only the number of hours that it was released. But campaigners argue this data is insufficient as this does not properly quantify how much sewage is in England's rivers. Continue reading...

National Sea Country Alliance Summit told that the agendas of environmental groups do not always align with First Nations priorities

Analysis finds concerns about environment key factor in having fewer or no children - but reasons differ around worldIt was just over a decade ago that Emma Smart and her husband, Andy, first decided they would not have children. Back then, her friends and family did not understand.When you tell people you didn't want to have children, that was a big social no-no," she recalled. And then when they asked you why, and you said for environmental reasons, that was completely unheard of. Continue reading...

Energy firm's lawsuit seeks indefinite block on protesters targeting its infrastructure

Rotifers could be accelerating risk by splitting particles into thousands of potentially more dangerous nanoplasticsA type of zooplankton found in marine and fresh water can ingest and break down microplastics, scientists have discovered. But rather than providing a solution to the threat plastics pose to aquatic life, the tiny creatures known as rotifers could be accelerating the risk by splitting the particles into thousands of smaller and potentially more dangerous nanoplastics.Each rotifer, named from the Latin for wheel-bearer" owing to the whirling wheel of cilia around their mouths, can create between 348,000 and 366,000 nanoplastics - particles smaller than one micrometre - each day. Continue reading...

Some states have implemented free school meals, and Maine has a constitutional amendment to guarantee the unalienable right to food'The US must acknowledge the right to food in order to transform its broken food system in the post-pandemic era and make it more resilient in the face of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, according to a United Nations hunger expert.Whether we're talking about right to food, food justice or food sovereignty, there has been growing momentum over the last 10 years to understand that food is not just something we just leave to be determined by what is available or by corporations or the status quo," said Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food. Continue reading...

Coyotes claim route is 100% safe', but dozens have died and Colombian coast guard have rescued more than 1,000 peopleSome time before dawn on an October morning, Jancerlin Martinez, 33, was preparing to embark on the next leg of her journey to the United States, where she hoped to join relatives in Florida. She had left Venezuela with her sister Jaerlin, 26, and brother Joencer, 19, a few days earlier, eager to provide a better future for her unborn child.Martinez had saved for two years for the trip, before traveling overland to the Venezuelan border, and then flying with her siblings to the Colombian island of San Andres. From here they planned to cross the Caribbean to Nicaragua, before continuing overland through Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. Continue reading...

Report by non-profit researchers tallies incidents exposing people to dangerous toxins through fires, explosions, leaks and spillsHazardous chemical accidents are occurring almost daily, on average, in the United States, exposing people to dangerous toxins through fires, explosions, leaks, spills and other releases, according to a new analysis by non-profit researchers.The report, prepared by Coming Clean, in conjunction with a network of environmental and economic justice organizations in the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, documents what it calls an alarming frequency" of accidents, and comes a month before US regulators are expected to release final rules aimed at preventing such incidents. Continue reading...

Opposition climate and energy spokesperson had pointed to SMRs as a solution to Australia's energy needs, but experts raise questions over price tag

Government's Energy Company Obligation has managed to upgrade only 65,000 homes since April 2022, figures showLabour has attacked the Conservatives over the speed of government efforts to upgrade Britain's draughty housing stock, as analysis showed a leading household energy efficiency initiative was proceeding at what the party called a glacial pace".Just 65,000 homes have been upgraded under the government's Energy Company Obligation (Eco) scheme since it was relaunched in April last year, according to analysis of statistics released by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Continue reading...

Indigenous people's parliament says action required including lower speed limits and more fencesSweden's Sami parliament is calling for more protection for reindeer after more than 10,000 were killed by motorists in the last five years, turning roadsides into animal graveyards".According to police, between October 2018 and October 2023 there were more than 10,000 road accidents in northern Sweden involving at least one reindeer, meaning the number killed is likely to be far higher. Continue reading...

Annual scorecard' of major firms insuring oil, gas and coal projects puts household names Allianz, Axa, AIG and Aegis in Top 10Insurers operating in the Lloyd's of London market are the world's biggest underwriters of fossil fuel projects, research has found.Fifty years after the insurance industry first warned about the impact of the climate crisis, it is continuing to contribute to the climate emergency, the Insure Our Future campaign, a global group of 24 NGOs, said in its annual scorecard" on 30 major insurers and their involvement in fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Attendees of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship were treated to a grab-bag of cherrypicked talking points from some speakers that ignored the risks of climate change

Campaigners call Graham Stuart's comments laughable' and say Conservatives are weaponising climate actionOil and gas are not the problem" for the climate, but the carbon emissions arising from them are, the UK's net zero minister has told MPs.In words that suggested the UK could place yet more emphasis on technologies to capture and store carbon, Graham Stuart said fossil fuel production was not driving climate change, but demand for fossil fuels was. Continue reading...

Regulator under pressure to act after finding executive payouts at three English suppliers were not justified

Ballot initiative to transform grid backed by climate advocacy groups fails amid fears over cost and performanceMaine voters turned down an attempt on Tuesday to oust the state's corporate-owned electric utilities and replace them with a non-profit backed by climate advocacy groups.In one of several ballot initiatives, Maine voters rejected the proposed takeover of the two investor-owned utilities that distribute 97% of electricity in the state. Continue reading...

Data shared with Guardian reveals Texas oil and gas fields emitting far more methane than New Mexico, feeding calls for stiffer rulesOil and gas production in Texas is spewing out double the rate of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, than in the more regulated state of New Mexico, new satellite data shared with the Guardian shows, prompting calls for tougher curbs of super-emitter" sites that risk tipping the world into climate breakdown.Satellite imaging of methane leaks across the Permian basin, a vast geological feature at the heart of the US oil and gas drilling industry, show that sites in Texas have emitted double the amount of the gas than in New Mexico, per unit of production, since 2019. Continue reading...

Millions of people's lives wrecked by droughts that used to happen once every 250 years but now expected once a decadeExtreme droughts that have wrecked the lives of millions of people in Syria, Iraq and Iran since 2020 would not have happened without human-caused global heating, a study has found.The climate crisis means such long-lasting and severe droughts are no longer rare, the analysis showed. In the Tigris-Euphrates basin, which covers large parts of Syria and Iraq, droughts of this severity happened about once every 250 years before global heating - now they are expected once a decade. Continue reading...

Campaigners call for urgent action after data shows almost all bird types reducing in abundanceWoodland birds are facing an accelerating decline in the UK, with species at risk of extinction if the government does not act, experts have said.Data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has revealed that almost all bird types are reducing in abundance, despite years of warnings from nature bodies that action needs to be taken to protect habitats and save species. Continue reading...

Trash Free Trails' report finds average of 41 pieces of litter a kilometre as calls grow for deposit returns schemeLitter is blighting the UK's footpaths, with an average 41 pieces found a kilometre, according to a major study. Particularly frequently found brands included Lucozade, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Monster and Walkers.The State of Our Trails report, conducted by Trash Free Trails, is the first UK study that aims to establish a scientific understanding of the environmental consequences of the tonnes of litter in our landscapes. It drew together more than 1,600 submissions by 4,500 volunteers and with the data the authors have estimated as many as 9.1m individual pieces of litter could be found across the UK's 220,000km of public rights of way. The surveys took place between July 2020 and August 2023. Continue reading...

Alarming' new research warns of risk to British woodlands from disease, extreme weather and wildfires, unless call to action' is heeded nowUK forests are heading for catastrophic ecosystem collapse" within the next 50 years due to multiple threats including disease, extreme weather and wildfires, researchers have warned, with trees dying on a large scale.The study, published in the journal Forestry, was put together by a panel of 42 researchers, with 1,200 experts consulted. Lead author, Dr Eleanor Tew, head of forest planning at Forestry England and visiting researcher at the University of Cambridge, described the finding as sobering and alarming". Continue reading...

More native plants and species at risk of extinction as Australia enters worst bushfire season since 2019's black summer

First found in rocks on a logging trail in Canada, the 500-million-year-old microfossils are believed to be forerunners of the algaeHalf a billion years ago, the ocean was filling up with animals for the first time, including scuttling trilobites and spiky worms. Little is known, however, about what was happening further down the food chain.Now, a British palaeontologist believes he may have found fossilised phytoplankton - forerunners of the tiny but vital algae that today suck masses of carbon out of the atmosphere and produce about half the oxygen we breathe. The fossils, dating back to the Cambrian period - 538m to 485m years ago - are microscopic, roughly the width of a human hair, and lived in the ocean back when there was no life on land. Continue reading...

Auditor general says key measures to cut emissions by 40-45% to meet Paris accord commitment delayed or not prioritizedCanada's emissions reduction plan is insufficient to meet its target to cut emissions by 40% to 45% below the 2005 level by 2030, according to a new a report released by the country's auditor general.The audit found the government's plan insufficient because key measures needed to meet the 2030 target were delayed or not prioritized, according to a statement from the office of the auditor general on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Two fires, in Madison county and Patrick county, broke containment lines amid dry conditions and high windsThe Virginia governor, Glenn Youngkin, declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as firefighters responded to two wildfires amid dry conditions and high winds.The declaration allows Virginia to mobilize additional resources, staff and equipment to help with the response, the governor's office said in a news release. The operation involves the Virginia national guard, the department of forestry, the department of emergency management and other agencies. Continue reading...

William says hope does remain' at event rewarding innovative solutions to climate emergencyScientists who developed a cleaner and more sustainable way to make batteries for electric cars were among the winners of this year's Prince of Wales's 1m Earthshot prizes.The awards, announced at a ceremony in Singapore on Tuesday, are aimed at rewarding innovative solutions to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies.PA Media contributed to this report. Continue reading...

Sydney Water says the city cannot wait until the dams are empty to take action'

Analysis of federal lobbying documents by Food and Water Watch finds industry targeted dozens of pieces of legislationThe US chemical industry likely spent over $110m during the last two election cycles deploying lobbyists to kill dozens of pieces of PFAS legislation and slow administrative regulation around forever chemicals", a new analysis of federal lobbying documents has found.The industry's onslaught was effective: only eight pieces of legislation that targeted PFAS made it through Congress, the paper prepared by the Food and Water Watch (FWW) nonprofit found. Continue reading...

Decision to pause levy on home heating oil in Atlantic Canada has experts concerned about efforts to combat climate crisisFor nearly a decade, Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has repeated a simple message: pollution should not be free". His government imposed a national carbon tax and emerged victorious at the country's top court after a handful of provinces challenged the constitutionality of the law.But in recent weeks, Trudeau undid years of careful messaging after he announced a temporary pause on the carbon levy for home heating oil. Continue reading...

Move announced by interior minister is part of ambitious Kenyan plan to plant 15bn trees by 2032The Kenyan government has announced a surprise public holiday on 13 November for a nationwide tree planting day, part of its ambitious plan to plant 15bn trees by 2032The interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, made the announcement via an official notice posted to social media. Continue reading...

Government not putting enough effort into flood resilience despite likelihood of more frequent and severe storms, experts sayThe UK is ill-prepared for the disaster future storms could wreak, scientists have warned, after Storm Ciaran swept the country.Experts believe a warming atmosphere caused by emissions from burning fossil fuels will make storms more frequent and severe in the UK. This autumn, storms have caused thousands of homes in the UK to flood, and last week almost 150,000 households were left without power. Continue reading...