Environment | The Guardian

In January the island's beaches were inundated with waves of plastic pollution, a phenomenon that has been getting worse by the year. Photographer and film-maker Sean Gallagher travelled to Bali to document the increasing tide of rubbish washing up on beaches and riverbanks, and the people facing the monumental challenge of cleaning up. His portraits are on show as part of the 2025 Head On photo festival at Bondi Beach promenade until 30 November Continue reading...

Sonia Guajajara tells Cop30 the rights of traditional communities must be maintained in the face of exploitation by the mining industryCountries must recognise the demarcation of Indigenous lands as a key component of tackling the climate crisis, and civil society must help in the defence of such lands against mining interests, Brazil's minister for Indigenous peoples has said.Sonia Guajajara, a longtime Indigenous activist before being appointed a minister by President Lula da Silva, said: [Among the goals of the Cop30 summit is] a request that countries recognise the demarcation of Indigenous lands as climate policy." Continue reading...

A huge cleanup effort has seen volunteers working to remove beads by hand and machine. They can only wait and see the extent of damage to wildlife and dune habitatJust past a scrum of dog walkers, about 40 people are urgently combing through the sand on hands and knees. Their task is to try to remove millions of peppercorn-sized black plastic biobeads from where they have settled in the sand. Beyond them, a seal carcass grins menacingly, teeth protruding from its rotting skull.Last week, an environmental disaster took place on Camber Sands beach, on what could turn out to be an unprecedented scale. Eastbourne Wastewater Treatment Works, owned by Southern Water, experienced a mechanical failure and spewed out millions of biobeads on to the Sussex coastline. Southern Water has since taken responsibility for the spill. Ironically, biobeads are used to clean wastewater - bacteria attach to their rough, crinkly surface and clean the water of contaminants.Camber Sands is one of England's most popular beaches, with rare dune habitat Continue reading...

Ford denies having created defeat devices' in legal action on behalf of 1.6 million owners against five carmakersAbout a million Ford diesel cars were sold in the UK with serious defects in components supposed to curb toxic exhaust emissions, the high court has been told.The highly polluting vehicles were produced and sold between 2016 and 2018 after Ford's engineers became aware of the issues, and many were never formally recalled or fixed, lawyers said. Continue reading...

With a reported boom in people becoming snake handlers, Guardian Australia's Joe Hinchcliffe attended a venomous snake handling course in Queensland to investigate what's involved in training to wrangle some of the world's deadliest snakes. Christina Zdenek and Chris Hay, the herpetologist pair running the course, say they've observed a growth in their industry: '[The] number of snake catchers has exploded in Australia, and that's in every Australian state,' says Chris. 'And every year we hear about this increase in snake numbers. But the fact is it's the increase in human population that is then catalysing this increase in snake interaction.'

The fossil-fuel era is drawing to a close, but at a pace far too slow for the planet's good or a fair transition to a clean energy futureThe weather in Belem, wrote the Guardian's environment editor, offers a convenient metaphor for the UN climate talks being held in the Brazilian city. Sunny mornings begin in blazing optimism before the Amazon's clouds gather and the deluge begins. Cop30 has followed the same pattern. It opened with sunshine - an agenda agreed on day one. The storms were deferred for later consultations" on climate finance, carbon border tariffs and the question of how to close the yawning gap between national climate pledges and the Paris agreement's safe pathway. These await Cop30's second week.They are likely to be more than mere squalls. The International Energy Agency confirmed last week that the fossil-fuel era is ending. Its annual report said the world will hit peak coal, oil and gas this decade and see declines thereafter. The economist Fadhel Kaboub, who advises developing nations on climate, argues this is not because of political will, but because the economics of renewables is winning". Africa, he says, can generate about 1,000 times the electricity it will need in 2040 - which could be exported. Globally, however, hydrocarbon use is easing far too slowly. The fight over money and a just transition matters at Cop30.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...

Weaning ourselves off gas is the only way to reduce energy bills long term. Cutting support for this is exactly the sticking-plaster politics' Labour promised to endAfter years of painfully high energy bills, diminishing household budgets and stalled investment, this year's budget, on 26 November, should be the moment when the government finally starts to confront why the UK's energy system is so expensive. And yet, if recent briefings suggesting that Labour will dramatically scale back the heat pump subsidy for households are to be believed, it is now repeating exactly the same mistakes as its predecessors.People want relief from painful energy bills. In the long term, electrification is the only way to provide this. In practice, that means switching from gas boilers to heat pumps, shifting from petrol cars to electric vehicles: boosting access to technologies that are modern, cheaper to run, and are already becoming mainstream. At present, our energy system protects the legacy gas-based system, subsidising supply and penalising demand in ways that keep gas artificially cheap and electricity artificially expensive, even when electric technologies cost less to operate.Camilla Born is the CEO of Electrify Britain, a campaigning organisation founded by EDF and Octopus EnergyDo 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...

Munduruku people demand to speak to Brazil's president, saying they are never listened to

Dozens of Indigenous activists blocked the entrance of the Cop30 summit venue on Friday, demanding that the Brazilian government halt all development projects in the Amazon, including mining, logging, oil drilling and the building of a new railway for transporting mining and agricultural products. The protesters staged a sit-in creating long queues and forcing delegates to use a side entrance to resume their negotiations on tackling the climate crisis

Plastic pellets attract algae and smell like food so can be eaten by birds, fish and dolphins, which can prove fatal

Local people describe devastating impact of millions of toxic beads from Southern Water site near Camber Sands

Jonathan Jarvis, who led the agency from 2009 to 2017, laid out the dire consequences of not closing parks in shutdownAmericans should raise hell" to protect US national parks through the nightmare" of Donald Trump's presidency, according to a former National Park Service director, amid alarm over the impact of the federal government shutdown.Jonathan Jarvis claimed the agency was now in the hands of a bunch of ideologues" who would have no issue watching it go down in flames" - and see parks from Yellowstone to Yosemite as potential cash cows", ripe for privatization. Continue reading...

Senate inquiry hears how propagandised misinformation' is drowning out legitimate concerns in Australia's regions over renewable energy

Diane Wilson recognized Exxon's playbook - and showed how local people can take on even the most entrenched industriesWhen ExxonMobil announced it would slow the pace of development" on a $10bn plastics plant along the Texas Gulf coast, the company blamed market conditions. But it wasn't just the market applying pressure; it was a 77-year-old shrimper named Diane Wilson who refused to stay silent. Her fight exposes big oil's latest survival plan: ramping up oil and gas production to create plastic.I first met Wilson back in 2019 while tracking her historic lawsuit against Formosa Plastics, the Taiwanese petrochemical giant accused of dumping toxic plastic waste throughout coastal Texas. Billions of tiny plastic pellets were contaminating waterways, shorelines and even the soil itself.Shilpi Chhotray is the co-founder and president of Counterstream Media and Host of A People's Climate for the Nation Continue reading...

From deforestation to emissions trading, vital policies are being watered down in the name of competitiveness'. But Europe is shooting itself in the footClimate action has long been a flagship European policy. As negotiators gather in Brazil for Cop30, however, Europe's leadership risks faltering. Things were very different a decade ago in Paris, when a landmark deal to limit global heating to 1.5C was achieved at Cop21. That agreement relied on an understanding between the US and China - one that would be difficult to replicate today. Its ambition was elevated by Europe acting in concert with a broad coalition of global south countries.The Paris climate agreement paved the way for the European Green Deal in 2019, which enshrined into law the ambition of climate neutrality in the EU by 2050 and introduced the world's first comprehensive plan to achieve it, featuring a robust set of pricing, regulatory and funding measures.Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...

Charvet Drucker captures dramatic video and photos of seal being hunted by orcas in Salish Sea, north-west of SeattleA wildlife photographer on a whale-watching trip in waters off Seattle captured dramatic video and photos of a pod of killer whales hunting a seal that survived only by clambering on to the stern of her boat.Charvet Drucker was on a rented 20ft (6 metre) boat near her home on an island in the Salish Sea about 40 miles north-west of Seattle when she spotted a pod of at least eight killer whales, also known as orcas. Continue reading...

If the government cuts a deal with them, it risks repeating the mistakes of the Abbott era, sacrificing progress for politicsThis week the National Liberal Coalition has rewound the clock a decade. When Tony Abbott's government abolished the Climate Commission in 2013, I knew it was a political act of climate vandalism. Abbott simply didn't want to hear the facts: that pollution from coal, oil and gas were cooking our planet.For a decade after, denial evolved: from shouting that global heating wasn't real, to claiming it could be solved later. Continue reading...

Climate Action Tracker report finds pledges made in past year have not cut the forecast for global heatingMore than half of all delegation members at Cop30 have withheld or obscured details of their affiliations, potentially concealing conflicts of interest and undermining trust in the Cop process, warns Transparency International.According to the campaign group's examination of the UNFCCC's official list of registered participants, 54% of participants in national delegations either did not disclose the type of affiliation they have or selected a vague category such as Guest" or Other".Yet, at Cop30, thousands of delegates still do not share enough information, most from within national delegations. If Cop30 is indeed the Cop of truth, the lresidency and the UNFCCC Secretariat should now commit to reviewing and strengthening participant disclosure rules ahead of future summits, ensuring integrity and accountability at every level. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Supporters say grants largely going to middle-class households, but experts warn move will slow transition from gas boilersHundreds of thousands of homeowners will lose their right to subsidies for eco-friendly heat pumps as a result of government plans to bring down energy bills at the budget.Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is planning to announce a series of measures to bring down energy bills amid concerns the country's stubbornly high cost of living is driving millions of voters to Reform UK. Continue reading...

Figures show none of US big four' - CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox - appear to have sent teams to cover summit in BelemThousands of media professionals are at the United Nations climate talks in Brazil. Almost none of them appear to be from the four major US broadcasters.Nearly 4,000 members of the media registered to attend the global climate conference, known as Cop30, according to a preliminary list released by the United Nations climate body on Tuesday. But none of the big four" US broadcasters - CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox - appear to currently have teams present at the talks. Continue reading...

Advocates say conservative states' push to define gender as biological sex' would backslide on decade-old language within the UNA row over the definition of the term gender" threatens to bog down pivotal talks at the Cop30 climate summit.Before the UN talks in Brazil, hardline conservative states have pushed to define gender as biological sex" over their concerns trans and non-binary people could be included in a major plan to ensure climate action addresses gender inequality and empowers women. Continue reading...

Mining crew had hit unknown pocket of water last Saturday about three-quarters of a mile into the mineCrews have found the body of the coal miner missing since a West Virginia mine flooded on Saturday, said the state's governor, Patrick Morrisey, on Thursday.Crews found the body inside Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc's Rolling Thunder Mine near Belva, about 50 miles east of the state capital of Charleston. Continue reading...

Sussan Ley appears to have given up trying to meet voters where they are, instead allowing conservative MPs to dictate policy to keep her job - and keep the Coalition together

Videos show schoolgirls fighting off animals, while others show people feeding bears, with some so realistic that users struggled to distinguish between fact and fictionIf a record number of fatal bear attacks wasn't terrifying enough, experts say a torrent of AI-generated videos in Japan purporting to show people in close encounters with the animals is only adding to public anxiety - and could put people at greater risk.While headlines about real attacks and disruption appear on a regular basis, monitors of online content are warning social media users not to be taken in by realistic videos on platforms such as TikTok of the animals attacking or interacting with humans. Continue reading...

Troubled waters over the world's longest suspension bridge are no surprise. The Italian government should be funding public servicesA dozen or so times each day, as Italy's southbound Intercity rail service arrives in the Calabrian town of Villa San Giovanni, the journey comes to a dramatic halt. The train is lifted from its tracks, carefully loaded on to the deck of a ferry, and secured in place. The entire cargo then eases out into the Strait of Messina en route to Sicily. Invariably, this 25-minute crossing becomes an impromptu community moment. Passengers abandon their carriages, flocking to the ship's top-deck snack bar to share freshly fried arancini, trade anecdotes, and admire the vista towards Mount Etna's distant peak, before returning to continue their journey by rail.For tourists and itinerant visitors like myself, the ferry crossing is a charming novelty. For local people, however, it has long been a defining part of their identity. In his 1941 novel, Conversations in Sicily, the writer Elio Vittorini describes a group of fruit pickers congregating on the boat's deck, feasting on large chunks of local cheese and enjoying the view. As the narrator joins them, he is transported to being a boy; feeling the wind devouring the sea", while gazing out at the ruins along the two coasts", separated, poetically, across the water.Jamie Mackay is a writer and translator based in Florence Continue reading...

If the government is committed to the energy transition and a future made in Australia, the choice that must be made is clear

Michael Miller tells Senate misinformation inquiry platforming climate deniers and net zero critics part of great democracy and healthy debate'

We cannot claim to be of the right of politics yet shy away from targets that hold us to account, especially ones that were once the Liberals' own

Fossil fuel emissions have hit a record high while many nations have done too little to avert deadly global heatingThe world is still on track for a catastrophic 2.6C increase in temperature as countries have not made sufficiently strong climate pledges, while emissions from fossil fuels have hit a record high, two major reports have found.Despite their promises, governments' new emission-cutting plans submitted for the Cop30 climate talks taking place in Brazil have done little to avert dangerous global heating for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Climate Action Tracker update. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. You can read the full Guardian coverage of the climate talks in Brazil hereHello comrades, this is Nina Lakhani in chilly New York City taking over the blog for the next few hours. Thanks very much to my colleague Matt Taylor in London Town who will be back in the hot seat on Friday morning.Leading climate activists and influencers have signed a letter criticising PR firm Edelman over its role at the Cop30 summit in Brazil. Continue reading...

Exclusive interview with ex-US vice-president at Cop30 also reveals his hope around much-maligned climate summitFear of being bullied by Donald Trump may have prompted Bill Gates to row back on the climate crisis, Al Gore has speculated, as he slammed the billionaire's new position as silly", and the US president for his anti-climate stance.Trump, the most corrupt president in American history", was badly damaging the US economy" by pulling away from renewable energy and promoting fossil fuels, the former US vice-president warned. Continue reading...

Stakeholders have spent months ironing out disagreements over how to distribute water from the sprawling basinState negotiators embroiled in an impasse over how to manage the imperiled Colorado River were unable to agree on a plan before a federally set deadline on Tuesday, thrusting deliberations deeper into uncertain territory.Stakeholders have spent months working to iron out contentious disagreements over how to distribute water from this sprawling basin - which supplies roughly 40 million people in seven states, 5.5m acres (8.9m hectares) of farmland, dozens of tribes and parts of Mexico - as the resources grow increasingly scarce. Continue reading...

The party's imminent move to abandon the 2050 climate goal makes the environment the loser and Labor the biggest winner

Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart has previously donated to Institute of Public Affairs but thinktank won't say if she remains a donor

Senior Liberal sources say 28 speakers wanted to jettison the 2050 net zero emissions target entirely, 17 expressed desire to retain it in some form, while four were on the fence

Exclusive: Deep-rooted injustices' affect billions of people due to location of wells, pipelines and other infrastructureA quarter of the world's population lives within three miles (5km) of operational fossil fuel projects, potentially threatening the health of more than 2 billion people as well as critical ecosystems, according to first-of-its-kind research.A damning new report by Amnesty International, shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that more than 18,300 oil, gas and coal sites are currently distributed across 170 countries worldwide, occupying a vast area of the Earth's surface. Continue reading...

Watchdog's flagship report says rise in low-carbon electricity will make transition inevitable', despite Trump's calls to carry on drillingRenewables will grow faster than any major energy source in the next decade, according to the world's energy watchdog, making the transition away from fossil fuels inevitable", despite a green backlash in the US and parts of Europe.The world is expected to build more renewable energy projects in the next five years than has been rolled out over the last 40, according to the flagship annual report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Continue reading...

Gavin Newsom is most senior US politician at annual talks, heading alternate delegation in Trump's absence

Plan, which Gavin Newsom, the governor, has said would be dead on arrival', will allow six lease sales from 2027 to 2030The Trump administration is planning to allow oil and gas drilling off the California coast for the first time in decades, according to a draft plan shared with the Washington Post.The move is guaranteed to set up a battle with the state's governor, Gavin Newsom, a staunch opponent of offshore drilling. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. You can read the full Guardian coverage of the climate talks in Brazil hereIn the run-up to Cop30, the Guardian published a series of articles looking at the ten biggest polluters of greenhouse gas, and their plans to clean up. Here's a piece my colleague Jonathan Watts wrote in September about China, which according to an analysis published today has plateaued its emissions.Chinese power took on an old-fashioned hue in the past week with a huge military parade, a gathering of former allies Russia and North Korea, and President Xi Jinping's defiant vow not to be intimidated by bullies. Continue reading...

10bn tonnes must be captured from the air every year to limit global heating to 1.7C, says Johan Rockstrom

Armed forces and settlers used bombs, dogs, poison and machinery to attack people and infrastructure at key sitesIsraeli armed forces and settlers have attacked Palestinian water sources more than 250 times in the past five years, amounting to the most sustained assault on civilian water supplies in recent years, new research reveals.Bombs, dogs, poison and heavy machinery were among the weapons used to attack Palestinians and their infrastructure at drinking water, irrigation and sanitation sites in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip on at least 90 occasions between January 2024 and mid-2025, according to the Pacific Institute, a California-based nonpartisan thinktank tracking water conflicts. Continue reading...

Scientists believe new discovery to be the oldest crocodilian eggshells ever found in Australia

The public stoush is really about whether the party will drop the charade or maintain it while shuffling some words

How do you plan for an event whose timing is unknown? For residents of Tofino on Vancouver Island the threat is distant but signs of preparedness are everywhereJustin Goss was in the shower when he first heard the piercing wail of a nearby tsunami early-warning siren. Still dripping wet, he threw on clothes, grabbed his dog and rushed to the truck. The pair made it 3 metres and no further.The whole parking lot across the street was jammed up. It was complete gridlock within three minutes," he says. I thought, Oh shit, this is not good.'" Continue reading...

Company failed to effectively operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets, Ofwat finds

Environmentalists seeking to end logging, smuggling and pollution in DRC's Mangrove Marine park faced threats, violence and rapePeople who have tried to expose unlawful ownership and profit-making from protected land in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have faced threats, violence and rape, an investigation has found.The DRC government hired the conservation worker Kim Rebholz in 2022 to safeguard the Mangrove Marine park, an internationally recognised nature reserve on the country's tiny coastline. The Congo basin rainforest, to the east, is the largest rainforest after the Amazon. Continue reading...

Rightwing lobby group's email blitz targets party ahead of Liberal shadow ministry meeting at 9am on Thursday

The failure by state governments to do anything about pollution means it has often been met with apathy. But at a rare protest anger and frustration were rifeAs a familiar smoky evening haze gathered over Delhi, the crowd began to assemble in their hundreds. Mothers and children, students, retirees and environmentalists were all united by a basic but desperate demand: the right to breathe safely in India's capital.Delhi is not a liveable city any more, it's a death trap," said Radhika Aggarwal, 33, an engineer who joined the protest on Sunday. Continue reading...