Environment | The Guardian

After experiencing a record-breaking number of extremely hot' days in summer, the unusually high temperatures are due to continueMatsutake mushrooms and persimmons have appeared on supermarket shelves, along with seasonal beers and sakes. In Tokyo neighbourhoods, residents carry portable shrines through the streets at festivals to mark the end of summer, and children get ready for school sports days.Autumn, though, has yet to make an appearance in Japan. Instead, experts are warning that the crisp, sunny days that usually offer relief at the end of a sweltering summer are still some way off, with one describing the weather as abnormal". Continue reading...

Despite a $100m effort over 14 months to stop the invasive parasite, scientists say eradication is no longer possible

Majority of offset projects that have sold the most carbon credits are likely junk', according to analysis by Corporate Accountability and the GuardianThe vast majority of the environmental projects most frequently used to offset greenhouse gas emissions appear to have fundamental failings suggesting they cannot be relied upon to cut planet-heating emissions, according to a new analysis.The global, multibillion-dollar voluntary carbon trading industry has been embraced by governments, organisations and corporations including oil and gas companies, airlines, fast-food brands, fashion houses, tech firms, art galleries and universities as a way of claiming to reduce their greenhouse gas footprint.A total of 39 of the top 50 emission offset projects, or 78% of them, were categorised as likely junk or worthless due to one or more fundamental failing that undermines its promised emission cuts.Eight others (16%) look problematic, with evidence suggesting they may have at least one fundamental failing and are potentially junk, according to the classification system applied.The efficacy of the remaining three projects (6%) could not be determined definitively as there was insufficient public, independent information to adequately assess the quality of the credits and/or accuracy of their claimed climate benefits.Overall, $1.16bn (937m) of carbon credits have been traded so far from the projects classified by the investigation as likely junk or worthless; a further $400m of credits bought and sold were potentially junk. Continue reading...

Plans set to be announced on Friday could include delaying ban on sales of new petrol and diesel carsRishi Sunak is planning to row back on some of the government's net zero policies that impose a direct cost on consumers as the Conservatives attempt to create a dividing line with Labour before the next election.The Guardian understands that the move, expected to be announced in a major speech this Friday, could include delaying a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and watering down the phasing out of gas boilers. Continue reading...

Prof Lesley Hughes and others say there is cognitive dissonance' between Labor's stated commitment to the climate crisis and its policiesThe Australian government is missing half the equation" in acting on the climate crisis by backing a shift to renewable energy but having no plan to get out of fossil fuels, according to an author of a new scientific review.Prof Lesley Hughes is a leading climate change scientist and member of the independent Climate Council and government advisory body the Climate Change Authority. Hughes said there is a cognitive dissonance" between Labor's stated commitment to addressing the problem and the pace at which it is moving. Continue reading...

These beady-eyed, bulletproof birds are an adaptive species - and their lift and lilt is like a flight path that takes me safely home

Report says climate change made rainfall heavier but human factors turned extreme weather into humanitarian disasterCarbon pollution led to heavier rains and stronger floods in Greece and Libya this month but other human factors were responsible for turning the extreme weather into a humanitarian disaster", scientists have said.Global heating made the levels of rainfall that devastated the Mediterranean in early September up to 50 times more likely in Libya and up to 10 times more likely in Greece, according to a study from World Weather Attribution that used established methods but had not yet been peer-reviewed. Continue reading...

Media crackdown follows reports that police officers had detained and questioned Libyan reportersLibya's eastern government has ordered journalists to leave Derna after angry protests against the authorities a week after a flood killed thousands of residents.Hundreds of people gathered on Monday outside Sahaba mosque in the city, chanting slogans. Some sat on its gold-domed roof. Later in the evening, a crowd set fire to the house of the man who was Derna's mayor at the time of the disaster, Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi. Continue reading...

Melting ice caps and rising sea levels are urgent but people care more about the floods, wildfires and droughts that are here now, New York summit hearsFloods, wildfires, drought and the onslaught of extreme weather are driving a global health crisis that must be put at the centre of climate action, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.The climate crisis is a health crisis; it drives extreme weather and is taking lives around the world," Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, said. Melting ice caps and rising sea levels are, of course, crucial issues, but for most people they are distant threats in both time and place. The threats of our changing climate are right here and right now." Continue reading...

Chris Byrne says snake nicked my arm and drew blood' when he encountered the reptile in his homeThe owners of conservatories are used to dealing with the odd creature that creeps in - wasps, bees, moths. But Rob Byrne had a much bigger beast to tackle when an 11ft-long (3-metre) reticulated python slithered in through the window of his sunroom in a Hampshire village and gave him a nip.Byrne said he had been locking up his conservatory doors when he noticed a movement at a set of blinds. It tried to bite me and coil around me. It nicked my arm and drew blood," he said. My wife and granddaughter came into the conservatory, saw it, and screamed." Continue reading...

Tour operator says more people are choosing to holiday in cooler autumn months

A decade after Hurricane Sandy, critics of a federal plan that allocates billions to protect the region from rising waters are calling it a failure of imagination'The retired FDNY firefighter Patrick Kilgallen remembers the night well. In late October 2012, the approach of Hurricane Sandy up the US Eastern Seaboard coincided with a spring tide, propelling a surge of storm water that crashed into New York City and its surrounds, causing more than $70bn (56bn) in damages, mostly from flooding.When water from the ocean and bayside came coursing up the street, Kilgallen was with his family at home, one block in from the wooden boardwalk, at Rockaway Beach - a barrier island off Queens that faces the Atlantic Ocean and has become known as the Irish Riviera" for its large population of Irish-American families, including many New York City firefighters and police officers. Continue reading...

Study finds species groups are going extinct 35 times faster than the previous million years because of human activityGroups of animal species are vanishing at a rate 35 times higher than average due to human activity, according to researchers, who say it is further evidence that a sixth mass extinction in Earth's history is under way and accelerating.Scientists analysing the rate at which closely related animal species have gone extinct in the past 500 years have found they would have taken 18,000 years to vanish in the absence of humans, and the rate at which they are being lost is increasing. Continue reading...

Rail networks in most countries have been starved of funding while motorways lengthen, study showsEuropean governments have systematically" shrunk their railways and starved them of funding while pouring money into expanding their road network, a report has found.The length of motorways in Europe grew 60% between 1995 and 2020 while railways shrank 6.5%, according to research from the German thinktanks Wuppertal Institute and T3 Transportation. For every 1 governments spent building railways, they spent 1.6 building roads. Continue reading...

Underinvestment in infrastructure will have serious consequences for environment and security of water supplies, committee saysTherese Coffey has been complacent" in dealing with water companies, risking water shortages as well as extreme environmental consequences, a House of Lords committee has said.In a letter to the environment secretary, the peers criticised her department's dismissive brevity and complacent tone" in response to their report published earlier this year, which found water companies had been too focused on maximising financial returns at the expense of the environment. Continue reading...

Action came as world leaders begin arriving in New York for the UN general assembly and after Sunday's march to end fossil fuelsOne day after the largest climate march since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, hundreds of climate activists blockaded the Federal Reserve Bank in New York to call for an end to funding for coal, oil and gas, with police making scores of arrests.Fossil fuel companies ... wouldn't be able to operate without money, and that money is coming primarily from Wall Street," Alice Nascimento, environmental campaigns director at New York Communities for Change, said hours before she was arrested. Continue reading...

Study in US shows one day a week of remote working cuts emissions by just 2% but two or four days lowers them by up to 29%

Perhaps we introduce children to dinosaurs long before they understand evolution to teach them to imagine the past and to love doing soIt is a fact about people that we all love a brontosaurus. The long curved neck, the small head, the massive ribs. We don't mind a brachiosaurus either. We don't mind that its head is out of proportion with its body; we don't hold this against it as we do with the T Rex's puny arms.We love to think of the brontosaurus with its head so far away from its tail, and of the brachiosaurus with its head so far above us, we who are at that moment dressed in animal skins. We forget that people were not there and then we remember and it doesn't matter. Look up and you will see the small head, soaring, saurusing above you, having just plucked a fern from the ground. The head is backlit by the prehistoric dinosaur sun. You can just make out the silhouette fern sticking out of its mouth, the jaws moving. Now look in front of you, and there are the elephant feet, there is the enormous shadow. Continue reading...

Prospective investors will be subject to strict national security checks', minister vowsProspective investors in the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk will undergo strict national security checks", the government has said, as it formally kicked off a hunt for outside investment.The project, led by the French state-backed energy company EDF and backed by the UK government, aims to produce 3.2 gigawatts of electricity - enough to power about 6m homes - and was approved in July last year. Continue reading...

Mayor says interim climate report paints a worrying picture of an underground Tube system that is not fit for purpose, and care homes and schools that are too hotLondon faces the incredibly worrying" prospect of enduring days that hit 45C (113F) due to the worsening climate crisis, its mayor, Sadiq Khan, told the Guardian at a climate summit in New York where governments have gathered to discuss how to best cope with searing temperatures.Khan said an interim independent climate resilience report for London had found the capital could experience multiple 45C days in the foreseeable future", potentially buckling various basic functions of the city. It means the Underground is not fit for purpose, some of the homes are too hot in the daytime, care homes and schools too," Khan said. Continue reading...

Declaration signed by more than 20 Indigenous groups says dingoes are a cultural icon' and killing them is killing family'

Membership steady and income from legacies tops 70m in financial yearThe National Trust spent a record 179.6m on the conservation of its historic buildings and collections in the last year in the face of significant challenges regarding rising costs.Its coffers were boosted by an increase in the number of visitors to pay-for-entry venues and record amounts bequeathed in legacies, its annual report says. Continue reading...

New research finds evidence that exposure to PFAS and phenols increases odds of certain hormonally driven' cancers for womenWomen exposed to several widely used chemicals appear to face increased odds for ovarian and other types of cancers, including a doubling of odds for melanoma, according to new research funded by the US government.Using data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a team of academic researchers found evidence that women diagnosed with some hormonally driven" cancers had exposures to certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are used in thousands of household and industrial products, including in stain- and heat-resistant items. Continue reading...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the crowd must become too big and too radical to ignore' as Biden came under fire for oil projectsTens of thousands of climate activists took to the streets of New York City on Sunday in a march to end fossil fuels", with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez telling the crowd that the movement must become too big and too radical to ignore".To cheers from the crowd, the progressive Democrat criticized the US continuing to approve fossil fuel projects, something which the Biden administration did earlier this year with the controversial Willow project in Alaska. Continue reading...

Demonstration falls days before the United Nations climate ambition summit, at which Joe Biden is expected to be a no-showActor and climate activist Susan Sarandon opened her speech by congratulating the students of New York University on the news of their university divesting from fossil fuels after years of pressure, as the Guardian first reported last week.Addressing the crowd, she said, You guys give me hope," adding: What we have to do is take responsibility and press those that are at the top to finally step up." Continue reading...

Covering Climate Now cites Damian Carrington for investigating carbon bombs' and super-emitting methane leaksCovering Climate Now, the global journalism collaboration, is announcing its media awards this week at a time when audiences need to know how and why the planet is on fire" and what can be done, judges said.CCN's climate journalists of the year for 2023 are Damian Carrington of the Guardian, Manka Behl of the Times of India and Amy Westervelt, the founder of the Critical Frequency podcast network.Behl of the Times of India was praised by judges for reports from the frontlines of the crisis in one of the world's most climate-important countries" and for her interviews with leaders.Carrington of the Guardian was credited for science-based reporting that explains that politics and corporate power, not a lack of green technologies, are what block climate progress", and cited for leading a reporting team on investigating carbon bombs" and super-emitting methane leaks.Westervelt was described as a prolific, multiplatform reporter for Critical Frequency whose work exposes how fossil fuel companies continue to mislead the public and policymakers alike. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer could end up on the back foot as his party's main backer launches campaigns on energy, steel and green jobs in red wall seatsLabour's biggest union backer, Unite, is launching grassroots campaigns in scores of industrial constituencies across the UK demanding more radical policies on energy, steel and green jobs.Unite's leader, Sharon Graham, who has been publicly critical of Keir Starmer, said funding earmarked for Labour would instead be funnelled into stoking public pressure for the party to shift its position on key issues including energy nationalisation. Continue reading...

The figure adds fuel to the growing political dispute over the pace and form of Australia's energy transition

As a growing number of householders turn off the gas, the fossil fuel sector will need clear policy direction from government, says energy regulator

March on Sunday will cap a week of more than 650 global actions and is expected to be the largest US climate march in five yearsA climate protest and rally headlined by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday are expected to bring thousands of activists to the streets of New York.Under the banner March to End Fossil Fuels, protesters will push the Biden administration to take bold steps to phase out fossil fuels. The demonstration will fall days before the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit, which the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has described as a no nonsense" conference meant to highlight new climate commitments. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak has been told his next manifesto must prioritise net zero and help renters if the party wants the under-40s to vote for itRead more: how Tories can boost their image with under-40sSenior Tories are urging Rishi Sunak to use his next manifesto to address their party's alarming unpopularity among younger voters, amid increasing concern that the Conservatives could be sunk" without urgent action to win over the under-40s.With mounting anxiety among moderate Tories that the party is failing to prioritise policies on net zero and help for renters that could attract younger voters, Tom Tugendhat, the cabinet minister who is among the figureheads of the party's liberal wing, has become one of the most senior figures to publicly urge a rethink. Continue reading...

Civil lawsuit filed by the state targets Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BPCalifornia has filed a lawsuit against some of the world's largest oil and gas companies, claiming they deceived the public and downplayed the risks posed by fossil fuels.The civil lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in San Francisco also seeks creation of a fund - financed by the companies - to pay for recovery efforts after devastating storms and fires. Democratic governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement the companies named in the lawsuit - Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP - should be held accountable. Continue reading...

Journalists who reported on last week's catastrophic storm say the country's bloody political tussle has contributed to the collapse of servicesEarly last week, Mohamed Eljabo travelled to the eastern provinces of Libya, passing through Derna, Al Bayda and Sousa, and what he saw he describes as shock beyond comprehension".I have visited these cities before and I know them well," he says. I expected to find these cities when I made the journey from Tripoli. I expected to see the neighbourhoods and towns. But these were gone. Erased. It was horrifying." Continue reading...

California families endured wartime incarceration and market changes to stay in business, but gen Z eyes life beyond the farmAlan Hayashi's 120-hectare (300-acre) farm is an unassuming pillar of Arroyo Grande, a city on California's central coast that's covered by rolling vineyards and ancient oaks. Two vast fields, partitioned by an inland stretch of Highway 1, produce white strawberries, squash, beets, celery and two dozen other crops.Hayashi, who's up at dawn seven days a week, has devoted the better half of his life to the farm's upkeep: he plants, irrigates and harvests his crops, the roar of rushing traffic an untiring companion. He also packages and sells the goods at his roadside stand and different farmers' markets in San Luis Obispo county. On a good day, he'll wrap up by 6pm and return home for dinner. Continue reading...

Three years after unprecedented inquest ruling, absence of other cases has left a gap for pollution sceptics to exploit

Premier Chris Minns also defends ending existing electric vehicle rebates ahead of Tuesday's state budget

Match between the Giants and Richmond pushed back by about 30 minutes due to red-bellied black snakeAn AFLW match between Greater Western Sydney and Richmond in Blacktown was delayed after a snake was spotted sunning itself in the grass.The red-bellied black snake appeared to be taking advantage of the hot weather that parts of Australia's south-east have been experiencing. Continue reading...

Car users can be exposed to more damaging pollution than cyclists, bus passengers or pedestrians, research claimsDrivers in London are likely to be among the biggest beneficiaries of moves to penalise highly polluting vehicles in the capital, London's mayor is to say, because at present many drivers are likely to experience more pollution than other road users.Though they may have the illusion of being insulated in their vehicles from the effects of exhaust fumes, drivers can be more exposed to pollutants including the highly dangerous small particles known as PM2.5, which can damage lungs and lodge deep within the body. Continue reading...

This beautiful bird's former name represented colonial dominance - and told us nothing about the species

Only emergency workers to be allowed into devastated area over fears of contamination from dead bodies in limited water supplyLibyan authorities have largely sealed off the flood-devastated port town of Derna from civilians in an effort to give space to emergency aid workers and amid concern that contamination of standing water may add to the already horrific death toll.Salem Al-Ferjani, director general of the ambulance and emergency service in eastern Libya, said that only search and rescue teams would be allowed to enter parts of the town most affected by the flooding that has left at least 11,000 dead according to official projections. Many citizens have already left the town voluntarily. Continue reading...

After giving two officers in Springfield, Missouri, a good run, the escaped pet was caught by the long arms of the lawUS law enforcement is familiar with pursuing much more dangerous escapees but there was one guy in stripes this week who gave officers the run-around, then ultimately came quietly.We see the tail," a cop called as he gave chase through the darkness of a public park equipped only with a large towel. Continue reading...

Exclusive: EU restricts use of eight chemicals, with 16 more in pipeline; UK has two under considerationSeveral toxic chemicals that have been banned in the EU since Brexit are still allowed to be used in the UK, it can be revealed, as campaigners say the lower standards are putting public health at risk.The UK has not been part of the EU's chemicals regulations scheme since 2021 and instead has its own, called Reach. Eight rules restricting the use of hazardous chemicals have been adopted by the EU since Brexit, and 16 more are in the pipeline. The UK has not banned any substances in that time and is considering just two restrictions, on lead ammunition and harmful substances in tattoo ink. Continue reading...

From the Sargasso Sea to the Costa Rica thermal dome, scientists are identifying key diversity hotspots to safeguard under a new UN treatyFrom 20 September, the UN's high seas treaty will at last be open for signatures - an important moment that starts the process for nations to ratify it into their own laws. At least 60 countries must do so for the treaty to come into force. Scientists hope that it will finally allow marine protected areas (MPAs) in the high seas to be established.Conservationists are urging governments to act quickly. Fishing hours on the high seas rose by about 8.5% between 2018 and 2022, according to estimates published this week by Greenpeace using data from Global Fishing Watch. The high seas are areas of the ocean that lie beyond any national jurisdictions and, as such, have no legal protections. They cover nearly 50% of the planet and house a variety of unique ecosystems. Yet many high seas areas are under threat not just from overfishing, but also pollution, the climate crisis and damage from shipping and deep-sea mining. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs, including a jellyfish bloom, a happy seal, and an endangered Amur leopard cub Continue reading...

System not fit for carbon offsetting, puts Indigenous communities at risk and should be replaced with new approach, say researchersRainforest conservation projects are not suitable for carbon offsetting and a different approach should be used to effectively protect critical ecosystems such as the Amazon and Congo basin, a report has concluded.New research by UC Berkeley Carbon Trading Project looking into rainforest carbon credits certified by Verra, which operates the world's leading carbon standard, found that the system is not fit for purpose. Continue reading...

Big Butterfly Count records increase on 2022 but longer-term trends show declines for some of most common species

The flash flood that has killed thousands of people in Libya this week followed the medicane' storm DanielThe flash flood that has killed thousands of people in Libya this week followed a medicane", a rare but destructive weather phenomenon that scientists believe will intensify in a warming world.The term is an amalgamation of the words Mediterranean and hurricane. Used by scientists and weather forecasters, it is less well known to the wider public. Continue reading...

Protests were a preview of planned marches in the city ahead of United Nations' climate ambition summit on 20 SeptemberProgressive lawmakers and climate activists rallied at the Capitol on Thursday to demand an end to fossil fuel usage, previewing a planned march in New York on Sunday ahead of the United Nations' climate ambition summit on 20 September.Clearly, saving the planet is the most important issue facing humanity," the Democratic senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, said. But here's the ugly and brutal truth: right now, humanity is failing. The planet is crying out for help." Continue reading...

Executives privately sought to downplay link between fossil fuels and climate change despite public pronouncements, WSJ reportsExxonMobil executives privately sought to undermine climate science even after the oil and gas giant publicly acknowledged the link between fossil fuel emissions and climate change, according to previously unreported documents revealed by the Wall Street Journal.The new revelations are based on previously unreported documents subpoenaed by New York's attorney general as part of an investigation into the company announced in 2015. They add to a slew of documents that record a decades-long misinformation campaign waged by Exxon, which are cited in a growing number of state and municipal lawsuits against big oil. Continue reading...

Comments by agriculture minister seem to signal shift away from focus on organic produce as shoppers choose cheaper meatFrance is urging its farmers to produce more cut-price meat in a major U-turn on factory farming, with inflation hammering demand for organic pork, beef and chicken.The agriculture minister, Marc Fesneau, told a big agro-industry gathering on Tuesday that we have to admit that we must work on the entry level" end of the market. Continue reading...