Environment | The Guardian

Despite the successful reintroduction of Przewalski's horse, hunting, overgrazing and the climate crisis have pushed many of the country's other species into crisisHunched against the early winter chill, Dashpurev Tserendeleg points out the horses on a nearby mountain slope, while a small throng of students and tourists peer through binoculars and take pictures on their phones.With their stocky bodies and thick necks, they resemble ponies more than horses. Known to Mongolians as takhi and to the rest of the world as Przewalski's horse, they are the only equine breed never to be domesticated - and the fruits of one of the most successful ever wildlife reintroduction schemes.Przewalski's mares running with their foals in Hustai national park Continue reading...

Record levels of heat were absorbed last year by Earth's seas, which have been warming year-on-year for the past decadeAstounding" ocean temperatures in 2023 supercharged freak" weather around the world as the climate crisis continued to intensify, new data has revealed.The oceans absorb 90% of the heat trapped by the carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, making it the clearest indicator of global heating. Record levels of heat were taken up by the oceans in 2023, scientists said, and the data showed that for the past decade the oceans have been hotter every year than the year before. Continue reading...

Government analysis finds climate change could see a quarter of Port Philip council area facing inundation from a 1.1-metre sea level rise and one-in-100-chance storm

IEA report says 50% growth last year keeps hope of achieving Cop28 climate target of tripling clean energy capacityGlobal renewable energy capacity grew by the fastest pace recorded in the last 20 years in 2023, which could put the world within reach of meeting a key climate target by the end of the decade, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).The world's renewable energy grew by 50% last year to 510 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, the 22nd year in a row that renewable capacity additions set a new record, according to figures from the IEA. Continue reading...

Ministers hope to build fleet of reactors to meet quarter of electricity demand by 2050 but critics highlight long delays and rising costsThe government has set out plans for what it claims will be Britain's biggest nuclear power expansion in 70 years, despite concerns about faltering nuclear output and project delays.Ministers published a roadmap on Friday that recommits the government to building a fleet of nuclear reactors capable of producing 24GW by 2050 - enough to meet a quarter of the national electricity demand. Continue reading...

Scientists warn further spread could threaten fragile ecosystem, as tests show seals died of H5N1 on South Georgia islandA virology team has confirmed the first bird flu infections in elephant and fur seals in the sub-Antarctic region, as the highly contagious H5N1 virus continues to spread around the world.Researchers previously reported the mass deaths of seals and that a number of elephant seals on South Georgia island - a UK overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean - had been exhibiting symptoms of avian flu. But while seabird cases were confirmed, the seal infections were classed as suspected, pending lab results. Continue reading...

Critics call cattle-raising project on Hawaii ranch a billionaire's strange sideshow' and bad for the environmentThe social media tycoon Mark Zuckerberg's latest business venture raising world-class" beef cattle on his sprawling luxury Hawaiian hideaway has been derided as out of touch and environmentally irresponsible.The Meta billionaire posted a picture of himself on Wednesday eating a steak - medium rare, no sides - from his Ko'olau ranch, a 1,400-acre compound on Kauai, Hawaii's oldest island. Continue reading...

Beads, believed to be remnants of a floating dock and made of polystyrene, can harm environment and aquatic life, say expertsThe shores of Lake Tahoe were dusted with white after winter weather hit the area over the weekend. It wasn't snow, however, but thousands of small plastic styrofoam beads.A storm released the pollutants, the remains of a floating dock, on to the shoreline of Incline Village beaches. Staff with Clean Up the Lake, a local non-profit, and at least two dozen volunteers staged a major cleanup to clear the area, which has faced a host of environmental problems in recent years amid a surge in tourism and popularity. Continue reading...

Climate Council finds average Australian car needs more petrol to travel same distance as more efficient models common overseas

Campaign pushes idea oil is vital' to global security and capitalizes on war in Gaza to escalate production, climate advocates sayThe American oil lobby has launched an eight-figure media campaign this week promoting the idea that fossil fuels are vital" to global energy security, alarming climate experts.US natural gas and oil play a key role in supplying the world with cleaner, more reliable energy," the new initiative's website says. Continue reading...

Decline a step in the right direction' but far below rate needed to meet pledge to cut emissions in half by 2030, report findsClimate-altering pollution from greenhouse gases declined by nearly 2% in the United States in 2023, though not fast enough to meet Joe Biden's targets, a new report finds.The decline, while a step in the right direction'', is far below the rate needed to meet the president's pledge to cut US emissions in half by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, said a report on Wednesday from the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm. Continue reading...

Problems with Thames Water-run sewers from recent rains force pupils at 46,000-a-year school to learn remotelyEton college has been forced to delay the start of school term after the toilets in its boarding houses backed up because of flooding in the Thames Water sewers caused by recent heavy rains.The 46,000-a-year private school apologised to parents, saying pupils would begin the year learning remotely online, after the water company informed it of the issue. Continue reading...

Alexander Darwall is challenging decision last year to overturn ban on wild camping on the moorsThe right to wild camp on Dartmoor could be under threat again after the supreme court granted permission for a wealthy landowner to bring a case against it.Last year, the Dartmoor National Park Authority won an appeal against a decision to ban wild camping on the moors. Continue reading...

I want people to be excited about the animals I find and get them involved in conservationI am a British tourist, and I spend my holidays searching for species that are believed to be extinct. On my last trip to Papua New Guinea in 2022, I found a Louisiade pitta bird, which had been the focus of failed professional expeditions for years. It hadn't been seen alive since 1898.We went around playing recordings of a related pitta, which sounds a bit like a chicken being strangled, until we received a reply. Imagine if you went around a haunted house rattling chains and then you heard a ghost rattling them back - that is what it was like. Continue reading...

The fish deaths on Plantation Point near Jervis Bay come less than a week after another man was caught spearing a blue groper at Cronulla

Increased flooding blamed on years of government delays over sponge cities' rulesIncreased sewage pollution, urban flooding and water supply interruptions are the result of a decade of failures by the Conservative ministers, according to water experts who are demanding an independent inquiry into water be set up by the next government.The repeated failure of the Tories to implement rules to create sponge cities" has led to much more visible sewage pollution, more flooding and increasing instances of water being cut off for householders and businesses, they say. Continue reading...

Testing reveals low-risk' contamination in samples taken from mulch near Rozelle playground, Transport for NSW says

The sharp-tailed sandpiper migrates from Siberia to a Port of Hastings site that Tanya Plibersek last week blocked a state plan to develop

Chancellor has been accused of not sufficiently opposing the scheme since taking his cabinet positionGas drilling at a site in the Surrey Hills can go ahead after the court of appeal ruled that no further attempts to stop the project could be brought to court.The Loxley site, just outside the village of Dunsfold, has been at the centre of a protracted legal battle over plans by the energy company UK Oil and Gas (Ukog) to sink an exploration well. Continue reading...

As Norway becomes the first country to approve deep-sea mining, scientists are alarmed but supporters insist it will aid the energy transitionRead more: Norway votes for deep-sea mining despite environmental concernsMining the deep sea involves the extraction of solid mineral resources from the seabed, at depths greater than 200 metres. Vast areas of this unexplored abyss, particularly in the Pacific Ocean, are littered with polymetallic nodules, rich in manganese, nickel, copper, cobalt and other trace minerals. Minerals are also found near hydrothermal vents and within seamounts (underwater mountains). Continue reading...

Enfield council's move to lease part of north London park to Tottenham Hotspur prompts local anger and judicial reviewThe expansion of women's football has been pitched against public green space and a rewilded golf course in a growing dispute between Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and local residents.The club are expected to submit a planning application for a world-leading" women's football academy with all-weather pitches, floodlights and a turf academy" on a section of Whitewebbs Park a few miles from their stadium in north London. Continue reading...

Political row as Galicia says central government kept news of spill quiet for weeksOfficials in northern Spain have issued alerts after millions of tiny plastic pellets spilled by a cargo ship off Portugal last month washed up on beaches, raising fears of environmental damage and triggering a political row.Spanish state prosecutors have also launched an investigation after receiving information suggesting the non-biodegradable pellets could be toxic. Continue reading...

Parliament votes 80-20 in favour while scientists warn mining could devastate marine lifeNorway has taken a step closer to becoming the first country in the world to open up its seabed for commercial deep-sea mining after giving it the go-ahead in a highly contentious parliamentary vote on Tuesday.The decision comes despite warnings from scientists that it could have a devastating impact on marine life, and opposition from the EU and the UK, which have called for a temporary ban on deep-sea mining because of environmental concerns. Continue reading...

French energy company to invest a further 1.3bn in its British nuclear fleet up to 2026EDF is planning to extend the life of four nuclear power stations in the UK and increase investment in its British nuclear fleet.The French energy company, which manages Britain's eight nuclear power stations, said it would make a decision on whether to extend the life of the four plants with advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) - Torness, Heysham 1 and 2, and Hartlepool - by the end of the year. This would require regulatory approval. Continue reading...

Rapid reduction in fossil fuel burning urgently needed to preserve liveable conditions, say scientists, as climate damage deepens2023 smashed" the record for the hottest year by a huge margin, providing dramatic testimony" of how much warmer and more dangerous today's climate is from the cooler one in which human civilisation developed.The planet was 1.48C hotter in 2023 compared with the period before the mass burning of fossil fuels ignited the climate crisis. The figure is very close to the 1.5C temperature target set by countries in Paris in 2015, although the global temperature would need to be consistently above 1.5C for the target to be considered broken. Continue reading...

Man jumped into rushing flood waters and tied 74-year-old woman to a tree after she was swept 100 metres downstream

Exclusive: First months of conflict produced more planet-warming gases than 20 climate-vulnerable nations do in a year, study showsThe climate costs of war and militaries can no longer be ignoredThe planet-warming emissions generated during the first two months of the war in Gaza were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, new research reveals.The vast majority (over 99%) of the 281,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO equivalent) estimated to have been generated in the first 60 days following the 7 October Hamas attack can be attributed to Israel's aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis by researchers in the UK and US. Continue reading...

Two Siamang gibbons rescued from the illegal pet trade have been rehabilitated in a new Indonesian centreThe forest chorus of South Sumatra in Indonesia has some of its finest singers back: a pair of rare Siamang gibbons, rescued from the illegal pet trade, have been released into the wild.Siamang gibbons (Symphalangus syndactylus) are known for their distinctive large throat sacs. But their powerful, haunting voices, used for communication and marking territory, are a blessing and a curse. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester mayor calls proposal an investment in the future' after Keir Starmer hinted at a rollbackKeir Starmer has been urged not to backtrack on his plans to spend 28bn on green projects by Labour's Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham.He told the Labour leader to stick to your guns" after Starmer said he may scale down the investment given the financial picture he would inherit if he became prime minister. Continue reading...

EPA says funds to be given to 280 school districts to help secure a healthier future where our children can breathe cleaner air'The US has announced nearly $1bn in grants to replace diesel-powered school buses with electric and lower-emitting vehicles.The Environmental Protection Agency will disburse funds to 280 school districts serving 7 million children across the country in an effort to curb harmful air pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

Government hopes to soon be able to announce measures for resolving outstanding criminal convictions, business minister Kevin Hollinrake saysJames Chapman, a former political editor of the Daily Mail who worked as special adviser for David Davis when he was Brexit secretary for about a year until he left convinced that Brexit was a terrible mistake, says he does not think the back to square one" line really works as an attack line against Labour.The trouble with Sunak's latest slogan is that I suspect a large number of voters think Britain is so broken under the Tories that going back to square one" sounds like a wholly positive idea Continue reading...

Multiple safety and cybersecurity failings at nuclear waste site were revealed by Guardian last monthThe top director responsible for safety and security at Sellafield is to leave the vast nuclear waste dump in north-west England, it has emerged.Mark Neate, the Sellafield environment, safety and security director, is to leave the organisation later this year. Continue reading...

Partial U-turn by Berlin fails to avert week-long nationwide action that government says could be co-opted by righwing extremistsGerman farmers blocked city centres, highways and motorway slip roads with tractors at the start of a week-long, nationwide protest over planned cuts to agricultural sector subsidies that the government said could be co-opted by rightwing extremists.We are exercising our basic right to inform society and the political class that Germany needs a competitive agricultural sector," the president of the German farmers' association, Joachim Rukwied, told Stern magazine on Monday. Continue reading...

Court denies plea to move venue of 2020 lawsuit filed by state, putting Minnesota one step closer to putting industry on trialThe US supreme court denied a plea from big oil to move the venue of a 2020 climate lawsuit filed by the state of Minnesota.The decision, issued on Monday morning, puts the state one important step closer to putting the fossil fuel industry on trial for allegedly covering up the dangers of burning coal, oil and gas. Continue reading...

James Hansen says limit will be passed for all practical purposes' by May though other experts predict that will happen in 2030sThe internationally agreed threshold to prevent the Earth from spiraling into a new superheated era will be passed for all practical purposes" during 2024, the man known as the godfather of climate science has warned.James Hansen, the former Nasa scientist credited for alerting the world to the dangers of climate change in the 1980s, said that global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels, amplified by the naturally reoccurring El Nino climatic event, will by May push temperatures to as much as 1.7C (3F) above the average experienced before industrialization. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak says the policy shift towards fossil fuels will lower bills and is backed by independent advisers. Is he right?The UK government is about to bring through legislation for an annual licensing programme for oil and gas in the North Sea.To justify this shift in policy towards fossil fuels, ministers have made a number of claims about the impact on climate breakdown and UK bills, as well as whether it is in line with recommendations from its independent climate advisers. Continue reading...

They know how to get fed by people - like babies, you can't ignore their squawksIn Sydney, sulphur-crested cockatoos play when they fly, ducking under power lines and soaring up again, squawking, charging through gaps in trees, landing only to hang upside down, as though they are mocking the bats. Cockatoos know how to have as much fun as it is possible to have while flying (a lot).In a painting by William Patrick Roberts of a mother and her children looking at parrots in a shop, the macaws and the black cockatoo perch majestically; at the bottom of the painting a cockatoo fools around on a pole, looking right at you.Helen Sullivan is a Guardian journalist.Do you have an animal, insect or other subject you feel is worthy of appearing in this very serious column? Email helen.sullivan@theguardian.com Continue reading...

The New York borough's birds have been known to ruffle feathers, but some residents say they're simply part of lifeA decades-long feud between the people of New York's Staten Island and a flock of wild turkeys appears no closer to ending. The birds have been called a nuisance" and a safety issue". A resident has even filed a lawsuit which claimed the turkeys caused her to injure her shoulder.Hundreds of wild turkeys live in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, with many of them being traced to a woman unleashing her pet birds in 1999. Standing 3ft tall and with a top running speed of 25mph, wild turkeys have been known to stand in the way of traffic and sometimes peck at pedestrians. Continue reading...

I have become obsessed from afar with Flaco, an owl who fled a zoo in New York nearly a year ago. Over Christmas, I could no longer resist the urge to track him downI often wonder why birds speak so universally to the sagging middle-aged soul that it has become a comic trope- the vertiginously swift passage from: Is that a robin?" to: There's a lesser yellowleg two hours' drive away, start the car."Is it the freedom they represent? No cholesterol, no mortgage, no self-assessment tax deadline to worry about? Or a sense of wonder in the everyday miracle of their existence, induced by an awareness of mortality? Whatever it is, I am in deep: disposable income frittered on fat balls; constantly snooping on feathery goings-on in the garden; home decor reminiscent of the Portlandia put a bird on it" sketch. Continue reading...

Research has found that several factors have hampered bees' ability to create honey over the past decadeIt's a question that has bedeviled beekeepers across the US in recent years: where has all the honey gone? Scientists now say they have some answers as to why yields of honey have declined, pointing to environmental degradation that is affecting all sorts of bees, and insects more generally.The amount of honey produced by honeybee colonies in the US has dropped by around half a pound, on average, per colony in the past decade, US government data shows, even as the number of managed colonies increased slightly. Continue reading...

Former Cop26 chair says bill reinforces unfortunate perception about UK rowing back from climate action'Alok Sharma, the UK's former business and energy secretary, will not be voting for Rishi Sunak's oil and gas bill, criticising it as a sign the government was not serious" about meeting its international climate commitments.The bill, due to be debated in parliament on Monday, would allow for an annual licensing regime for oil and gas exploration contracts. It has been hugely controversial among the green wing of the Conservative party - the former minister Chris Skidmore announced on Friday he would be stepping down as an MP as a result of the proposed legislation. Continue reading...

Government pilot, due to launch this month, promises to protect and enhance biodiversity, but remains dogged by delays and uncertaintyIn a field in the South Downs national park, undulating green hills meet the sky. In the distance, villages built of flint sit in the valleys, and chalky white cliffs lie like giant beached whales above the Channel.For decades, the field where I'm standing has been in an arable cycle. It was last sown for wheat in 2022, and this year would have been planted with barley.Instead, it was sown with wildflowers: yarrow, vetches, clovers and oxeye daisies lie awaiting spring, when the monotonous green will break out into a sea of colour. Continue reading...

Environmentalists condemn news of higher forecast production which is also seen as a conservative forecastAzerbaijan, which is hosting this year's UN climate talks, plans to increase its fossil fuel production by a third over the next decade, according to an analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian.The forecast indicates the Cop29 host will grow its annual gas production by about 12bn cubic metres (bcm) over the next 10 years, which is considered a crucial period in which global leaders must cut fossil fuel production if they hope to limit global heating. Continue reading...

Environment minister says large areas of [wetland] will be destroyed or substantially modified' by the proposal for windfarm development

Rodney Holbrook, 75, a retired postman, captured footage of a mouse tidying up his workbench after dark. Over a couple of months, he noticed that the things he used during the day were being mysteriously put away at night, so he set up a night-vision camera in his shed in Builth Wells, Powys, Wales, to find out what was happening. He discovered that an industrious mouse was picking up items such as nuts and bolts, clothes pegs and cable ties and tidying them away into a box Continue reading...

Heavy flooding hit the village of Pulborough in southern England after the River Arun burst its banks. Cars were seen driving on a road amid flooded fields in the aftermath of Storm Henk. Major rivers across the UK were flooded as the government issued a further 300 flood warnings. A succession of storms in recent weeks meant prolonged rainfall fell on saturated ground, causing more extreme flooding

Voting bloc who supported Biden in 2020 over climate change see war in Gaza as environmental justice issueElise Joshi stumped for Joe Biden as a college freshman, motivated in no small part by her sense of urgency about climate change. The environmental policy student campaigned before the 2020 election as part of TikTok for Biden, in hopes of persuading other young people to show up to the polls.The work undertaken by Joshi and her peers paid off for Democrats - youth voter turnout surged in 2020, and has been widely credited as playing a key role in propelling Biden to victory. Continue reading...

Parliament returns for election year with a resignation over North Sea drilling and a fight over the Tories' Rwanda planRishi Sunak is facing a backlash in parliament this week over plans to allow more oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, as Tory troubles pile up on multiple fronts in the run-up to a general election expected this year.MPs return to Westminster on Monday after the Christmas break with all parties gearing up for what will inevitably be a bitter election battle that could end the Conservatives' 13 and a half years in power. Continue reading...

Angry protests by farmers, hauliers and railway workers risk being exploited by populists such as Alternative fur DeutschlandThe symbolism that German farmers chose to express their discontent with the government in the first days of the new year was as unambiguous as it was ominous: by the side of rural roads across the country, there were sightings of makeshift gallows dangling traffic-light signs, a reference to the colours of the three governing parties.The chilling sculptures are harbingers of unprecedented cross-sector protests and strikes hitting German roads and railways from Monday, and speak of a dramatic change of mood in a country long feted for its consensus-seeking approach to industrial relations, especially compared with its more traditionally strike-prone neighbour France. Continue reading...

The most dramatic photographs from the last two days, when almost every river in England reached an exceptionally high level and some reached record levels. The Environment Agency still has 244 flood warnings in place where flooding is expected Continue reading...