Environment | The Guardian

Ted O'Brien declares global climate summit the nuclear Cop' despite only 11% of nations backing the pledge

But country's climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua, would not say whether it would support phase-out wording in climate deal

Distraught homeowners in Hemsby write farewell messages on houses affected by coastal erosionThe demolition of five seaside houses has begun in Norfolk after coastal erosion put them at risk of collapsing on to the beach below.Distraught homeowners in Hemsby wrote farewell messages on their houses before workers began demolishing one house on Saturday. Gone but not forgotten" was scrawled on one seafront property. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereThe other day, our eagle-eyed reporter Patrick Greenfield spotted former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng striding through the Cop complex.We all wondered what on earth Kwasi, who was at the top of a government which tried to overturn the UK's fracking ban, could be doing at Cop, and whether the chancellor who crashed the UK economy was a vital part of the negotiating team. Continue reading...

Climate activists likely to be concerned by another fossil fuel-reliant country taking over summit presidencyAzerbaijan has been announced as the host of next year's climate summit after fraught negotiations.Under UN rules it was eastern Europe's turn to take over the rotating presidency but the groups need to unanimously decide on the host. Russia had blocked EU countries and Azerbaijan and Armenia were blocking each other's bids. Continue reading...

Continent's chief negotiator says an agreement for fair and equitable funding is a matter of life and death

UK's former climate chief Alok Sharma says phase-out crucial to limit global warming to 1.5CFailure to agree a phase-out of fossil fuels at the UN Cop28 climate summit would push the world beyond the crucial 1.5C temperature limit and into climate breakdown, the UK's former climate chief has warned.Alok Sharma, who was president of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, said it was vital that governments made a clear commitment in the next few days to eliminate coal, oil and gas. Continue reading...

Guerrilla leader turned president says, faced with having to reduce their carbon consumption, upper classes fear the barbarians are coming'Middle-class fears of losing a high standard of living because of green policies is driving the rise of the far right across the world, the president of Colombia has warned.In a wide-ranging interview with the Guardian at the Cop28 UN climate summit, Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftwing president, said the world had to find carbon-free ways of being prosperous, and that his country's rich biodiversity would be the basis of its wealth after phasing out fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Exclusive: freedom of information request reveals ministers rejected plan to make pledge legally bindingThe UK government has no plans to meet its target for everyone to live within a 15-minute walk of a green space, the Guardian can reveal.Ministers have also scrapped an idea to make the target for access to nature legally binding, a freedom of information request submitted by the Right to Roam campaign shows. Continue reading...

Food and agriculture firms have sent three times as many delegates to the climate summit as last yearLobbyists from industrial agriculture companies and trade groups have turned out in record numbers at Cop28, with three times as many delegates representing the meat and dairy industry as last year.Representatives are present from some of the world's largest agribusiness companies - such as the meat supplier JBS, the fertiliser giant Nutrien, the food giant Nestle and the pesticide company Bayer - as well as powerful industry lobby groups. Continue reading...

Australia's climate minister flags difficulties around any final wording but hails important symbol' as talks intensify in Dubai

Blast in Sidcup not being treated as terrorism but counter-terror officers are leading investigationThe London mayor's office has condemned a grotesquely irresponsible" attack in which a camera enforcing the city's ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) was damaged with what appeared to be a homemade bomb, saying lives were put at risk.There was no immediate reaction on the incident from Downing Street or the Home Office, with No 10 saying it could not comment amid a police inquiry, but that it condemned criminality more generally". Continue reading...

Sultan Al Jaber holds press conference at start of second week as summit focuses on children, education and foodCanada has been asked by the Cop28 president, Sultan Al Jaber, to help develop language on the potential phase down or phase out of fossil fuels, its environment minister told reporters on Friday morning.Steven Guilbeault, a former activist who is environment minister for the fourth largest oil and gas producer in the world, announced that Canada would require its fossil fuel industry to cut its emissions between 35% to 38% below 2019 levels starting in 2030 on Thursday. Continue reading...

It's a form of social justice,' says Anne Hidalgo of move to target richest drivers to tackle climate breakdownParis intends to triple parking charges for large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in order to push them out of the city and limit emissions and air pollution, the mayor has said.It is a form of social justice," Anne Hidalgo announced on Friday of the plan to deliberately target the richest drivers to tackle the climate breakdown and air pollution. This is about very expensive cars, driven by people who today have not yet made the changes to their behaviour that have to be made [for the climate]." Continue reading...

Gatorland in Orlando consulting public for name after birth of absolutely extraordinary' leucistic gatorAn incredibly rare form of white alligator has been born at a Florida alligator-themed park, which is now consulting the public for a name.Oh boy, we have some exciting news here at Gatorland," said Mark McHugh, president and chief executive of Gatorland in a statement on Instagram that showed a video of the pale leucistic gator freshly emerged from its shell. Continue reading...

Farmers and conservationists say they are prepared to take it to the high court' to oppose a planned carbon capture and storage facility

Peace parks' that establish protected areas across borders are one idea from those working to protect marine ecosystems in a region rife with geopolitical sensitivitiesIn Sweden they train crows to pick those up," shouts a passerby, unhelpfully, as my colleague and I fill our jam jars with hundreds of cigarette butts. Half an hour later, it's plastic bottles, tin cans and a pair of boxer shorts.Our team of a dozen volunteers are snorkelling and scuba-diving their way around the Dubai coastline of the Gulf - specifically a stretch of La Mer Bay that has been adopted by Chloe Griffin, a diving instructor who organises these debris dives" for students. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Figures reveal growing push by fossil fuel sector for technologies that scientists say will not stop global heatingCop28 organisers granted attendance to at least 475 lobbyists working on carbon capture and storage (CCS), unproven technologies that climate scientists say will not curtail global heating, the Guardian can reveal.The figure was calculated by the Centre for Environmental Law (Ciel) and shared exclusively with the Guardian, and is the first attempt to monitor the growing influence of the CCS subset of the fossil fuel industry within the UN climate talks. Continue reading...

The Guardian asks five climate experts to explain the key differences between 1.5C and 2CThe world's most ambitious climate target is under threat, both from physics and politics. But what would it mean for the planet and its inhabitants if humanity were to abandon the goal to limit global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels?The inclusion of 1.5C (2.7F) was hailed as one of the great triumphs of the Paris climate agreement of 2015. Until then, international ambition had been limited to 2C (3.6F), much to the frustration of small island states and others on the frontline of climate disruption. Continue reading...

Exclusive: plant from South America, also known as Gunnera, found to spread rapidly and choke native floraWith its dramatic leaves and sprawling structure, the giant rhubarb has long been a popular garden plant, gracing the grounds of stately homes and multiple National Trust properties.But the UK government is now to enact a ban - similar to that on Japanese knotweed - on the plant, also known as Gunnera, meaning it cannot be sold or cultivated, and those who have it in their gardens must ensure it does not spread. Continue reading...

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

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Researchers warn of one of largest ecological disasters of modern times' if the highly contagious disease reaches penguin coloniesBird flu is spreading in the Antarctic, with hundreds of elephant seals found dead, and fears it could bring one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times" if the highly contagious virus reaches the remote penguin populations.The virus was first reported among brown skua on Bird Island, off South Georgia. Since then, researchers and observers have reported mass deaths of elephant seals, as well as increased deaths of fur seals, kelp gulls and brown skua at several other sites. Cases have been confirmed 900 miles (1,500km) west of South Georgia, among southern fulmar on the Falkland Islands. Continue reading...

UN climate chief calls for highest ambition' as nations wrangle over draft agreementNegotiations on how the world can slash greenhouse gas emissions and stave off the worst impacts of the climate crisis will reach a fresh intensity over the next few days, with nations wrangling over whether to phase out or phase down fossil fuels.For the remaining five negotiating days of the Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai ministers will hold a series of meetings to try to break the impasse and present a text that sets out a roadmap for staying within a rise of 1.5C of global heating above preindustrial levels. Continue reading...

Justin Trudeau's government plans to limit emissions through a national cap-and-trade system, a policy first proposed in 2021Canada will require its fossil fuel industry to cut its emissions between 35% to 38% below 2019 levels starting in 2030, it was announced on Thursday.The prime minister Justin Trudeau's government plans to limit emissions from the oil and gas sector through a national cap-and-trade system which he first proposed in his 2021 election campaign, according to the policy announcement. Continue reading...

Stand Together Music, part of rightwing billionaire Charles Koch's advocacy network, collaborates with Pitbull, Machine Gun Kelly and othersLast September, the rapper Killer Mike was DJing hip-hop classics like Snoop Dogg's Ain't No Fun at a music festival afterparty in Louisville, Kentucky. The inspiration for the night's set is freedom of speech, so say what the fuck you want!" he told a crowd of hundreds. Killer Mike, half of the duo Run the Jewels, is known for speaking out against police brutality and racial injustice, as well as campaigning for Bernie Sanders.But this night's set was co-sponsored by Stand Together Music, an organization backed by the libertarian billionaire Charles Koch, who made his fortune in fossil fuels. Other sponsors of the party included the free-speech group Fire (which has received millions of dollars in contributions from the Charles G Koch charitable foundation), as well as the music outlet Spin, an official partner of Stand Together Music. Continue reading...

2023 is first year of potential pair of El Nino years and since 1997, every instance of these pairs has led to mass coral mortalityRecord-breaking land and sea temperatures, driven by climate breakdown, will probably cause unprecedented mass coral bleaching and mortality" throughout 2024, according to a pioneering coral scientist.The impact of climate change on coral reefs has reached uncharted territory", said Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, from the University of Queensland, Australia, leading to concerns that we could be at a tipping point". Continue reading...

A record 84,000 people are in attendance at the UN climate summit in Dubai, including thousands of activists and members of civil society Continue reading...

However the Albanese government has not contributed to a newly created global loss and damage fund at Cop28

Environment spokesperson Steve Reed plans to tackle vested interests and expose horror' inflicted on rural communitiesLabour will take on vested interests from water companies to housebuilders and farmers in an effort to restore the UK's degraded natural environment, the party's environment chief has said.Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, said: If the Tories want to have an election fight over that, bring it on, because the British people care about the countryside, they care about nature. They care about living in a beautiful country. They value their access to the countryside. The Conservatives are on the wrong side of all that, and to many, many voters that will tip their votes." Continue reading...

Groups seek more time to comment on US Forest Service proposal to store carbon dioxide amid fears over safety and impactA proposal that would allow industries to permanently stash climate-polluting carbon dioxide beneath US Forest Service land puts those habitats and the people in or near them at risk, according to opponents of the measure.Chief among opponents' concerns is that carbon dioxide could leak from storage wells or pipelines and injure or kill people and animals, as well as harm the trees in the forests and their habitat, said Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. Continue reading...

A lucrative underground trade risks undermining research, creating new pandemics and pushing a recently abundant species to the brinkIn 2019, Jonah Sacha, a researcher at Oregon Health and Science University, received a delivery of 20 monkeys from Mauritius. As part of his research into stem-cell transplants as an HIV treatment, he performs tests on long-tailed macaques.The captive-bred monkeys were legally imported using an approved vendor, and looked healthy. However, when Sacha tested them, one appeared to have latent tuberculosis (TB). Continue reading...

As world leaders gather at Cop28, these charts show how far away the major economies are from their targetsNot a single G20 country has policies in place that are consistent with the Paris agreement's goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C and meeting their fair share" of emissions reduction.The assessment, based on data up to 5 December provided by the Climate Action Tracker, comes as leaders gather in Dubai for the Cop28 conference. Continue reading...

270 horses were shot during a two-day trial with no reports of unnecessary animal harm or suffering

Traditionally unpopular carbon taxes could be achieved with regulatory compliance, IMF head tells Cop 28Diverting the trillions of dollars by which the world subsidises fossil fuel production each year, and putting an implicit price on carbon emissions, would generate the vast amounts of cash needed to tackle the climate crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund has said.Governments have been put off explicitly pricing carbon by the potential unpopularity of new carbon taxes, which have become favourite targets of anti-climate politicians and parties around the world, from the US and Australia to Europe and the UK.When you put a price on carbon, decarbonisation acceleratesKristalina Georgieva, of the IMFIt is not so easy to identify the carbon content and then to put on an appropriate priceKristalina Georgieva Continue reading...

The 80,000 delegates are thinking of how best to unwind from the climate summit whirlwind' in Dubai on their only day offFrom the world's largest waterpark to an indoor ski resort in a shopping centre, Cop28 delegates will have plenty of options to choose from on their only day off at the climate summit.After an exhausting week of negotiations, events and protests, the 80,000 delegates in the United Arab Emirates will have a chance to enjoy Dubai ahead of the final push. Continue reading...

Robbie Douglas-Miller, who was made a baron last week, had complained about impact on salmon stocksDowning Street is facing calls to explain why it has appointed a wealthy, unelected shooting enthusiast as its animal welfare minister after it emerged he has backed the culling of seals and wild birds.Robbie Douglas-Miller, who was last week given a peerage to allow him to become minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), owns a grouse moor in Scotland and has argued for the relaxation of rules on shooting wild birds that prey on salmon. Continue reading...

Anne Lindboe to look at transport plans for Norway's annual gift to UK, but insists tradition will not stopIt is a long-cherished Christmas tradition: a tree sent to London every December from Norway to thank Britain for its support during the second world war.But felling a decades-old 20-metre (66ft) spruce in the woodlands near Oslo and transporting it by road and sea to Britain to light up Trafalgar Square, only for it to be turned into woodchip a month later, could hardly be described as environmentally friendly. Continue reading...

Key things to know about hacking, radioactive leaks and toxic workplace culture at Sellafield, Europe's most hazardous nuclear site

Money offered so far falls far short of estimated $400bn in losses developing countries face each year

Simon Stiell says' we need highest ambition, not point scoring or lowest common denominator politics'. This live blog is closedCountries negotiating at Cop28 must not fall into the trap of point-scoring and lowest common denominator politics", Simon Stiell, the UN's climate chief, has said.Stiell, who is executive secretary of the UN framework convention on climate change, the structure under the auspices of which the climate summit is held, spoke at a press conference in Dubai as Cop28 reached its midpoint. He said:All governments must give their negotiators clear marching orders. We need highest ambition, not point scoring or lowest common denominator politics.We have a starting text on the table ... but it's a grab bag of wishlists and heavy on posturing. The key now is to sort the wheat from the chaff.For all intents and purposes, moving towards the phase-out of fossil fuel combustion is necessary to keep the 1.5C goal of the Paris Agreement within reach.Scenarios consistent with this goal require a complete phase-out of coal by 2050 and rapid phase-down of oil and gas (halved every decade). After 2050 the world needs to rapidly move into net negative emissions, particularly after a number of decades of 1.5C overshoot. Continue reading...

Former Ireland leader issues firm response in row over comments made to her by Cop28 president

Exclusive: Multiple sources warn poor working culture heightens risk of accidents, suicide and sabotage

When they last tried to relocate this critically endangered species, only two females survived. Have conservationists learned enough to end a 40-year local extinction?For more than five years, the two black rhinos in Chad's Zakouma national park have lived a lonely existence. It wasn't meant to be that way. In May 2018, the pair of females were part of a group of six critically endangered black rhinos that African Parks helped translocate from South Africa to Zakouma. But within days of release into their new home, four had died.It happened very quickly. It's not a pure science, doing translocations," says Martin Rickelton, African Parks' regional operations manager. An awful lot of work went into feasibility studies - experts looked at everything." Continue reading...

Salah Jama said vulnerable countries face bureaucratic bottlenecks' in receiving loss and damage funds and are often forced to take them on as debtFunding to support vulnerable countries to repair the irreversible damage caused by the climate crisis needs to be fast tracked and easy to access, Somalia's deputy prime minister has said.Salah Jama said a deal on a loss and damage fund made on the first day of Cop28 last week was welcome news for frontline states like Somalia" but, he said: Implementation needs to be fast tracked. Bureaucratic bottlenecks in accessing the financing have to be fixed." Continue reading...

Steven Fuller is a winter caretaker who has lived at Yellowstone national park for the past 50 years. As the cold weather approaches and the seasonal transformation begins, he hunkers down in his remote mountain cabin. But Fuller and Yellowstone face an uncertain future, with the climate crisis threatening to change one of North America's last great wildernesses for ever Continue reading...

Steven Fuller is a winter caretaker who has lived at Yellowstone national park for 50 years. As cold weather approaches and the seasonal transformation begins, he hunkers down in his remote mountain cabin. But Fuller and Yellowstone face an uncertain future, as the climate crisis threatens to change one of North America's last great wildernesses for ever Continue reading...

Exclusive: Documents show warnings that changes would weaken environmental protections were ignoredMinisters have been accused of misleading the public" after documents obtained by Ends Report and the Guardian revealed they ignored their officials' advice when scrapping key air quality regulations.On 31 December, two key air quality regulations will drop off the statute book under the Retained EU Law (REUL) Act.. Revoke the NAPCP with no replacement, with the environment improvement plan (EIP) becoming the alternative process.2. Revoke the NAPCP provisions and introduce a new process for assessing policy options, with a new process triggered by a failure or potential failure to achieve a target. Continue reading...

A recruiting crisis in the fishing industry has inspired a pioneering new initiative in south DevonAlfie Steer has chosen a different path to his friends. While they are studying for exams and filling out university application forms, the 17-year-old is setting his alarm for 2.50am and heading out to sea. By 5am, he is hauling crabs from the decks of his father, Alan's, trawler.Yes it's rough and wet - and rolly in winter - but I love it," he says with a grin. I'm the only one out of my friendship group who has a full-time job. That's a good feeling. I get a wage, and it's a job I might do for the rest of my life." Continue reading...

Investigation by ABC News found some materials were ending up in landfills, incinerators and other waste facilitiesA national online recycling directory for plastic bags and films has been taken offline, six months after an investigation by ABC News found some materials were ending up in landfills, incinerators and other waste facilities.The directory previously directed users to some 18,000 store drop-off locations around the country where they could bring used plastic bags and packaging to be recycled, including Walmart and Target locations. The initiative was promoted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local and state governments across the country. Continue reading...