Evidence of Chemours-operated plant contaminating region is alleged human rights violations', say experts appointed by councilA new investigation by human rights experts appointed by the United Nations has expressed alarm at evidence of pollution from a North Carolina PFAS manufacturing plant, describing it as alleged human rights violations and abuses against residents".The ongoing PFAS crisis in North Carolina has been linked to a Fayetteville Works plant operated by Chemours, a chemical giant that was spun off from DuPont in 2015. Continue reading...

Studies of cetaceans stranded in UK waters show high levels of toxins 20 years since global ban of most PCBs, say scientistsNearly half of the whales and dolphins found in UK waters over the past five years contained harmful concentrations of toxic chemicals banned decades ago, an investigation has found.Among orcas stranded in the UK, levels of PCBs, a group of highly dangerous and persistent chemicals that do not degrade easily, were 30 times the concentration at which the animals would begin to suffer health impacts, researchers said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Experts alarmed' after potentially toxic chemicals detected in sources at 17 of England's 18 water firmsPotentially toxic forever chemicals" have been detected in the drinking water sources at 17 of 18 England's water companies, with 11,853 samples testing positive, something experts say they are extremely alarmed" by.Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - a group of 10,000 or so human-made chemicals widely used in industrial processes, firefighting foams and consumer products - were found in samples of raw and treated water tested by water companies last year, according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), the Guardian and Watershed Investigations has found. Continue reading...

Lane Cove council considering legal action after at least 100 trees illegally chopped down in Longueville near Sydney Harbour

Gordon Brown leads those signing letter to Cop28 and G20 presidents calling for levy to help fill loss and damage' fundThe bumper revenues of oil-producing states should be subject to a $25bn levy to help pay for the impact of climate disasters on the world's poorest and most vulnerable people, a group of former world leaders and leading economists has said.Seventy international figures led by the former UK prime minister Gordon Brown signed a letter calling for the measure before a crucial UN climate summit, Cop28, that begins in Dubai on Thursday. The signatories include 25 former prime ministers or presidents. Continue reading...

Greenpeace says consumer goods group is badly off track to meet target of halving virgin plastic use by 2025Unilever is on track to sell 53bn non-reusable sachets containing anything from sauces to shampoo in 2023, breaking its commitment to switch away from single-use plastic, a report from Greenpeace has found.The global consumer goods group has committed to reducing its plastic footprint and has said it wants to create a waste-free world". Under its former chief executive Paul Polman, who stepped down in 2019, Unilever positioned itself as a global leader on sustainability. Continue reading...

Climate scientists say fossil fuel use needs to fall rapidly - but oil-rich kingdom is working to drive up demandSaudi Arabia is driving a huge global investment plan to create demand for its oil and gas in developing countries, an undercover investigation has revealed. Critics said the plan was designed to get countries hooked on its harmful products".Little was known about the oil demand sustainability programme (ODSP) but the investigation obtained detailed information on plans to drive up the use of fossil fuel-powered cars, buses and planes in Africa and elsewhere, as rich countries increasingly switch to clean energy. Continue reading...

Three-year pause in fishing is the only way to prevent disappearance, researchers sayIt is one of Sicily's most popular dishes: spaghetti ai ricci di mare, or sea urchin spaghetti. Prepared with a simple base of oil and garlic, plates of the stuff are demolished every summer, particularly by the hundreds of thousands of tourists who descend on the island every year.But sea urchins' status as a culinary delicacy is leading to their gradual disappearance from local waters, and last week researchers said the Sicilian sea urchin, which resides on the sea floor and feeds primarily on algae, could soon become extinct if urgent conservation policies were not implemented. Continue reading...

Leaked briefing documents for meetings with governments contained asks' from state oil firmThe host of the UN Cop28 summit, the United Arab Emirates, planned to use climate meetings with other countries to promote deals for its national oil and gas companies, according to leaked documents.Cop28 begins on Thursday and will be run by Sultan Al Jaber, who is the chief executive of the national oil company Adnoc as well as the UAE's climate envoy. This dual role has been criticised as a conflict of interest, and climate summit veterans said the new revelations undermined trust in Al Jaber's presidency of Cop28, potentially threatening a successful outcome. Continue reading...

How does a species survive hundreds of millions of years unfazed? You must live in a shell - and it must grow with you, chamber by chamberWhere to start with the nautilus: at the centre of the spiral or its culmination? Its eye works slowly, like a pinhole camera. It swims like a bellows. It can live for two decades, and its eggs take a year to hatch. It is a cephalopod in a shell, a spiral no wider than the length of a ruler, ending in 70 tentacle-like wavy bits. The tentacle-like bits are called cirri and they are very good at touch and smell.One scientist describes it like this: Right now everything's in bloom, and, you know, you can smell the azaleas. But can you imagine if you could also say, That azalea bush has 3,002 blossoms on it.'" (Their favourite things to touch and smell are not flowers but anything rotting.) Continue reading...

Major wildfires in 2014 and 2015 killed a multitudinous number and destroyed vast swaths of their natural territoryA rare species of gray squirrel has been placed on the endangered list by wildlife officials in Washington state as escalating climate emergency and land overdevelopment rob the rodents of their habitat.Only three isolated pockets of western gray squirrels survive, the officials say, acknowledging the failure of recovery efforts since unprecedented major wildfires in 2014 and 2015 killed a multitudinous number and destroyed vast swaths of their natural territory. Continue reading...

UK lines up Middle East investor for stake in 20bn-44bn project despite growing row over other Emirati investment plansA United Arab Emirates investor has been approached to take a stake in the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in Suffolk, it has emerged.Ministers are searching for new investors in the project, which could cost between 20bn and 44bn, after removing the Chinese state-owned CGN last year due to security concerns over UK infrastructure amid poor Anglo-Sino relations. Continue reading...

United States projected to extract 12.9m barrels of crude oil as countries at Cop28 to push for agreed fossil fuels phaseout'The United States is poised to extract more oil and gas than ever before in 2023, a year that is certain to be the hottest ever recorded, providing a daunting backdrop to crucial United Nations climate talks that hold the hope of an agreement to end the era of fossil fuels.The US's status as the world's leading oil and gas behemoth has only strengthened this year, even amid warnings from Joe Biden himself over the unfolding climate crisis, with the latest federal government forecast showing a record 12.9m barrels of crude oil, more than double what was produced a decade ago, will be extracted in 2023. Continue reading...

A termite-snatching drongo, cows wading through flood water and a coral glowing like a Christmas tree are among this year's winners. From CIWEM and WaterBear, and presented by Nikon in association with MPB and supported by Arup, the 16th year of the contest showcases global environmental photography to inspire change and climate action. The six winners primarily come from climate-vulnerable countries, including Bangladesh, India, and Argentina Continue reading...

Adapting business laws to include benefits other than profit in decision-making could add 149bn to UK economy, says Demos thinktankBritain's economy could receive a 149bn boost from a change to UK business laws that would ensure companies put social, economic and environmental benefits at the heart of their decision-making, according to a report.With the UK on course for the second lowest growth rate in the G7 group of leading economies in 2023, the study by the thinktank Demos said it was clear that cutting taxes or raising public spending had not been effective at driving economic growth. Continue reading...

Five-year project to reduce environmental impact of industry has all but failed', report findsBritish retailers and seafood companies have been accused of making misleading claims over responsibly sourced" scampi or langoustines, according to campaigners, who say a five-year project to reduce the environmental impact of the 68m industry appears to be failing.The companies, including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose, Young's and Whitby Seafoods - the last of which is currently the largest supplier of breaded scampi to UK pubs, restaurants and fish and chip shops - are all part of a fishery improvement project (FIP) aimed at making the UK langoustine industry more sustainable. Continue reading...

Report quantifies UK food inflation caused by extreme weather reducing global crop yields since end of 2021Food bills in the UK have risen by 605 a year for the average household because of the effects of climate breakdown, according to research.Floods and droughts, which scientists have said were probably exacerbated by global heating, have reduced crop yields over the past two years, said the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a nonprofit organisation. Continue reading...

Historically, it was overfishing that hurt the much-prized fish - but now rising ocean temperatures are inhibiting the fish's ability to produce codlings at allGurun Bjarnadottir Bech sings to herself while she sorts through baby fish with a pair of tweezers. Ding! Ding! Ding!" she suddenly bursts out. That's a plaice," she says - her reaction testament to how few she sees.It is 2021 and Bech is working onboard the Jakup Sverri, a Faroese marine research ship that's trawling for juvenile fish around the Faroe Islands in the north Atlantic to assess the state of populations including haddock, sand eel and Norwegian pout. Continue reading...

Police arrested 109 climate protesters taking part in a blockade at Newcastle port on Sunday, including Alan Stuart, a 97-year-old Uniting Church reverend. NSW police say protesters continued blocking the port beyond the 30-hour agreed deadlineSubscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube

As we go into another hot, dry spell, it is more critical than ever that we deliver fully on the Murray Darling Basin Plan', Tanya Plibersek said

Business and environmental groups urge Labor to supercharge incentives to lure capital

Groups of protesters took turns paddling out into Port of Newcastle's shipping lane to maintain a 30-hour blockage

Exclusive: Data shows that including CO from countries once under colonial rule makes Britain one of world's biggest historical emittersThe UK is responsible for almost twice as much global heating as previously thought when its colonial history is taken into account, analysis has revealed.The UK's domestic emissions account for 3% of total world emissions dating back to 1850. But when responsibility for emissions in countries once under the British empire's rule is given to the UK, the figure rises to more than 5%. Continue reading...

The party has a hostile stance on attempts to cut carbon emissions but got more votes than any other in general electionThe shocking success of Geert Wilders' far-right PVV party in Dutch elections has left climate activists fearful of a drastic shift to fossil fuels and a rollback of climate policies if it manages to form a government.Best known abroad for its rhetoric against Muslims, the PVV, which came first in Wednesday's election but may struggle to find coalition partners, has taken a hard line on policies to stop the planet getting hotter. Continue reading...

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Authorities working to chemically eradicate three nests after one of world's worst super pests' found in South Murwillumbah

Chris Bowen says country is reaping the economic opportunities' of clean energy as emissions projection improves

ANZ stands out as laggard' while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac have restrictions on facilitating bonds for fossil fuel clients

Pollution has tamped population density by 99.5%, but scientists think cultural icon could aid in tissue repair and cancer recoveryEcologists from Mexico's National Autonomous University on Friday relaunched a fundraising campaign to bolster conservation efforts for axolotls, a native, endangered fish-like type of salamander.The campaign, called Adoptaxolotl, asks people for as little as 600 pesos (about $35) to virtually adopt one of the tiny water monsters". Virtual adoption comes with live updates on your axolotl's health. For less money, donors can buy a virtual dinner for one of the creatures, which are relatively popular pets in the US. Continue reading...

Outdoor climbing has boomed in popularity worldwide but some experts say the pursuit can push vulnerable cliff-dwelling species to the brinkWhen Laura Boggess first visited the cliff face in Boone, North Carolina, she admired the colourful rock tripe covering the vertical surface, and the green moss mats perched on top.The crag was part of a rolling, mountainous landscape, sheer cliffs jutting above an enormous valley filled with trees of varying shades of green. It showcased the pristine, usually inaccessible natural beauty that draws so many climbers to the sport. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Duchy of Lancaster changes investment policy amid questions over how money collected from dead people is usedKing Charles's estate has announced it is transferring more than 100m, including funds collected from dead people under the archaic system of bona vacantia, into ethical investment funds after an investigation by the Guardian.The surprise announcement came amid growing pressure on the king over the Duchy of Lancaster's use of funds collected from people who die in the north-west of England with no will or next of kin. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must stop dawdling' and act before crucial summit in DubaiWorld leaders must stop dawdling and start doing" on carbon emission cuts, as rapidly rising temperatures this year have put everyone on the frontline of disaster, the UN's top climate official has warned.No country could think itself immune from catastrophe, said Simon Stiell, who will oversee the crucial Cop28 climate summit that begins next week. Scores of world leaders will arrive in Dubai for tense talks on how to tackle the crisis. Continue reading...

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg's pioneering research in the 1990s found increasing sea temperatures would damage the world's coral reefs, killing them faster than they could recover. Hoegh-Guldberg speaks with Guardian Australia about being labelled an alarmist while championing one of the world's richest ecosystems.Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTubeThis video is part of Weight of the World: a climate scientist's burden. The series features three pioneering Australian climate change scientists - Graeme Pearman, Lesley Hughes and Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. The series tells the story of how the three scientists made their discoveries, how they came under attack for their science and the personal toll it has taken on them. And importantly, how they stay hopeful.

Study's author says we need to reduce exposure in order to ensure men who want to conceive are able to without interference'Exposure to several widely used insecticides probably decreases sperm concentration and may have profound effects on male fertility, new US research finds.The George Mason University paper analyzed five decades of peer-reviewed studies to determine if organophosphates and carbamate-based pesticides exposure correlated with decreased sperm concentration. Continue reading...

The Eurasian eagle owl has been living in Central Park since escaping the zoo, and just returned from a Lower East Side visitIs he back?" Russell Davis exclaimed, as he spotted a group of people looking up at a tree during his afternoon bike ride. Davis stopped in his tracks, dismounted and joined the onlookers admiring a statuesque owl with piercing orange eyes and unmistakable ear tufts. New York's Central Park has experienced a homecoming of sorts, perhaps even a minor Thanksgiving miracle - the return of the beloved celebrity bird known as Flaco.Since February, the Eurasian eagle owl had been living wild after fleeing the Central Park zoo, where he had been an exhibit for 13 years, after his enclosure was vandalized. Continue reading...

Global fall averaged 4.2% between 2010 and 2022 but would have been far more if vehicle sizes stayed sameEmissions from the motor sector could have fallen by more than 30% between 2010 and 2022 if vehicles had stayed the same size, a report has found.Instead, the size of the average car ballooned as the trend for SUVs took off, meaning the global annual rate of energy intensity reductions - the fall in fuel used - of light-duty vehicles (LDV) averaged 4.2% between 2020 and 2022. Continue reading...

More than 50 people dead in Tigray and Amhara regions while UN warns of crisis-level hunger or worse' in SomaliaThe regions of Tigray and Amhara in northern Ethiopia have continued to experience severe drought conditions with more than 50 people dead, as well as 4,000 cattle.While northern Ethiopia suffers from droughts, the southern and eastern parts of the country, along with Kenya and Somalia, have been hit by flooding. Somalia suffered the worst of the flooding, with 50 people reported dead. According to the Somali disaster management agency almost 700,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. Continue reading...

In 2017, 66 people died after fires ripped through eucalyptus stands around Pedrogao Grande. Restrictions on the highly flammable trees have provoked death threats, yet others feel they do not go far enoughPhotographs by Maria AbranchesThe grapevines were the first signs of life to re-emerge, Joao Duarte remembers. The green leaves appeared after months of living in a black landscape, burned by the inferno that killed two of Duarte's family. Next to return were the ferns, followed by the cork trees. Then came the eucalyptus, in greater numbers than before.I am a little afraid of the eucalyptus. I am not against them. People need money," says Duarte, a 57-year-old painter who is the gardener at the Pedrogao Grande town hall gardens in central Portugal. I live in a place surrounded by a green desert of eucalyptus. If another fire comes, it could be worse."Top: The fire, which broke out on 17 June 2017 in the Pedrogao Grande district. Above: Some of the damage caused by the fire. AFP/Getty, Miguel Vidal/Reuters Continue reading...

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

Letter says government pushing ahead with new fossil fuel projects while criminalising activists who raise alarmEmma Thompson, Stephen Fry and Ben Okri have joined the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and leading climate scientists to highlight what they describe as a collective act of madness" that is driving the destruction of life on Earth".A letter signed by more than 100 actors, authors, scientists and academics says the UK government is ignoring the scientific reality of the climate and ecological crisis, pushing ahead with new fossil fuel developments and criminalising peaceful protesters who raise the alarm. Continue reading...

Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more than double last decade's annual averageJust above this column on the weather page of the Guardian's print edition is the daily atmospheric carbon dioxide readings from Mauna Loa in Hawaii, the acid test of how the world is succeeding in combatting climate change. A week before the 28th annual meeting of the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention opens in oil-rich Dubai, it makes depressing reading.At the time of writing it is 422.36 parts per million. That is 5.06ppm more than the same day last year. That rise in 12 months is probably the largest ever recorded - more than double the last decade's annual average. Continue reading...

Bog oak' study finds more than 400 well preserved yews, which could help solve mystery of historic rapid sea level riseThe flat landscape of the East Anglian Fens is known for its vast arable fields and absence of trees. But just over 4,000 years ago, these lowlands were dominated by dense woods of ancient yew trees.A study of hundreds of tree trunks inadvertently dug up by fenland farmers has found that this woodland abruptly disappeared 4,200 years ago, probably because a rapid rise in the North Sea flooded the low-lying region with saltwater. Continue reading...

RSPB says figures distorted by failure to examine raptors caught in avian flu outbreak for signs of shooting or poisoningConfirmed incidents of the illegal persecution of birds of prey have fallen to their lowest levels for more than a decade, according to the latest RSPB Birdcrime report.But the conservation charity warned that the reduction in incidents to 61 in 2022 is distorted by a failure to examine dead raptors caught in the avian flu outbreak for signs of illegal killing. Continue reading...

Global conferences such as the upcoming Cop28 may seem like staid and ritualistic affairs. But they matterStare at a climate map of the world that we expect to inhabit 50 years from now and you see a band of extreme heat encircling the planet's midriff. Climate modelling from 2020 suggests that within half a century about 30% of the world's projected population - unless they are forced to move - will live in places with an average temperature above 29C. This is unbearably hot. Currently, no more than 1% of Earth's land surface is this hot, and those are mainly uninhabited parts of the Sahara.The scenario is as dramatic as it is because the regions of the world affected most severely by global heating - above all, sub-Saharan Africa - are those expected to experience the most rapid population growth in coming decades. Continue reading...

Campaigners say Southern Water outflows into protected wildlife site are an assault on the environment'Raw sewage has been discharged into Chichester harbour for more than 1,200 hours in the past month, in what campaigners described as an assault on the environment".The protected harbour in West Sussex, which is a designated area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), has been subjected to the discharges since 24 October. Continue reading...

None of the organic products sampled contained the chemicals, which present a dangerous health threat to babies, researchers sayNearly 40% of conventional baby food products analyzed in a new US study were found to contain toxic pesticides, while none of the organic products sampled in the survey contained the chemicals.The research, conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) non-profit, looked at 73 products and found at least one pesticide in 22 of them. Many products showed more than one pesticide, and the substances present a dangerous health threat to babies, researchers said. Continue reading...

More and more enthusiasts have fallen in love with this relative of garden dwellers, and are helping ocean science while they're at itTwo years ago, Libby Keatley was diving off the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland when she spotted something unusual. It was a sea slug - or nudibranch - whose transparent body had orange lines running through it and twiggy projections arranged along its back. It was quite distinctive and not like anything I'd seen before," she says.Keatley called over her diving buddy, Bernard Picton, a local marine biologist and pioneer in UK sea slug studies. He scooped it up in a plastic bag and, back at his lab, confirmed it was a newly discovered species. He named it in Keatley's honour: Dendronotus keatleyae. Continue reading...

Local celebrity spent weeks outwitting animal control officers and was praised by residents of West Orange for bringing town together'Residents of West Orange, New Jersey, have been left heartbroken after a wild turkey named Turkules", whose resilient nature and ability to evade capture brought the town together", was finally snared by state officials.Turkules, who was named by a local man, first took up residence in West Orange, 25 miles west of New York City, over the summer. The bird's fearless attitude towards traffic and disregard for authority soon made him a local celebrity, and his fame only grew as Turkules spent weeks outwitting animal control officers. Continue reading...

Isle of May's wildlife warden calls it soul-destroying' to discover birds he ringed as chicks washing up dead on the Scottish coastFor decades, as dusk drew in every evening, up to 700 shags would fly from their foraging grounds near Fife to the Isle of May to roost for the night. Some of the birds had been doing this trip twice a day for 20 years, returning to the same cliff ledge, squabbling over who sat where.On 31 October, Mark Newell sat on the rock, waiting for their noisy return. He saw nothing. Eventually, 25 exhausted-looking birds straggled back. They did not fly off when he approached. The soundtrack of honking and bickering had stopped. Continue reading...

A slower paced life with less work and more community focus - if enough people share the dream, we can make it happenFaced with the now undeniable impacts of climate crisis created by humans, political leaders in wealthier countries incline towards one of two competing responses. They either question the urgency and feasibility of meeting net zero targets and generally procrastinate (the rightwing tendency); or they proclaim their faith in the powers of magical green technologies to protect the planet while prolonging and extending our present affluent ways of living (a position more favoured on the left and centre).Common to both approaches is a wrongheaded presumption that we can carry on growing while managing to hold off the floods and fires of growth-driven capitalism. Both also take it for granted that the consumerist lifestyle is essential to the wellbeing of rich societies and the ideal to which less developed economies should aspire. Continue reading...