Rough, a 37-year-old Centrica facility off east Yorkshire, has been reopened to prop up the energy grid“Do you hear that?” asks Chris O’Shea, putting a finger in the air and looking out over a tangle of pipes and workers in orange hi-vis overalls.A deep whirr punctures the calm of the east Yorkshire coast, as a huge engine powers up and prepares to suck thousands of cubic metres of gas from deep beneath the North Sea. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#66CBZ)
Exclusive: one university cites the industry as a ‘fundamental barrier to a more just and sustainable world’Three more UK universities have banned fossil fuel companies from recruiting students through their career services, with one citing the industry as a “fundamental barrier to a more just and sustainable world”.The University of the Arts London, University of Bedfordshire, and Wrexham Glyndwr University join Birkbeck, University of London, which was the first to adopt a fossil-free careers service policy in September. Continue reading...
Jess Jeffery and family were looking for rentals when their belongings stored in Rochester were destroyed by floods, and have been excluded from relief as they lack fixed address
City and Mississippi health department sign order agreeing to federal oversight of the failing water systemThe US justice department has taken drastic action regarding the crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, that has affected drinking water for its 150,000 residents for several months.On Tuesday, the city of Jackson and the Mississippi health department signed an order agreeing to federal oversight of the failing water system, in an attempt to restore clean and safe drinking water. Continue reading...
Guillaume Faury expresses concern at pace of investment in facilities producing alternatives to fossil fuelsThe launch of commercial flights of aircraft designed to reduce aviation’s damaging impact on the climate could be delayed by a shortage of net zero fuels, the chief executive of Airbus has warned.Speaking at a briefing about the European manufacturer’s emissions-cutting plans on Wednesday, Guillaume Faury said he had concerns about the pace of investment in facilities to produce “green” hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Continue reading...
Minister confirms pollution penalties will be ringfenced for environment rather than going to TreasuryWater company fines for pollution are to be used to pay for environmental improvements in England rather than given to the Treasury, the government has said.Since 2015, the Environment Agency has concluded 56 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies, securing fines of more than £141m. Most of these were from one company, Southern Water, which received a record penalty of £90m last year. Continue reading...
Show omits massive challenges to the industry posed by climate crisis, bycatch and bottom trawling, claims Our Seas alliance of 135 organisationsShot in fishing vessels on the high seas, amid crashing waves that threaten to sweep all on deck overboard, the long-running BBC documentary programme Trawlermen offers viewers an insight into how a crew navigates one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.However, the new series, Trawlermen: Hunting the Catch, launched in October, fails to mention “even briefly” the environmental and climate crisis challenges or problems with bycatch faced by the fishing industry, according to the Our Seas coalition of 135 conservation and fishing organisations. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Fatih Birol says claims that limit is dead are ‘factually incorrect and politically very wrong’The world can still limit global heating to 1.5C, and to claim that the target is now out of reach is to play into the hands of fossil fuel proponents, the world’s leading energy economist has warned.Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, the global authority on energy, slammed scientists and activists who have claimed that the recent Cop27 UN climate summit killed off hopes for the crucial 1.5C limit. Continue reading...
Days later, Harry and Meghan will head to New York for human rights award, with no plans for brothers to meetThe Prince and Princess of Wales will fly to the US on Wednesday hoping to shine a light on the climate crisis against a media backdrop obsessed with sibling rivalry and turf war with the Sussexes.In their first US trip in eight years, Prince William and Princess Catherine are visiting Boston to promote the prince’s environmental Earthshot prize. Continue reading...
Uninhabited Widi Reserve is in a marine-protected zone and being promoted as ‘one of the most intact coral atoll ecosystems left on Earth’The development rights to an entire Indonesian archipelago with more than 100 tropical islands is set to be auctioned next week, sparking concerns for the environmental impact on what Sotheby’s described as “one of the most intact coral atoll ecosystems left on Earth”.The uninhabited Widi Reserve is based in a marine-protected zone in the “Coral Triangle” area of eastern Indonesia, and will go on sale via Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions in New York from 8-14 December. Continue reading...
Japan’s prime minister is pushing for as many as 17 nuclear reactors to be switched back on, more than a decade on from the meltdown at FukushimaLook carefully through the trees, and it is just possible to catch sight of Onagawa nuclear power plant from its visitors’ centre, perched on a hill surrounded by thick woods.The plant’s supporters may have had its remote location, on a rugged peninsula in Japan’s north-east, in mind when they campaigned to bring nuclear power – and the promise of subsidies – to the town more than 40 years ago. Continue reading...
Move could help restore drying lake, a former resort destination that has deteriorated into an environmental crisis amid droughtThe US government said on Monday it will spend up to $250m over four years to help mitigate an environmental health disaster that has been brewing in California’s Salton Sea for nearly two decades.The inland lake, which is fed by agricultural runoff and wastewater, has slowly been shrinking, exposing a powdery shoreline laced with arsenic, selenium and DDT. Dust from the drying lake has wafted into surrounding communities, exacerbating pollution and consequently respiratory conditions in one of California’s poorest and most environmentally burdened regions. Continue reading...
Lava, volcanic gas and smog are the main hazards from eruption of the world’s largest active volcanoHawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, is erupting for the first time in nearly 40 years – causing spectacular scenes, casting an eerie red glow over the island and shooting lava up to 200ft (60 metres) in the air.Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984. Its smaller, more active neighbor, Kilauea volcano, has been erupting continuously for more than a year since September 2021. Continue reading...
The climate activists claim to have targeted 4x4 owners in eight European and US citiesGuerrilla climate activists Tyre Extinguishers have claimed their “largest ever night of action against SUVs”, with 900 of the vehicles targeted around the world.“Last night (the evening of Monday 28 November and early morning of Tuesday 29 November), citizens in eight countries deflated tyres on nearly 900 polluting SUVs,” the activist group said in a statement. Continue reading...
Half of free-range turkeys and geese grown for festive period have died or been culled due to bird flu, MPs toldHalf of the free-range poultry grown for Christmas in the UK have died or been culled because of the bird flu epidemic, an industry leader has told MPs.The British Poultry Council chief executive, Richard Griffiths, told the environment, food and rural affairs committee on Tuesday that free-range poultry had been hit “very, very hard”. Continue reading...
Magistrate reportedly speaks of using Jan Goodey’s case as a ‘deterrent’ during court proceedingsA climate activist who disrupted traffic on the M25 has been sentenced to six months in prison.Jan Goodey, 57, from Brighton, was jailed after pleading guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance after taking part in Just Stop Oil’s campaign of disruption on London’s orbital motorway earlier this month. Continue reading...
Chris O’Shea said the government handing energy companies money in advance presents a big riskThe chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica has warned that more energy suppliers could go bust this winter – with million of pounds of taxpayer cash on their balance sheets.Chris O’Shea said he believed that some suppliers were “poorly capitalised”, and risked going bust and “taking taxpayer money with them”. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#66A98)
First global analysis follows discovery of toxic pollution particles in lungs and brains of foetusesAlmost a million stillbirths a year can be attributed to air pollution, according to the first global study.The research estimated that almost half of stillbirths could be linked to exposure to pollution particles smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), mostly produced from the burning of fossil fuels. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#66A39)
Free allowances ‘in direct contradiction with the polluter pays principle’, WWF report saysBig polluting industries have been given almost €100bn (£86bn) in free carbon permits by the EU in the last nine years, according to an analysis by the WWF. The free allowances are “in direct contradiction with the polluter pays principle”, the group said.Free pollution permits worth €98.5bn were given to energy-intensive sectors including steel, cement, chemicals and aviation from 2013-21. This is more than the €88.5bn that the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) charged polluters, mostly coal and gas power stations, for their CO emissions. Continue reading...
EDF’s Suffolk plant will create 10,000 highly skilled jobs and help ensure UK energy security, ministers sayThe government has confirmed the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk will go ahead, backing the scheme with an investment of nearly £700m that will end China’s controversial involvement.Ministers said the move to take a 50% stake in the project’s development, first announced in Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement, would create 10,000 highly skilled jobs, provide “reliable low-carbon power” to the equivalent of 6m homes for more than 50 years, and help boost UK energy security. The government also said it would set up an arm’s-length body, Great British Nuclear, to develop further nuclear projects. Continue reading...
Number of homes at high risk likely to almost double by 2055, warns report by infrastructure commissionIn England more than 600,000 properties face flooding in the future without investment in drainage, a report from the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has found.At the moment, 325,000 English properties have a 60% risk of flooding in the next decade, according to calculations by the NIC, due to a lack of investment in infrastructure. Continue reading...
National Highways has obtained an injunction to ‘prevent unlawful protests’ until November 2023A high court injunction has been granted that would impose fresh penalties on Just Stop Oil activists for demonstrating on the country’s busiest motorway until November next year.National Highways said it had secured the civil order to “prevent unlawful protests” on the M25, after a series of actions by the environmental group caused significant traffic disruption. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot, Peter Walker and Helena Horton on (#669GM)
PM is stuck between two wings of party and at risk of Commons defeat on pro-renewables amendmentRishi Sunak is scrambling to find a compromise on permitting onshore wind amid a growing backbench Conservative rebellion, though No 10 remains fearful of a backlash from MPs who oppose windfarms.The U-turn on backing onshore wind projects would directly contradict a pledge by Sunak during his leadership campaign but Downing Street has sought to frame it as government policy. Continue reading...
The new Guardian US editor sets out some of our key priorities for 2023, including abortion rights, the climate crisis and investigations into the powers shaping American life
Immigration minister confirms 50 cases of diphtheria linked to Manston asylum accommodation. This live blog is closedA House of Lords committee has delivered a withering assessment of the measures in the autumn statement for adult social care.Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, announced a further £4.7bn for adult social care by 2024-25. But, in an open letter to Hunt and Steve Barclay, the health secretary, the Lords adult social care committee chair, Lady Andrews, said that this was less than the £7bn that Hunt himself said adult social care needed when he was chair of the Commons health committee.Increasing funding through council tax is a regressive solution, which will not allow for a properly and sustainably funded system. It does not translate as ring-fenced investment dedicated to adult social care. It is likely to create further inequalities from one locality to the next. In short, it is not a long-term plan for funding.Equally regressive is the government’s decision to delay the long overdue cap on care costs and extension to the means test. Although this is intended to unlock more funding for local authorities and provide them with breathing space, it also reflects the lack of a coherent strategy across adult social care. Delaying one policy to support another will ultimately compound problems; and it certainly does not allow for any priority to be given to choice, control and equality in the provision of adult social care.I suspect you may have identified a ninth [MP], although it hasn’t been announced, with my colleague, Matt Hancock. Continue reading...
Residents in largest city in Texas express anger at alert which came hours after power outage at purification facility on Sunday nightThe 2.2 million people in Texas’s largest city – and the US’s fourth most populous – have been placed under a boil water notice since Sunday night, after a power outage caused water pressure to drop at a purification facility earlier in the day.Some residents expressed anger at being alerted of water safety issues several hours after the outage while others complained about finding out through social media. Officials are testing whether the outage at the facility let bacteria contaminate the local drinking water supply, and results are not immediate. Continue reading...
Opposition to unveil plan to reverse biodiversity loss rather than simply halting it, which is government’s current targetThe government will not be able to achieve its nature targets by 2030, even though they are “embarrassingly poor”, the shadow environment minister and leading wildlife groups have said.Next week at the Cop15 biodiversity conference in Montreal, Alex Sobel will be discussing Labour’s “science-led, joined-up plan to tackle the climate and ecological emergency”. The plan will aim to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, rather than simply halting it, which is the government’s current target. Continue reading...
Former archbishop of Canterbury says richest nations and individuals must take lead on ‘loss and damage’Rich countries and wealthy individuals must urgently consider how to come up with the cash needed to help poor countries afflicted by climate disaster, the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has said.At the Cop27 UN climate summit in Egypt, which finished a week ago after a marathon final session ran more than 50 hours over deadline, the first steps were taken to establish a “loss and damage” fund for vulnerable countries stricken by extreme weather. Continue reading...
Two men shot and another hit by lead pellets amid fierce debate over issue and resistance to alcohol banA 26-year-old hiker was shot in the arm in one of a series of hunting-related incidents in France over the weekend – again throwing the spotlight on the issue.The man was walking in the Alpilles mountains in Provence when he was hit by a stray bullet in the biceps. He was airlifted to hospital in Avignon. A hunter, reported to be in his 30s, was arrested. Continue reading...
Company cites decisions by pair of sustainability organizations to take away their endorsements of the US lobster fishing industryEnvironmental groups are once again at loggerheads with leading politicians and fishing businesses in New England in the wake of a decision by the high-end US retail giant Whole Foods to stop selling Maine lobster.Whole Foods recently said that it will stop selling lobster from the Gulf of Maine at hundreds of its stores around the country. The company cited decisions by a pair of sustainability organizations to take away their endorsements of the US lobster fishing industry. Continue reading...
Ahead of December’s conference our writers select titles that explain the issues at stake, from animal extinction to marine degradation and loss of habitatChosen by Patrick Barkham Continue reading...
Nearly extinct in the 1980s, an intensive programme to reverse the bird’s decline has made it a conservation success storyDespite being the largest flying bird in North America, with a wingspan of up to three metres, you would have been hard pushed to see a California condor in the wild in the 1980s. In a last-ditch effort to save the birds, after decades of persecution and population collapse, the few remaining were captured in 1987 for a multimillion-dollar intensive conservation programme.Today, there are more than 200 in the wild, and local people are already starting to notice. In May 2021, about 10% of the entire population of the birds in the Golden State decided to roost on a woman’s home in Tehachapi, southern California, damaging her decking with “concrete-like” excrement, an incident that went viral on Twitter when her daughter posted photos. Continue reading...
Scientists trying to replicate 1964 study say results reveal alarming deterioration in river’s ecosystemA survey of mussels has revealed an alarming deterioration in the River Thames ecosystem since the 1960s, according to a study.Scientists attempting to replicate a 1964 survey of freshwater bivalves in a stretch of the Thames near Reading found striking results, as native mussel populations had crashed by almost 95%. One native species, the depressed river mussel, had vanished completely, and the remaining species were much smaller for their age, reflecting slower growth. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#668PD)
Tenant, who is suing landlord in test case, calls on UK government to back renters in claiming damagesA woman with potentially terminal lung disease who claims it was due to being exposed to mould in her rented home has demanded the government empowers victims to take rogue landlords to court and “hit them in the wallet”.The woman, who is in her 50s, said she may have as little as 18 months to live. A medical expert she engaged in a legal action against her landlord believes her illness was likely triggered by moulds within her home caused by disrepair. She now requires constant oxygen via mask or nasal catheter and is on the waiting list for a lung transplant. Continue reading...