The govnerment's former net zero tsar says Sunak's announcement is the wrong decision at precisely the wrong time'The Labour MP Jess Phillips has said the criminal justice system has suffered from total collapse and calamity", with her party claiming that more than 90% of crimes go unsolved.The MP for Birmingham Yardley and shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday that criminals have never had it so good", adding:People don't expect anyone to be caught.The Home Office has watched while charging has dwindled over the years so that 90% of crimes currently go unsolved.This is about maxing out our oil and gas reserves and that means that we will be much more energy secure and less dependent on hostile actors like Vladimir Putin.The independent climate change committee understands that fossil fuels will play a major role in our energy base for years to come so we think it's essential that that fossil fuel comes from British water, ensuring the revenue comes to the British exchequer rather than paying to import, which would have a higher CO emission and rely on sometimes hostile foreign powers.I don't recognise that. We are committed to reaching net zero by 2050.We were the first parliament in the world to legislate for that. Carbon capturing plays a major role in delivering that. Continue reading...
The UK prime minister visited Aberdeenshire on Monday to announce more than 100 new licences for drilling oil and gas in the North Sea. Rishi Sunak insisted the announcement was 'entirely consistent with our plan to get to net zero', adding that domestic oil and gas saved 'two, three, four times the amount of carbon emissions' of 'shipping it from halfway round the world'. Environmental groups said the licences would obliterate the UK's climate commitments. Jess Ralston from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said it would jeopardise the UK's international standing on the climate emergency, adding that the government would export oil and gas 'to the highest bidder'
Dartmoor National Park Authority had appealed against January high court ruling that outlawed practiceWild camping is once again allowed on Dartmoor after the national park won a successful appeal against a ruling in a case brought by a wealthy landowner.Camping had been assumed to be allowed under the Dartmoor Commons Act since 1985, until a judge ruled otherwise in January. It was the only place in England such an activity was allowed without requiring permission from a landowner. Continue reading...
Two people have reportedly been killed by severe flooding that has engulfed parts of Beijing after Typhoon Doksuri struck the Chinese capital. More than 31,000 people had been evacuated from the city as heavy rain continued to fall there, and in Hebei, Tianjin and eastern Shanxi, as the typhoon dissipated over northern China
The Penny chain has raised the prices of products including wiener sausage, cheese and yoghurtA leading discount supermarket in Germany has raised the prices of a selection of its products to reflect their real cost on people's health and the environment.In a week-long experiment in all 2,150 branches of the Penny chain, a range of nine products, mainly dairy and meat, will be priced at what experts from two universities have deemed to be their true cost, in relation to their effect on soil, climate, water use and health. Continue reading...
It could take years for the federal regulator Osha to set new heat rules as excessive temperatures are killing Americans at workBig-business lobbyists, including big agricultural and construction groups, are pushing to water down or stymie efforts at the federal and state levels to implement workplace heat protection standards.This summer, millions in the US have been exposed to some of the hottest days on record, inciting renewed urgency for federal protections from heat exposure for US workers. The Biden administration has proposed federal heat protections for workers. But those rules face stiff opposition and could take several years to be finalized under current rule-making processes and laws. They could even be scrapped depending on the outcome of 2024's election. Continue reading...
How a citizen vigilante in West Virginia uses his drone to uncover polluters who would rather stay hiddenCoal has stalked Junior Walk his entire life. He remembers his elementary school in the mountainous southern reaches of West Virginia being caked in coal dust, and the representatives from the nearby mine showing up to hand them out mollifying squeezable toys in the shape of lumps of coal.That school was subsequently shuttered and is now wreathed in weeds, a replacement established a few miles away to escape the shadow of the mine. Walk's childhood home sits a few hundred yards from another mine, Black Eagle, that spectacularly disgorges coal via a conveyer belt into a huge heap by the main road, like a sort of Stygian waterfall. Continue reading...
The Canadian town of Osoyoos has been ordered to evacuate after a wildfire crossed the border from the US state of Washington. Firefighters are using water cannon from planes to try to control the blaze, which local authorities estimate to be 885 hectares (2,200 acres) in size Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: The prime minister has tactically retreated from talking about the environment - but is it a route to electoral success? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. A sense of despondency is permeating Conservative party HQ. The government is flailing after losing two byelections and winning a third by the narrowest of margins. Inflation is not coming down as quickly as they would have hoped. The party's small boats bill suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords last month, as Channel crossings by people seeking asylum hit record highs. And senior Tories are expecting MPs to quit in droves before the next election after years of political chaos and turmoil have left them exhausted.Rishi Sunak knows that, with an election looming, he needs to come up with a strategy and create a clear dividing line between his party and Labour. And it seems as though the lesson the prime minister has taken from that slim byelection victory in Uxbridge and South Ruislip - where opposition to an extension of London's ultra-low emission zone formed the central plank of the campaign - is that taking aim at the green agenda is a route to electoral success. Sunak has suggested that his government is willing to roll back, delay and even abandon climate policies that could come at a cost to consumers - and spent the weekend burnishing his pro-car credentials, with plans to restrict local councils' ability to institute a host of traffic calming and environmental measures.Society | The financial cost of the Grenfell Tower disaster has reached nearly 1.2bn - 4,000 times the amount that was saved by replacing fire-retardant cladding with a cheaper combustible alternative during the disastrous refurbishment. Most of the cost is coming from the public purse, dwarfing the compensation to the bereaved and survivors paid by companies involved in wrapping the west London council's block in combustible materials.Pakistan | At least 44 people have been killed and more than 150 injured in a bomb blast in the north-west of Pakistan that targeted a political party gathering. Police said the explosion was caused by a suicide bomb, adding that the initial investigations suggested the Islamic State group (IS) could be behind the attack, though investigations are ongoing. No group has claimed responsibility.NHS | A leading spinal surgeon's botched operations left patients with serious blood loss, long-term pain and mobility problems, a damning report has revealed. It found that John Bradley Williamson's unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour" severely or moderately harmed 20 patients at Salford Royal hospital, once regarded as one of England's safest.Finance | The biggest regulatory shake-up of UK retail financial services for two decades will come into force on Monday in an effort to crack down on rip-offs and poor customer service. Experts are predicting that some older financial products that do not meet the new standards are likely to be removed from sale.Policing | The Metropolitan police is expanding its use of precision policing", an approach that uses crime data to focus police activity, in an effort to remove some of the most serious criminals from the streets. Continue reading...
Laughing owl and bush wren among five extinct birds added to list of contenders in popular - and controversial - annual contestNew Zealand's fiercely competitive and often controversial bird of the year competition will be replaced this year by a bird of the century contest that will include extinct species to highlight the threats to native wildlife.This year five extinct species will be included among the 75 contenders, to bring attention to the pressures facing the natural world. In New Zealand, 82% of birds are threatened with extinction. Continue reading...
Concerns over water quality have discouraged a quarter of summer bathers from taking the plungeAlmost a quarter of the UK's sea swimmers may not take a dip in the ocean this year because of sewage dumping by water companies, according to a poll.Sewage was dumped into waters near England's most celebrated beaches for nearly 8,500 hours last year, analysis shows. A separate review earlier this year found there were 1,504 discharges in 2022 on beaches supposed to be free from such pollution. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Deputy political editor on (#6DDDZ)
Visit to Aberdeenshire intended as chance for PM to criticise opposition with reports he could announce 100 new drilling licencesRishi Sunak is to make a visit to north-east Scotland focused on North Sea energy that is intended to draw a dividing line between the government and Labour's plan to ban new oil and gas projects.While No 10 said in advance only that the prime minister would use the trip to Aberdeenshire to commit to policies connected to energy security and net zero, he is expected to announce funding for a planned carbon capture scheme in the region. Continue reading...
Whitehall watchdog gives red rating to set of measures aimed to bring net-zero goals, amid backlash over retreat on climate policyRishi Sunak has been accused of showing disregard for the climate crisis after Whitehall officials warned that some of his key green pledges were already unachievable.With the prime minister facing a backlash within his own party after appearing to row back from his commitment to green policies, an internal government audit found that a series of measures designed to help meet Britain's net zero goals had been allowed to run off course. Continue reading...
Last-minute agreement reached at ISA meeting in Jamaica to discuss moratorium at next year's talksAn international meeting in Jamaica to negotiate rules over deep-sea mining has ended with no green light to start industrial-scale mining and with an 11th-hour agreement to hold formal discussions next year on the protection of the marine environment.The agreement ended intense week-long negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an intergovernmental body based in Kingston that regulates sea-bed extraction, over a proposal spearheaded by Chile, France and Costa Rica and backed by a dozen countries to discuss a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining to ensure the protection of the marine environment. Continue reading...
No active front' in Rhodes, Corfu and central Greece blazes as more than 460 firefighters remain on alertWildfires that have scorched Greece for more than two weeks are under control, but firefighters remain in key hotspots as strong winds remain a threat, officials have said.Scattered fire pockets are being extinguished," the fire department said on Saturday, adding that there was no active front" in the three biggest wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and central Greece that forced thousands of people to flee. Continue reading...
Organisations including RSPB, National Trust and RSPCA urge prime minister to honour green promisesEnvironmental groups claiming to represent 20 million people will mobilise their members if UK ministers water down climate commitments, they have warned.Groups including the RSPB, National Trust and the RSPCA have written to the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, who has signalled his willingness to back away from green policies should the Conservatives stand to benefit from it electorally. Continue reading...
Amid record-breaking heat, increased access to air conditioning could save lives - but AC units are damaging the environment. Are there other options?Much of the Earth sweltered under record-topping temperatures this month. Phoenix, Arizona, broke its record for most 110F (43.3C) days. California's Death Valley had its highest temperature ever. An airport in coastal Iran saw a heat index of 152F, while Beijing saw a record stretch of 95F days.Oppressive heatwaves have become more frequent and more severe as a result of the climate crisis - a trend that's expected to continue, and could worsen in proportion to how quickly we can transition from fossil fuels. Continue reading...
Eleni Myrivili, whose job is to help cities prepare for extreme heat, says many people do not understand how deadly it can beIt is shocking" how little people know about the danger of hot weather, the United Nations global chief heat officer has said, as high temperatures bake cities across the northern hemisphere and politicians backslide on climate promises.A study this month found that extreme heat in Europe last summer killed 61,000 people, most of whom were women and older people. As well as killing people through heatstroke, hot weather can push the bodies of people with heart and lung disease into deadly overdrive. Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason, Aubrey Allegretti and Gwyn Topham on (#6DC1Y)
London mayor to expand charging zone for drivers after high court win and rejects pressure from Labour leadership to think againSadiq Khan has vowed to press ahead with the expansion of London's low emissions zone saying tackling the climate emergency and air pollution are bigger than party politics", despite the Labour leadership urging a rethink of the policy.After the high court dismissed a legal challenge brought by five Conservative councils, the Labour mayor said he understood concerns of some Londoners but it was right to charge the most polluting vehicles 12.50 a day to drive in the capital's outer boroughs from the end of August. Continue reading...
Doctors and independent MPs say despite Labor's reassurances, work should have been conducted by public servants and a clear conflict of interest exists
Great Plains, midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east hit by soaring temperatures, with New York City to reach 102F (39C)A blistering heatwave that has engulfed the southern US over the past four weeks has spread to the Great Plains, midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-eastern regions, placing about 190 million Americans under heat advisory alerts, the National Weather Service said.The extreme heat is expected to persist through Saturday, with Friday and Saturday forecast to be the hottest days of the summer so far for millions in the mid-Atlantic and north-east. Continue reading...
Project in Friesland aims to draw on residual warmth from Zuidwal volcano for sustainable energyHeat from an extinct volcano could be piped into homes under a plan in the Dutch city of Bolsward.The Netherlands may be known for windmills but Ynze Salverda is no fan of the wind turbines proliferating across the country. He believes sustainable energy could be generated underground using residual warmth from the Zuidwal volcano deep under the Wadden Sea. Continue reading...
Since the pandemic toilet paper has come out of the shadows to take centre stage in UK bathroomsHandbags and cars are more traditional status symbols, but in these topsy-turvy times the humble toilet roll is being treated with more reverence than you would expect for something used to wipe your bottom with. In the toilets of trendy restaurants or friends, proud pyramids of loo roll stand in bright, graphic wrapping. On Instagram, influencers now allow it to stay in the backdrop of bathroom selfies rather than hiding it.While Who Gives A Crap (WGAC) may be one of the more familiar brands, delivering its first striped and spotty rolls in 2013, others with similarly colourful packaging and eco-friendly messaging have sprung up such as Bazoo and Feel Good. There are also those in more muted tones including The Cheeky Panda, Bumboo and Naked Sprout. Using recycled paper or bamboo, they are not shy about advertising their sustainable credentials. Continue reading...
Caribbean Development Bank head urges help for countries classed as developing but not among poorestMiddle-income developing countries hit by devastating climate disaster risk missing out on rescue funds, the head of one of the world's development banks has warned.Hyginus Leon, the president of the Caribbean Development Bank, told the Guardian that some developing countries with per capita incomes that would disqualify them for some forms of overseas aid could be made ineligible for climate funds. Continue reading...
Fertiliser use on key crops down more than a quarter on 2010-19 average, while yields increased 2.4%Britain's farmers increased their yields of major crops last year despite significant reductions in fertiliser use, according to research.Making artificial fertilisers relies on natural gas, the price of which rose sharply last year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Fertiliser prices almost tripled, from 233 a tonne in 2020 to 766 a tonne in 2022, which farmers say led to a reduction in their use. Continue reading...
by Jonathan Barrett Senior business reporter on (#6DBH8)
Shemara Wikramanayake decries nickname given to investment bank by media as utility burdened by $26bn debtThe Macquarie chief executive, Shemara Wikramanayake, has delivered a fervent defence of the company's former stewardship of ailing utility Thames Water, labelling its management of debt levels as prudent and bemoaning the investment bank's UK nickname, the vampire kangaroo".Wikramanayake told shareholders Britain's ageing infrastructure required significant investment that would best be delivered by the private sector. Continue reading...
When Scotland's largest recorded mass stranding struck this summer, volunteers swung into action. Here they recall the hard work ... and the heartbreakAt 8.13am on Sunday 16 July, Mairi Carrey was wondering how to celebrate her wedding anniversary when her phone buzzed. At that same moment, Lyndsey Dubberley was looking down a steep hillside at the haunting sight of a sole figure - a local crofter - surrounded by 55 dead and dying whales strewn across the beach. It was eerie to see these beautiful creatures on land when they should be in the sea," she recalls.Fighting to save a pod of stranded pilot whales on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides was not in the plans of either woman that day. But Carrey, a trained archaeologist who now works for Bumblebee Conservation Trust, and Dubberley, a former member of the fire service's water rescue unit, were ready. Both volunteer for British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), a charity that responds to strandings of whales, dolphins and porpoises across the UK. Continue reading...
by Léonie Chao-Fong (now) and Chris Stein (earlier) on (#6DARD)
The blog is now closed, but you can read more about Donald Trump's new charges here and about Hunter Biden's ongoing legal challenges here.Joe Biden will soon speak on his administration's efforts to protect workers from extreme heat, including by asking the labor department to issue a hazard alert" as swaths of the US struggle with scorching temperatures.The hazard alert will reaffirm that workers have heat-related protections under federal law. As part of the alert, the Department of Labor will provide information on what employers can and should be doing now to protect their workers, help ensure employees are aware of their rights, including protections against retaliation, and highlight the steps the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently taking to protect workers," the White House announced. Additionally, the Department of Labor will ramp up enforcement of heat-safety violations, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture, while OSHA continues to develop a national standard for workplace heat-safety rules." Continue reading...
As long as a paperclip and as thin as pencil lead, Illacme socal is no ordinary SoCal denizen - it uses 486 legs to walk wherever it goesThe city of angels, a metropolis of freeways and traffic, has a newly discovered species named in its honor: the Los Angeles thread millipede.The tiny arthropod was found just underground by naturalists at a southern California hiking area - near a freeway, a Starbucks and an Oakley sunglasses store. Continue reading...
Critics say steps positive but modest as US president stops short of declaring climate emergencyJoe Biden announced new steps on Thursday to help Americans face the existential threat of climate change" and extreme heat.We want the American people to know help is here, and we're gonna make it available to anyone who needs it," the president said, speaking in a summer of record-breaking temperatures in the US and globally. Continue reading...
The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said scientists have confirmed July was on track to be the world's hottest month on record. Guterres warned 'the era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has arrived' after recent global temperatures shattered records. The steady rise in global average temperatures, driven by pollution that traps sunlight and acts like a greenhouse around the Earth, has made weather extremes worse
Work on Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will transport fracked gas 300 miles through West Virginia and Virginia, had been haltedThe US supreme court has allowed construction to resume on the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline, which is a project to transport fracked gas 300 miles through West Virginia and Virginia.The new ruling clears the way for construction to restart, lifting stays from lower courts that had halted work. Continue reading...
Wildfires have turned the hills surrounding the temple of Segesta to ash after days of fires spreading across Sicily. Local authorities said the blaze was put out around the archaeological site, but it is temporarily closed to check for any damage. The island has been devastated by wildfires that have killed at least three people, while heatwaves and severe storms affected the north of Italy
Mayor of London hits back at prime minister over pathetic gesture politics'Rishi Sunak has failed to give his full backing to Sir Howard Davies, chairman of NatWest, in interviews this morning, PA Media reports.PA says that Sunak did not back calls for the resignation of Davies in a pooled interview this morning - but also that Sunak would not say whether he had confidence in him.What I said right at the start of this was that it wasn't right for people to be deprived of basic services because of banking, because of their views.This isn't about any one individual, it's about values - do you believe in free speech and not to be discriminated against because of your legally held views?As a result of this policy, a dozen classrooms of children, including some of the most traumatised and vulnerable children in the world, have gone missing and, sickeningly for us, 50 children are still missing from the hotel used in Brighton and Hove.Importantly the high court also makes clear that the home secretary already has the power to require local authorities across the country to take children into foster care via a statutory rota system called the national transfer scheme. Continue reading...
More than 230 years ago, the country parson celebrated the small but vital elements that gave the English landscape its wild majesty'. Today, Hampshire's farmers and volunteers are honouring his legacy
Drone footage from the island of Rhodes in Greece, which has been hit be a string of fierce wildfires, gives an idea of the scale of destruction left by the blaze. The footage, from the towns of Asklipio and Kiotari, shows the charred embers of several burnt out cars and scorched trees and earth. Large areas of land were burnt grey and black, in fires that prompted the island's authorities to declare a state of emergency and carry out a mass evacuation of local people and tourists. Greece is one of almost a dozen Mediterranean countries that struggled to control wildfires that broke out amid a record breaking heatwave in July
Rightwing groups penned a conservative wish list of proposals for the next conservative president to gut environmental protectionsAn alliance of rightwing groups has crafted an extensive presidential proposal to bolster the planet-heating oil and gas industry and hamstring the energy transition, it has emerged.Against a backdrop of record-breaking heat and floods this year, the $22m endeavor, Project 2025, was convened by the notorious rightwing, climate-denying thinktank the Heritage Foundation, which has ties to fossil fuel billionaire Charles Koch. Continue reading...
Better the seafloor than the rainforest, proponents argue, but marine experts beg to differ as authorities meet to decide the future of deep-sea miningIn an exclusive interview with Guardian Seascape last Saturday, James Cameron argued that it is less wrong" to mine the deep sea than mining on land. I've seen an awful lot of seafloor," said the Titanic director and accomplished deep-sea explorer. And while there are some amazing creatures, they tend to be clustered in small habitats. What you mostly have is miles and miles of nothing but clay."His view, which he conceded made him something of an outlier", is disputed by scientists and environmentalists who claim the opposite: that the ocean floor is a richer and more biodiverse place than previously thought, with new species uncovered each time they look. Deep-sea mining, said one, would result in extinction on a vast timescale". Continue reading...
One man is on a mission to promote the grazing habits of feral herds as a way to stop extreme blazes from starting and spreadingSince moving to a remote mountain region just south of Interstate 5 on the Oregon-California border in 2014, William Simpson, 70, has assumed responsibility for the care of 120 wild horses that roam his land. He has also adopted 60 more as part of an effort to study the effect that grazing has on managing grass, brush and other fuel for wildfires in the face of increasingly extreme blazes.I started watching the horses and seeing what they were doing," says Simpson. They were managing the fuel."Wild horses roam Simpson's land near the Oregon-California border Continue reading...
Freedom of information responses on design standards suggest cyclists being endangered' on shared-use pathsNational Highways has been accused of a systemic failure" on cycling provision after freedom of information requests revealed it did not know whether its infrastructure met its own design standards.The Department for Transport also admitted the government-owned body in charge of trunk roads was using a loophole to deliver substandard shared use paths in rural areas instead. Continue reading...