State to implement most ambitious US regulations on railways, including phasing out locomotive engines over 23 years oldCalifornia has passed stringent new rules to limit emissions from diesel-fueled locomotive engines, putting the state on track to implement the most ambitious regulations on high-polluting railways in the country.The landmark step taken by the California Air Resources Board (Carb), which regulates California’s air quality, requires the phase-out of inefficient locomotive engines more than 23 years old by 2030, increase the use of zero-emissions technology to transport freight from ports and throughout rail yards, and bans diesel-spewing engines from idling for longer than 30 minutes. Continue reading...

The 30th edition of the ‘Green Oscars’ was held at the Royal Geographical Society in London this week, celebrating seven grassroots conservationists identified after a worldwide search for locally led solutions to the global biodiversity and climate crises Continue reading...

Record figures for month recorded in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, China and South AsiaAsia is experiencing weeks of “endless record heat”, with sweltering temperatures causing school closures and surges in energy use.Record April temperatures have been recorded at monitoring stations across Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, as well as in China and South Asia. Continue reading...

Energy dynamics report finds clean energy is displacing fossil fuels and sending carbon emissions from the sector to new lows

Government warns people to take precautions amid drought and heat 7C-11C above average for time of yearThe Spanish government has advised people to take extra care as the drought-stricken country experiences record-breaking temperatures that could result in an unprecedented April temperature of 39C (102F) in parts of Andalucía on Friday.This week’s abnormally high spring temperatures – caused as a mass of very hot air from north Africa travels across the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic islands – have already led the regional government of Madrid to approve a plan to help hospitals, health centres and schools cope, and to order the opening of public swimming pools a month earlier than usual. Continue reading...

Union leader wants more preventive detention of activists across country to stop disruptionPolice representatives, members of the judiciary and politicians in Germany are calling for harsher penalties for climate activists, including preventive detention and longer prison terms, in an effort to halt their disruptive protests.This week has seen the most intense protests yet by the campaign group Letzte Generation (Last Generation), with hundreds of its members blocking scores of roads during rush hour in Berlin. Continue reading...

Artwork exhibited at Kensington Palace among nearly 2,000 artefacts in royal collectionFor more than a decade, Prince William has spoken out vehemently against the use of ivory, calling it “a symbol of destruction, not of luxury”. The royal patron of the anti-ivory charity Tusk has lobbied leaders in China, the US and countries across Africa.He has even said that he wants to destroy all the ivory owned by the royals. In 2019, a spokesperson for William clarified that while destroying all the ivory in the royal collection was beyond the prince’s control, he had “ensured there is no ivory from the collection at Kensington Palace”, his place of residence. Continue reading...

Judge says pollution ‘will no longer be tolerated’ after investigation found significant environmental harmSouth West Water has been fined £2.15m for illegally dumping sewage into rivers and the sea in Devon and Cornwall, causing significant environmental harm.Failures by the company between July 2016 and August 2020 led to harmful sewage discharges being dumped by treatment works at Lostwithiel, Kilmington, Crediton and Torpoint, as well as the Watergate Bay sewage pumping station. Continue reading...

Droughts, fires, floods, heatwaves – they’re all contributing to our supply-chain problems and brutal inflationFamilies around the world are struggling with higher grocery costs and electricity and heating bills. What they may not realize is that rising inflation is increasingly driven by another global crisis: climate change.Last year, the United States incurred over $2bn in costs due to 20 climate-related extreme weather events, from Hurricane Ian to heatwaves and drought. Lumber, cotton, tomatoes, wheat and energy – and the products they generate, from denim jeans to your Italian takeout dinner – were all affected by these events and are now more expensive than this time last year. Climate-driven extreme weather and disasters are now more frequently responsible for production shortages, supply chain disruptions, and labor issues that lead to higher costs of living.Suzi Kerr is the chief economist of the Environmental Defense Fund Continue reading...

The Carlyle Group’s 2011-22 greenhouse gas footprint was roughly equivalent to Alaska’s ‘carbon bomb’ Willow drilling projectA leading private equity firm that claims to be an industry climate leader in fact almost doubled its average annual greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel investments over the past decade, according to new research.The Carlyle Group’s portfolio of fossil fuel companies emitted an estimated 277m metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (COe) – a measure that includes methane and other potent global-heating gases – from 2011 to 2021, according to an investigation into the company’s energy portfolio. Continue reading...

Research shows Britain lagging behind at crucial time as US and EU pursue green growth hastened by Ukraine invasionInvestment in clean energy and the low-carbon economy fell sharply in the UK last year, even as rival nations were increasing their firepower in the global green race, data shows.The UK’s investment in the energy transition fell by 10%, from $31bn to $28bn, from 2021 to 2022, while similar investment in the US rose by about 24% to $141bn, and in Germany by 17% to $55bn. Continue reading...

Less food is falling to dimly lit waters, home to specially adapted marine life – but emissions cuts would stem declineLife in the ocean’s twilight zone is expected to face dramatic declines and even extinction as seas warm and less food reaches the dimly lit waters, a study has found.The twilight zone lies between 200 metres and 1,000 metres below the surface and is home to a variety of organisms and animals, including specially adapted fish such as lantern sharks and kite fin sharks, which have huge eyes and glowing, bio-luminescent skin. Continue reading...

Climate models are indicating Australia may be hit by a 'super El Niño' before the end of the year. After three years of La Niña and above-average rainfall, Australia is now looking at a hot, dry El Niño period. The last extreme El Niño in 2016 helped push global temperatures to the highest on record, underpinned by human-caused global heating that sparked floods, droughts and disease outbreaks. But what exactly is an El Niño and how do they work? Matilda Boseley explains

Region is suffering its worst drought in 40 years after five consecutive years of below-average rainfallThe devastating drought in the Horn of Africa would not have happened without the human-made impact of the climate crisis, new science has shown.The drought has affected about 50 million people in the Horn of Africa directly and another 100 million in the wider area. About 20 million people are at risk of acute food insecurity and potentially famine. Continue reading...

Company says it will continue to engage with shareholders on climate strategy but advocacy group says board has not met expectations

Climate commission draft guidance says country must take more action to directly cut pollution instead of relying on treesNew Zealand’s heavy reliance on planting trees to offset carbon pollution threatens to torpedo the country’s ambitious plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050, according to warnings from the body advising the government on its climate policy direction.The independent Climate Commission published draft guidance on Wednesday that – when finalised later this year – must be considered by New Zealand’s leaders as they draw up their next suite of plans to meet the country’s greenhouse gas reduction targets. Continue reading...

The former Fox News host liked to dredge up a laundry list of alleged errors by scientists in an effort to erode public trust

Three-year-old named Frosty, which has rare genetic condition, captured by whale-watching group sailing from Newport BeachA rare white orca calf has been spotted off the coast of southern California.In a video captured on Monday by a whale-watching tour company, Newport Coastal Adventures, the white calf was seen swimming with six other orcas near Newport Harbour. Continue reading...

Arrays installed by more than 50,700 households in first quarter of 2023 as people seek to reduce energy billsThe number of households installing rooftop solar panels reached its highest level in more than seven years in the first months of 2023 as energy-bill payers turned to renewable energy to guard against spiralling costs.Industry figures show that more than 50,700 households installed arrays between January and March, more than double the number in the same months last year and the highest figure since late 2015. Continue reading...

New results from the Darling-Baaka show system is ‘supercharged with nutrients’, expert says

Group pauses investment in carbon capture project as it waits for details on possible government subsidyThe owner of the Drax power plant will give its shareholders a £150m windfall after reporting its highest-ever annual profits, thanks in part to record electricity prices.The FTSE 250 company also said it was pausing investment in its controversial carbon capture project while it waited for more details from the government on a possible subsidy. Continue reading...

Cryptocurrency mining uses huge amounts of energy, but activists are urging for a change in its code to reduce its environmental impactOn the corner of New York’s Park Avenue and 52nd Street, curious onlookers recently stopped in front of a giant green skull sitting in the bed of a truck parked outside the office of Fidelity Investments, the global financial management company.The “Skull of Satoshi”, named after the pseudonymous bitcoin developer Satoshi Nakamoto, is composed almost entirely of computer circuit boards and fitted with tall smokestacks usually found atop coal power plants. Continue reading...

While minor spring floods aren’t unusual, this season could be inundated from the melting of the historic snowpackMost of Yosemite Valley – the tourist center of the famed national park – will close this weekend as rising temperatures threaten the region with a surge in snowmelt that’s expected to push the Merced River beyond its banks. Forecasters have warned that runoff from California’s historic snowpack, set high along the peaks of the Sierra Nevada range, could cause widespread flooding.“Downslope there will be problems,” said the National Weather Service meteorologist David Spector, adding that the area around the Pohono Bridge just east of the park’s central entrance would reach flood stage by Friday. “Only parts of the valley are expected to be impacted for now,” he said. “But it may become worse by Sunday or Monday.” Continue reading...

Europe accused of ‘neocolonialism’ for using vassal small island states to sway policy and continue ‘disgraceful plundering’ of distant watersMore than half of the EU’s delegation to a crucial body of tuna stock regulators is made up of fishing industry lobbyists, the Guardian’s Seascape project can reveal, as Europe is accused of “neocolonial” overfishing in the Indian Ocean.The numbers could shed some light on why the EU recently objected to an agreement by African and Asian coastal nations to restrict harmful fish aggregating devices (FADs) that disproportionately harvest juvenile tuna. Stocks of yellowfin tuna are overfished in the Indian Ocean. Continue reading...

Producers may be allowed to breach limit if they give enforceable promise to deliver minimum level of domestic supply

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Offices of Citibank in New York and Wells Fargo in San Francisco targeted by activists urging shareholders to actAs they exited their office in Tribeca on Monday afternoon, Citibank employees were confronted with a boisterous crowd chanting and dancing along to the music of a mariachi band.It was a funny sight: New York banking professionals in black and gray business attire coming face to face with a loud, colorful group on a mission to engage in a conversation about the climate crisis. Continue reading...

MP Chris Skidmore says approval would undermine UK’s efforts to tackle climate crisis and its claims to leadership on world stage

National Trust rangers brace for second year of mass deaths on islands off Northumberland coastA group of islands that make up one of the UK’s most important bird sanctuaries are to remain closed after new cases of avian flu were detected.The disease devastated the seabird population of the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, last year and National Trust rangers expect thousands more deaths this year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: US climate envoy says existing measures, such as shift to renewable energy, must be deployed faster to stop global warming

Agreement between grouse moor managers and conservationists had also aimed to restore populationsIllegal killings of birds of prey have led the Peak District national park to end an agreement between grouse moor managers and bird conservationists aimed at protecting raptors.The partnership was set up in 2011 and sought to restore bird of prey populations in the park. The rare birds have historically been killed by gamekeepers and others because they predate on grouse populations, which are maintained for shooting. Continue reading...

Four of 12 show gardens will contain weeds such as brambles and thistles to highlight benefits to wildlifeA third of show gardens at the Chelsea flower show will feature weeds, as horticulturalists move to rebrand them as “resilient plants”.Four of the 12 show gardens this year will feature plants traditionally regarded as weeds, including brambles, thistles and knapweed, the Times reports. Continue reading...

Cities bringing climate litigation against oil majors welcome US supreme court’s decision to rebuff appeal to move cases to federal courtsThe decision, climate experts and advocates said, felt “like a dam breaking” after years of legal delays to the growing wave of climate lawsuits facing major oil companies.Without weighing in on the merits of the cases, the supreme court on Monday rebuffed an appeal by major oil companies that want to face the litigation in federal courts, rather than in state courts, which are seen as more favorable to plaintiffs. Continue reading...

Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, Norway, sits deep within the Arctic Circle, about 700 miles from the north pole. It has about 35 year-round residents, but in summer the population swells to more than 100 as scientists fly in from around the world. Life in the town centres around saunas, sled dogs, and a weekly evening gathering called Strikk og Drikk, or Knit and Sip Continue reading...

More than 300 barriers were taken down last year, boosting the health of waterways and the wildlife they support, say expertsA record number of river barriers, including dams and weirs, were removed across Europe in 2022, with at least 325 taken down in 16 countries, allowing rivers to flow freely and migratory fish to reach breeding areas.In its annual report, Dam Removal Europe said Spain led the way for the second year with 133 removals, followed by Sweden and France. The UK completed 29 removals, including Bowston Weir, which was built on the River Kent nearly 150 years ago for a paper mill. Its removal will help restore the health of the river, which is home to white-clawed crayfish, freshwater pearl mussels, and water crowfoot (an oxygenating aquatic plant). Continue reading...

The southern lights surge over Christchurch's Port Hills, a place that would not usually get to enjoy them. Unusually high levels of solar storm activity meant the Aurora Australis could be viewed much farther north than the lights are typically seen, and in cities where light pollution would normally render them invisible

Court to decide if judicial review of Liz Truss move to allow new oil and gas drilling should be permittedGreenpeace has attacked the government’s “disastrous” decision to award new licences for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea as it prepares to challenge the move in the high court.A court hearing on Tuesday will determine whether the environmental group will be permitted a judicial review of the decision, made during Liz Truss’s short-lived time as prime minister. Continue reading...

Four days of peaceful activism led by Extinction Rebellion fail to elicit pledge from government to ban new oil and gas projectsAfter four days of peaceful demonstrations, climate activists gathered in Parliament Square as a deadline for the government to act to end all new fossil fuel projects was reached.The actions involved a wide range of groups, including Extinction Rebellion, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, as well as the Christian climate coalition, with thousands gathering for Earth Day in London on Saturday. Continue reading...

Justices turn away appeals of lower court decisions that determined lawsuits belong in state, not federal, courtThe US supreme court on Monday declined to hear bids by major oil companies to move a growing wave of climate lawsuits from state courts to federal courts.The appeals to move the venue of the lawsuits were made by Exxon Mobil Corp, Suncor Energy Inc and Chevron Corp.Reuters contributed to this report Continue reading...

A series of initiatives involving scientists, NGOs and fishing communities across south-east Asia is attempting to breathe new life into vital marine ecosystems damaged by heating waters, acidification and years of overfishing

Tory MPs call for ministers, not watchdog, to make decisions on sites of special scientific interestSenior Conservative MPs have suggested the nature watchdog Natural England should be stripped of powers in an overhaul of how it manages England’s best wildlife sites, after complaints from landowners.Wildlife experts have said it is “outrageous” that sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), which are some of the most important areas for nature in the country, could be “determined by politics rather than science”. Continue reading...

Instead of yanking products, EPA made Monsanto and others amend labels before reapproving dicamba, lawsuit claimsThe US Environmental Protection Agency has in effect ignored a 2020 federal court order prohibiting the use of Monsanto and other producers’ toxic dicamba-based herbicides that are destroying millions of acres of cropland, harming endangered species and increasing cancer risks for farmers, new fillings in the lawsuit charge.Instead of permanently yanking the products from the market after the 2020 order, the EPA only required industry to add further application instructions to the herbicides’ labels before reapproving the products. Continue reading...

Diane Wilson took on Formosa Plastics and won a $50m settlement to help clean up decades worth of toxic plastic wasteGrassroots activists who took on British mining giants and a serial plastics polluter – and won – are among this year’s recipients of the world’s most prestigious environmental prize.The environmental campaigns led by the six 2023 Goldman prize winners highlight the hurdles faced by some local activists, who are often on the frontlines confronting the toxic mix of corporate greed and systemic corruption that is fuelling the climate emergency, biodiversity collapse and increasingly forced displacement. Continue reading...

Anote Tong says that Australia needs to take responsibility for emissions caused by the export of its fossil fuels

With water reserves running low, Spanish farmers are also struggling to protect crops from thousands of rabbits starved of fresh grassWith much of Spain facing severe drought after an exceptionally dry winter that followed the hottest summer on record, Alex Foix is planting vines in dusty ground near the village of Verdú in the province of Lleida. He hopes to have enough water for the vines to survive their first year, but that is not his only worry: it is the rabbits he fears most.Unusually, the area worst affected by drought isn’t in the south of the country but in the north-east region of Catalonia, where – in addition to a severe water shortage – farmers are facing a plague of rabbits. With a lack of grass and water, the animals are destroying crops, especially young wheat and barley, and eating the bark on vines and fruit trees. Continue reading...

Some of UK’s biggest pension funds preparing to demand tougher plans to reduce emissions by 2030BP faces a green rebellion at its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday as some of Britain’s biggest pension funds prepare to demand the company toughens its plans to reduce its emissions by 2030.The National Employment Savings Trust (Nest), which represents about 11m individual workplace pensions, plans to back a resolution put forward by climate campaigners at Follow This, which calls for BP to align its emissions reduction plans with the Paris agreement. Continue reading...

A research team has discovered a parasite that’s been killing off sea urchins, but there’s no method to eliminate it yetMarine biologists at a Florida university say they have solved the mystery of a mass die-off of long-spined sea urchins from the US to the Caribbean.The scientists blame a microscopic, single-cell parasite for the die-off, which took hold early last year. Affected Diadema antillarum urchins lose their spines and suction, then succumb to disease. Continue reading...

Local governments approved more coal power in first three months of 2023 than all of 2021Local governments in China approved more new coal power in the first three months of 2023 than in the whole of 2021, according to official documents.The approvals, analysed by Greenpeace, reveal that between January and March this year, at least 20.45 gigawatts of coal power was approved, up from 8.63GW in the same period in 2022. In the whole of 2021, 18GW of coal was approved. Continue reading...

Dirty air causes premature death of at least 1,200 children across Europe every year, says European Environment AgencyEurope is failing its children when it comes to air pollution, exposing nearly all children across the continent to air that falls below healthy standards and delaying the clean-up of the sources of pollution, research has found.Breathing dirty air causes the premature death of at least 1,200 children across Europe each year, and many thousands more are afflicted with physical and mental health problems that could have lifelong impacts, according to the latest assessment of air pollution by the European Environment Agency. Continue reading...