Environment | The Guardian

Monash researchers say findings underscore urgency of addressing climate-related health risks as continent experiences more days of extreme heat

Senate committee investigates suspected push that led administration to overturn EPA's endangerment findingIn the wake of the Trump administration's announcement that it will overturn the rule which underpins virtually all US climate regulations, a Senate committee has launched an investigation into a suspected lobbying push that led to the move.On Tuesday, the Senate environment and public works committee sent letters to two dozen corporations, including oil giants, thinktanks, law firms and trade associations. The missives request each company to turn over documents regarding the 2009 declaration, known as the endangerment finding, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in July that it will unmake.This article was amended on 17 September 2025 to add a statement from the New Civil Liberties Alliance. Continue reading...

Group of activists, who range in age from seven to 25, include plaintiffs who won landmark climate case in Montana two years agoYouth climate activists are taking the Trump administration to court this week over its anti-environment agenda.In a two-day hearing in Missoula, Montana, starting Tuesday, the young activists, who are between seven and 25, will argue that a federal judge should block three of Donald Trump's pro-fossil fuel executive orders. Continue reading...

Redford achieved huge critical and commercial success in the 60s and 70s with a string of hits including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Way We Were and The Sting, before becoming an Oscar-winning director

Analysis reveals privatisation premium' of 250 per household per year paid to owners of water, rail, bus, energy and mail services since 2010

Western suburbs, where temperatures are often 5C warmer, need shaded bus stops, more green space and better environmental standards in rented homes, locals say

Nationals senator Matt Canavan and Sky presenter Chris Kenny line up to misinterpret and misquote report in effort to press case against net zero

State faces more frequent heatwaves, floods, cyclones and bushfires as world warms, national climate risk assessment warns

Nigel Topping says shifting course risks deterring capital, as he urges ministers to hold firm on green transitionWeakening or changing net zero policy would deter investors and spook financial markets, the UK government's new climate adviser has warned.Nigel Topping, recently appointed chair of the climate change committee (CCC), said there was robust evidence" the UK would benefit economically from strong climate policy, despite calls from some politicians to back down. Continue reading...

Grave remarks on the potential shocks to people, property and the economy are all too familiar. Putting a credible number on the emissions target is the harder part

Loss of spawning pools, insects and marshy habitats has had catastrophic effect on our flora and fauna'Hedgehogs, salmon and birds have been put at risk by this summer's dry conditions, Natural England has said, as drought conditions continue.The government nature watchdog addressed the National Drought Group of government officials and stakeholders in its meeting on Monday to warn of the dire effect on wildlife the dry summer weather has had. Continue reading...

Experts hope that a California effect' will push other states to ban UPFs, similar to its law against six synthetic food dyesCalifornia has long led the way on school meals. In 2022, it became the first state in the country to make school meals free for all students, regardless of income. Many districts have implemented farm-to-school programs to bring local foods into the cafeteria. And last year, months before the Make America healthy again" movement would make its way to the White House, it became the first state in the nation to ban six synthetic food dyes from school meals.This week, it passed legislation that will put it in the lead on school meals in yet another way - banning ultra-processed foods. On Friday, California lawmakers passed a bill that will define, and then ban, ultra-processed foods from school meals. The legislation, which must now be signed by the governor, Gavin Newsom, is believed to include the first statutory definition of ultra-processed foods in the world. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Planning documents show impact of Thurrock hyperscale' unit as UK attempts to ramp up AI capacity

Campaigners crowdfund 26,000 to seek judicial review of move to construct pitches in wildlife-rich areaCampaigners are mounting another legal challenge to the building of a women's football academy by Tottenham Hotspur on wildlife-rich parkland in north London.The Guardians of Whitewebbs group has successfully crowdfunded 26,000 to seek a judicial review of Enfield council's granting of planning permission for the Spurs academy, which will include all-weather pitches, floodlights and a turf academy built on 53 hectares (130 acres) of Whitewebbs Park. Enfield council's planning committee approved the proposals in February, despite local protests, on greenbelt parkland rich in bats, newts and mature trees. Continue reading...

At least 17 dead as torrential downpours trigger landslides, while heavy rain lashes India, Pakistan and AustraliaAt least 17 people have been confirmed dead in Bali, Indonesia, after the island's worst flooding in more than a decade.Torrential rain last Tuesday and Wednesday triggered widespread flooding and landslides, leaving a trail of destruction. Eight victims were found in Denpasar, the island's capital, and rescue teams continue to search for several others who remain missing. Continue reading...

National climate risk assessment report finds heat-related deaths would surge 450% in Sydney if global heating surpasses 3C

This blog is now closed

Viral videos have shifted public opinion about water monitors, long held in contempt in Thai culture, even as rising numbers of the reptiles pose problems for residentsShortly after dawn, Lumphini Park comes alive. Bangkok residents descend on the sprawling green oasis in the middle of the city, eager to squeeze in a workout before the heat of the day takes hold. Joggers trot along curving paths. Old men struggle under barbells at the outdoor gym. Spandex-clad women stretch into yoga poses on the grass.Just metres away, one of the park's more infamous occupants strikes its own lizard pose. About 400 Asian water monitor lizards call Lumphini Park home, and this morning they are out in full force - scrambling up palm trees, swimming through the waterways and wrestling on the road. Continue reading...

Report from group of MPs calls for broader access to rivers, woodlands and fields to improve connection with natureSwimming and wild camping should be a right for all people to enjoy in the English countryside, Labour MPs have said.They are calling for access to nature to be increased and legal rights to enjoy the countryside in a report from the all-party parliamentary group for outdoor recreation and access to nature. Continue reading...

Heroic firefighting and a lucky turn in weather helped avert disaster once, but a perfect storm of conditions' remainsDuring a 2024 wildfire season described as unprecedented", the tiny central Idaho town of Stanley and nearby Redfish Lake Lodge narrowly missed incineration by two fires: the Bench Lake and then the Wapiti blazes.It took heroic firefighting efforts and favorable turns in weather conditions for the town - a mountain mecca for tourists from around the world - to survive without the loss of a single life or home. Continue reading...

Christmas Island flying fox numbers have declined as endangered species left without recovery plan

Signs tout a natural paradise, but pollution from over-farming has left Northern Ireland's Lough Neagh choked by toxic algaeThe bright, cheery signs dot the shoreline like epistles from another era, a time before the calamity.Ballyronan marina is a picturesque boating and tourist facility on the shores of Lough Neagh," says one. Contours of its historical past embrace the virginal shoreline." Continue reading...

As Swiss glaciers melt at an ever-faster rate, new species move in and flourish, but entire ecosystems and an alpine culture can be lost Photographs by Nicholas JR WhiteFrom the slopes behind the village of Ernen, it is possible to see the gouge where the Fiesch glacier once tumbled towards the valley in the Bernese Alps. The curved finger of ice, rumpled like tissue, cuts between high buttresses of granite and gneiss. Now it has melted out of sight.People here once feared the monstrous ice streams, describing them as devils, but now they dread their disappearance. Like other glaciers in the Alps and globally, the Fiesch is melting at ever-increasing rates. More than ice is lost when the giants disappear: cultures, societies and entire ecosystems are braided around the glaciers.The Aletsch glacier viewed from Moosfluh, looking towards the Olmenhorn and Eggishorn peaks Continue reading...

The mandatory program, which required 8,000 facilities to report their release, will be ended to reduce bureaucratic red tape'The US Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Friday a rule to end a mandatory program requiring 8,000 facilities to report their greenhouse gas emissions - an effort the agency said was burdensome to business, but which leaves the public without transparency around the environmental impact of those sources.The agency said mandatory collection of GHG emissions data was unnecessary because it is not directly related to a potential regulation and has no material impact on improving human health and the environment". Continue reading...

Sea life needs protection, and the UK's current system of marine management isn't up to itUp to 90% of the ocean floor around Britain is covered with sand and gravel, derived from the erosion of shell and rocks. Other, more unusual habitats include maerl beds, seagrass meadows and kelp forests. These biodiverse landscapes are home to 330 species of fish, as well as seals, seahorses and thousands of lesserknown species - which share them with the offshore energy, fishing and shipping industries.Heightened awareness of pollution from sewage and plastics means that the public knows more about marine conservation than it used to. For his 99th birthday this year, the broadcaster and naturalist SirDavid Attenborough made a film, Ocean, in which he described the seas as the planet's greatest life supportsystem", and urged people to get behind efforts to protect and renew marine nature.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman acted legally, but residents complained to Southern WaterA Donald Trump-backing billionaire has been stopped from transporting water in tankers to fill a lake on his Wiltshire estate during a drought.Southern Water has told tanker companies to cease delivering water to Stephen Schwarzman's 2,500-acre estate after local residents filmed vehicles going day and night to its grounds. Continue reading...

Government rules out using taxpayer funds to buy off competing bid as Pacific leaders urge Turkey to step aside as an act of good faith'

Research shows majority of shark meat mislabeled or so vaguely labeled buyers do not know what they are eatingA recent study has revealed that the majority of shark meat available to American shoppers is mislabeled, with much of it coming from endangered species.The research, conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, tested products from supermarkets, fish markets and online retailers. Astonishingly, 93% of the samples were either falsely labeled or so vaguely described that buyers had no way of knowing the species they were eating. Only one item carried an accurate, species-specific label. Continue reading...

The corporate-financed backlash to calls for global climate progress has been greatly empowered by the Trump administration. It's never been more critical to challenge the misinformation that could turn a crisis into a catastropheSupport the Guardian's independent, fact-based journalism todayA little over a decade ago I published a book, This Changes Everything, which explored the reality of the climate crisis as a confrontation between capitalism and the planet. For a few years after the book came out, it seemed like we might just win a breakthrough. A cascade of large and militant mobilisations pressed the case for keeping warming below 1.5C as global calls for a green new deal grew louder and louder. Countries across the world announced long-term plans to reduce emissions and to hit net-zero targets; so did some of the largest corporations on the planet.And then ... well, we all know what happened. A corporate-financed backlash on all fronts. In the first 100 days of Trump's second term, his administration took more than 140 actions to roll back environmental rules and push for greater use of fossil fuels. He signed executive orders to ease restrictions on their extraction and export, filled his cabinet with oil industry supporters, gutted federal agencies on the forefront of the climate crisis, and cancelled life-saving environmental justice projects.Join George Monbiot and special guests on 16 September for a special climate assembly to discuss the growing and dramatic political and corporate threats to the planet. Book tickets - in person or livestream Continue reading...

Joint response by 25 bodies says proposals to speed up approval of new power plants weaken protection for publicA coalition of civil society groups is warning of the dangers of cutting safety regulations as the government pushes to rip up the rules" to accelerate the construction of new nuclear power stations.The 25 groups from communities neighbouring nuclear sites have submitted a joint response to a consultation by the nuclear regulatory taskforce, saying its proposals lack both credibility and rigour". Continue reading...

Devastating twister packs gusts of up to 168mph, injuring 89 people and leaving trail of destructionJapan has experienced the strongest tornado in its recorded history after a devastating twister tore through Shizuoka prefecture.Classified as a JEF3, level 3 out of 5 on Japan's tornado intensity scale, the tornado packed wind gusts of up to 168mph last Friday, injuring 89 people and leaving a trail of destruction. The hardest hit areas included Makinohara and Yoshida, where vehicles were overturned and more than 1,200 structures were damaged. Since records began in 1961, Japan has experienced 13 level 3 tornadoes, but none have reached level 4. Continue reading...

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

Exclusive: Leachate is tankered to treatment works where it mixes with sewage and industrial effluentMore than 750,000 tonnes of liquid from landfills are mixed with sewage at water treatment works and spread on farmland across England each year, it can be revealed.Generated by hundreds of landfills across the country, leachate - the liquid that drains through landfill waste carrying a cocktail of chemicals - is regularly tankered to sewage treatment works, where it mixes with domestic sewage and industrial effluent to create sludge, also described as biosolids". Continue reading...

Authorities revoke building licence for cascading hotel complex on one of Greece's most photographed shorelinesEnvironmental campaigners have welcomed a decision to halt construction of a disputed five-star hotel on a Greek beach known for its outstanding natural beauty.Local authorities on the Cycladic island of Milos said a building licence for the resort on the world-renowned moon beach" had been revoked by the municipality's planning department after falling short of inspection standards. Continue reading...

Experts unconvinced by Roberto Gualtieri's mooted timescale for river to be reopened for public bathingRome hopes to welcome swimmers back to the River Tiber within five years, the city's mayor has announced, drawing inspiration from Paris, where the Seine was reopened for public bathing this summer for the first time in a century.During a visit on Thursday to the Osaka Expo in Japan, Roberto Gualtieri said a working group had been set up to study the feasibility of the clean-up project. Continue reading...

Children as young as three will have lessons on wildfires and flooding under 10-point emergency response planSpanish children will be taught how to respond to floods, wildfires, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in a drive to help prepare them for the growing impact of the climate emergency.The plan was unveiled on Thursday after a summer of forest fires killed four people and less than a year after catastrophic floods claimed more than 220 lives in eastern parts of the country. Continue reading...

Kent council condemned by opposition parties, which say county is at the forefront of climate impacts'Plans by Reform UK to rescind" the declaration of a climate emergency at one of the English county councils it now controls have been condemned by opposition parties.Hundreds of local authorities across Britain have made the declarations, which serve as acknowledgments that they need to act on the causes and impacts of climate change and are linked to efforts to achieve net zero targets. Continue reading...

Keeping predator numbers down may be last hope for the ground-nesting birds - but critics say real problem is farming practicesShould we be organising mass culls of foxes and crows in the UK in order to save the plummeting numbers of curlews? That is the argument put forward by certain bird conservation groups.The curlew, one of Britain's most charismatic birds, with its curved beaks and distinctive call, has been disappearing from the countryside, declining by 60% in 25 years. It is just one of a number of ground-nesting birds that is vanishing - research has found that ground nesters are 86% more likely to decline than birds with other nesting strategies. Continue reading...

Fifteen people are dead and 100 missing as Indonesia reels from floods caused by extreme rainfall. Rescuers search for survivors after at least 112 neighbourhoods were submerged by rising rivers. Torrential rain began on Monday, causing flooding and landslides in Bali and East Nusa Tenggara province. As river levels returned to normal on Thursday, authorities worked to clear streets of mud and debris

Dale Vince urges ministers to optimise' resources in fossil fuel basin to help smooth transition to renewablesOne of Britain's leading green industrialists has called on the government to offer subsidies to North Sea oil companies to help support a just transition" to renewables.Dale Vince, a Labour donor, urged ministers to optimise" the remaining resources of the declining oil basin as the UK reduces its reliance on fossil fuels. The party has promised to ban new North Sea oil and gas projects. Continue reading...

Whether to kill one species to save another has split biologists, anglers and Indigenous communities in the Miramichi

More attention needs to be given to rapidly evolving issue of contamination of waterways with forever chemicals', committee's chair says

Lords amend planning bill to include protections for wild animals, including bird-safe glass and swift bricksHedgehog highways and bird-safe glass could become requirements for all new buildings as members of the House of Lords push through amendments to the government's planning bill.This may cause a headache for ministers, who have tried to avoid burdening developers with laws on nature measures such as swift bricks". The new Lords amendments include mandated provision for these nesting boxes, which campaigners say are crucial for the survival of the threatened species. Continue reading...

Study shows how individual fossil fuel companies are making previously impossible heatwaves happen and could have to pay compensationCarbon emissions from the world's biggest fossil fuel companies have been directly linked to dozens of deadly heatwaves for the first time, according to a new analysis. The research has been hailed as a leap forward" in the legal battle to hold big oil accountable for the damages being caused by the climate crisis.The research found that the emissions from any one of the 14 biggest companies were by themselves enough to cause more than 50 heatwaves that would otherwise have been virtually impossible. The study shows, in effect, that those emissions caused the heatwaves. Continue reading...

Colton Berens was looking forward to the added income from his farm, but armed with rightwing falsehoods, other Selby residents opposed the moveLike most of South Dakota, Walworth county is built on farming. To the east of Selby, the county seat, vast fields of soybeans and wheat grow between roads that run straight to the horizon. To the west, beyond the county line, the Standing Rock Indian reservation spreads across miles of rumpled green prairie studded with creamy erratics and dark clumps of trees.Like many farming regions, Walworth's deeply conservative population has been steadily declining and aging, from roughly 8,000 in the 1960s to 5,200 today. The grain elevator that towers over Main Street in Selby is among the busiest in the region, but most of the squat brick buildings in its shadow are weathered and lifeless. Continue reading...

Abrupt shift' in policy since Trump took office will have major consequences for climate crisis, forecast saysA jump in greenhouse gas pollution in the US helped push global emissions higher in the first half of this year. This could be an omen of what's to come, with Donald Trump's pro-fossil fuel agenda set to significantly slow down the emissions cuts required to avoid disastrous climate impacts, a new forecast has found.The most abrupt shift in energy and climate policy in recent memory" that has occurred since Trump re-entered the White House will have profound consequences for the global climate crisis by slowing the pace of US emissions cuts by as much as half the rate achieved over the past two decades, the Rhodium Group forecast states. Continue reading...

This summer, locals and tourists enjoyed new river-bathing sites. As global heating escalates, we need more of these cool islands'

Wildlife coalition says figure stands at 2.83% of country, less than in 2024 and tiny fraction of the 2030 target of 30%The area of England protected effectively for nature is continuing to decline, according to data from the country's largest coalition of wildlife organisations, as experts say the government is allowing habitats to deteriorate.The government is under a legal obligation to protect 30% of land and sea in the UK for nature by 2030, a pledge made in 2020 by the then prime minister, Boris Johnson. At the moment, however, 2.83% of England is well protected for nature, 2.4% of Wales, 4% of Northern Ireland and 12.6% of Scotland. This gives an average of 6% of the UK as a whole, which is well below the target. Continue reading...

Bob Irwin and animal rights organisations say Mike Holston - AKA The Real Tarzann' - should be deported from Australia

Raids by rival hives aren't rare after a dry, hot summer, but Christine McDonald was surprised to find her store besiegedA Canadian beekeeper has described fending off thousands of robber bees" as they raided her shop in a brazen attempt to steal honey.Christine McDonald, who owns Rushing River Apiaries in the British Columbia city of Terrace, said she entered her shop to find it overrun by the swarm. Continue reading...