Agreements to reduce developing countries' debt burden in exchange for spending on nature will be on the agenda at a finance summit in Paris this weekAfter decades in the wilderness, and familiar to only those in the know, debt-for-nature swaps" are becoming one of the hottest things in conservation finance. Last month, Ecuador struck the biggest deal of its kind: refinancing $1.6bn (1.3bn) of its commercial debt at a discount in exchange for a consistent revenue stream for conservation around the Galapagos Islands.Other nature-rich countries that are struggling to pay their debts have taken notice and deals are rumoured in Gabon and Sri Lanka. The market for debt-for-nature swaps is poised to exceed $800bn, according to Bloomberg, prompting fierce competition between banks as demand for green investments increases. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and other international leaders address development needsWe are urgently working to deliver more for people and the planet. Multiple, overlapping shocks have strained countries' ability to address hunger, poverty, and inequality, build resilience and invest in their futures. Debt vulnerabilities in low- and middle-income countries present a major hurdle to their economic recovery, and to their ability to make critical long-term investments.We are urgently working to fight poverty and inequalities. An estimated 120 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty in the last three years and we are still far from achieving our United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030. We should thus place people at the centre of our strategy to increase human welfare everywhere on the globe.Emmanuel Macron is president of France. Mia Mottley is prime minister of Barbados. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is president of Brazil. Ursula von der Leyen is president of the European Commission. Charles Michel is president of the European Council. Olaf Scholz is chancellor of Germany. Fumio Kishida is prime minister of Japan. William Ruto is president of Kenya. Macky Sall is president of Senegal. Cyril Ramaphosa is president of South Africa. Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is president of the United Arab Emirates. Rishi Sunak is prime minister of the UK. Joe Biden is president of the US Continue reading...

Even low doses of airborne benzene raise the risk of a variety of cancers, including lymphomas and leukemiaUsing a gas stove can raise indoor concentrations of benzene, a cancer-linked chemical, to above what is found in secondhand smoking or even beyond levels found next to oil and gas facilities, a new study has found.The research, which measured benzene levels in 87 homes in California and Colorado, found that gas and propane stoves frequently emitted benzene at rates well above healthy benchmarks set by the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Continue reading...

Ruling could take weeks to emerge in trial for Held v Montana, which is the first constitutional climate trial in US historyA groundbreaking climate trial came to an early close on Tuesday as lawyers on each side presented a very different picture of who can be held responsible for the climate crisis.Attorneys representing the lawsuit's young challengers said Montana officials and agencies must be held accountable for exacerbating the crisis, and thereby violating the plaintiffs' state constitutional rights. But the defense argued that climate change is a global problem, and that if Montana is contributing to it, plaintiffs should work to change that through the legislature. Continue reading...

Les Soulevements de La Terre uses direct action aimed at big business interestsThe French government is to shut down a climate protest group over a series of recent demonstrations citing risks to public safety, as the environmental activists called the decision political and particularly worrying".Les Soulevements de la Terre (Earth Uprising) is an umbrella group of several different environmental activist associations across France. It is seen as leading a new form of more radical climate action in Europe with high-profile direct action often aimed at big business interests, state projects and large-scale farming. Continue reading...

The city's new Labour leader has accepted that some of the 17,500 trees cut down were healthySheffield city council has issued a lengthy open apology for misleading the public, the media and the courts in a bitter dispute over its flawed" programme to fell 17,500 street trees - many of which it now accepts were healthy.Tom Hunt, the council's new Labour leader, said he accepted some people would never forgive" the local authority for the mistakes it made during the long-running saga, which led to elderly residents being arrested in dawn raids and one councillor facing prison. Continue reading...

Thinktank suggests projects could deliver one-fifth of savings needed from farming, but agriculture experts cast doubt on ideaRewetting about half of England's lowland peat would be enough to deliver a fifth of the greenhouse gas emissions savings needed from the country's farming by 2030, research suggests.Rewetting peat would also help restore habitats for birds, wildlife and plant species. But farming experts strongly dispute the potential for such projects. Continue reading...

Governments need to represent us, not fossil-fuel profiteers. We need plans to phase out fossil fuel production and emissionsCanada is on fire from coast to coast to coast. Thousands have been evacuated, millions exposed to air pollution, New York a doom orange and even the titans of Wall Street choking.Catastrophic flooding in Pakistan, back-to-back cyclones in the Pacific islands and droughts in Africa haven't been enough to create a tipping point for action. Now that climate impacts have hit the economic capital of western power, will it spur governments in the global north to get serious? Continue reading...

Officials say victory by young plaintiffs won't change approvals for fossil fuel projectsOfficials in Montana sought to downplay an unprecedented trial over a state's obligations to protect residents from the climate crisis, saying on Monday that a victory by the young plaintiffs in the case would not change approvals for fossil fuel projects.Attorneys for Montana's Republican attorney general began laying out their defense following a week of testimony that was often highly personal and evocative in state court from more than a dozen young people who sued the state in 2020. Continue reading...

Investigation of meat sourced by Polish firm that sells frozen poultry to Lidl, Asda and Iceland raises superbug concernsA major supplier of chicken to UK supermarkets is sourcing birds dosed with antibiotics critical to human health", according to a new investigation, as concerns grow about the spread of deadly superbugs.The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) found that the Polish meat business SuperDrob, which sells frozen poultry products to Lidl, Asda and Iceland, is sourcing chicken from farms that use fluoroquinolone antibiotics, classified as critically important for human health" by the World Health Organization (WHO). Fluoroquinolones are often used to treat serious salmonella infections in humans. Continue reading...

The global agreement to protect nature was signed in Montreal in December. Six months on, key figures remember the moment and consider what lies ahead

There have been gains and losses since the Cop15 agreement was signed in December, with key moments still to come ahead of the next biodiversity Cop in Turkey in 2024

Pollution and extraction of water are having a huge impact on local communities. High rates of cancer and respiratory problems are the norm, while marshes dry out and fish die in the rivers Continue reading...

The remarkable haenyeo on Geoje Island believed their traditions were dying out. But then came the new recruits - refugees from the cities' exhausting rat raceShin Ho-jin had been freediving only a little over a year - gathering oysters, seashells and other marine life by hand - when she spotted the cluster of abalone. Eager to show the older, more experienced divers that she could keep up, the 37-year-old took a deep breath and was about to plunge toward her prize find when she heard a shout: Ho-jin, don't go there!"It was the 69-year-old Lee Bok-soon, Shin's boss and the captain of the boat. The experienced freediver of more than 50 years, often called Omma (Korean for mother) by her recruits, had seen that Shin was about to swim right into an old fishing net. Continue reading...

Opposition shift sets up battle between government and the Greens, who say proposed nature repair market is irreparable'

Dozens of the ecosystem engineers' have been caught in Western Australia and flown to their new habitat

Australian Energy Market Operator head Daniel Westerman says two-thirds of electricity capacity could leave grid by 2030

Inquiry launched by Environment Agency into huge pile of medical aprons found in Calmore, HampshireThe dumping" of hundreds of thousands of pieces of unused personal protective equipment near a nature reserve on the edge of the New Forest has mystified and angered local people.But the council has revealed the giant pile of boxes containing medical aprons in Calmore, Hampshire, will be recycled into plastic bags. Continue reading...

Second sighting of white whale off Queensland’s coast within weeks has ocean watchers wondering if it could be famous humpback

But a majority of Australians think more money should be spent on the environment

Party to offer £500m a year for low-carbon sector but says North Sea oil and gas production will continue ‘for decades’

Taxing world’s wealthiest people could help poorer countries shift economies to low-carbon and recover from climate damageTax extreme wealth to pay for the climate-related damage to the poorest, a group of more than 100 leading economists have urged.A wealth tax on the fortunes of the world’s richest people would raise trillions of dollars that could be spent on helping poorer countries shift their economies to a low-carbon footing, and on “loss and damage”, the rescue and rehabilitation of countries stricken by climate disaster. Continue reading...

Sustained high temperatures over summer could trigger mass mortality of fish and oysters, say scientistsAn “unheard of” marine heatwave off the coasts of the UK and Ireland poses a serious threat to species, scientists have warned.Sea temperatures, particularly off the north-east coast of England and the west of Ireland, are several degrees above normal, smashing records for late spring and early summer. The North Sea and north Atlantic are experiencing higher temperatures, data shows. Continue reading...

Federal suit brought by public health groups alleges agency's science shows human risks and harm to endangered speciesPublic health groups are suing the US Environmental Protection Agency over the reapproval of two toxic herbicides made with an active ingredient in Agent Orange, a chemical weapon deployed by the US to destroy vegetation in the Vietnam war, and which caused huge health problems among soldiers and Vietnamese residents.The federal suit alleges the EPA's science shows the human health risks and harm to endangered species associated with widely spreading the chemical on US cropland, but the agency failed to properly calculate those risks during the reapproval process. The herbicide is also prone to damaging non-GMO crops or vegetation on neighboring fields. Continue reading...

The price tags can be eye-watering for the electric model I need around my hilly London neighbourhoodIt's been 20 years since I last used a bike every day. But I'm returning to cycling because I want to take my children to school and nursery without the horrible sense of guilt from dropping them off in the car, complaints about walking or the juggle of pushchair and public transport at rush-hour.To replace my car on the daily school run, I need an electrically powered workhorse that will carry two smallish children and the bags of stuff that we lug around wherever we go.

A retired police detective and a band of volunteers are all that's stopping the Asian hornet, a voracious predator of flying insects, from spreading across the island to mainland BritainJohn De Carteret has already taken a call about three captured Asian hornets when we meet on a gloriously sunny morning on the Channel Island of Jersey. The retired police forensics detective is the linchpin of the Jersey Asian Hornet Group (JAHG), a band of two dozen volunteers. These mostly retirees are the frontline troops in a seemingly unwinnable war against an invasive foe - a voracious predator of honeybees and all other flying insects, which has rapidly conquered the west European mainland.But De Carteret, who sports a JAHG polo-shirt and a lanyard showing he is authorised by the government to catch and release Asian hornets (more about the releasing later), is undaunted. You can't take your foot off. You've got to be dynamic and aggressive. If we get a report, we're there within half an hour," he says. Continue reading...

Blockade Australia’s coordinated action targets ports in Newcastle, Brisbane and Melbourne

Exclusive: Researchers say government’s climate schedule needs to be brought forward by a decade to keep heating to 1.5C

Labour leader will use speech in Scotland to lay out new green strategy for energy industryKeir Starmer will pledge to “throw everything” at net zero and the overhaul of the UK’s energy system and industries, promising new jobs in “the race of our lifetime” to a low-carbon future.The Labour leader will seek to regain the initiative on his plan for green growth on Monday, having rowed back earlier this month on a pledge to invest £28bn in a green industrial strategy, a figure that will not now be reached until the second half of a Labour parliament, as well as damaging rows with trade unions over the future of the North Sea. Continue reading...

Grattan Institute analysis recommends governments help households transition to electric, and ban new gas connections for homes and businesses

Single-use E-cigarettes difficult to recycle and cause fires in bin lorries, Local Government Association saysDisposable vapes are increasingly causing fires in bin lorries and recycling issues at a “great cost” to the taxpayer, councils have said.The Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, said single-use vapes such as Elf bars, Lost Mary and Juul were almost impossible to recycle. They are designed as one unit so batteries cannot be separated from the plastic. Continue reading...

The US's first state-run public power company could be created when Maine votes later this year - but utilities are fighting itResidents in Maine are about to be bombarded with a multimillion-dollar public relations campaign aimed at saving the state's two dominant electric utilities from being voted out of existence in November.If Mainers vote yes, they will make history - endorsing a first-of-its-kind plan to create a state-level, public power company through a hostile takeover. Continue reading...

Lambeth council in London is latest to introduce emissions-based fees, with similar charges expected to be widely introducedOwners of the most polluting cars may soon have to pay more to park as councils across England are expected to roll out new charges based on a vehicle’s CO2 emissions.Lambeth is the latest council in London to introduce emissions-based parking fees, with similar charges now expected elsewhere in England. Owners of the most polluting cars can expect to pay more than twice as much as cleaner cars. There are now 26 different charges to park for an hour in Lambeth, depending on a car’s tax band and whether there is a diesel surcharge. The cost of a parking bay near Waterloo station in south London now ranges between £6.30 and £13.23 an hour, with payment made by an app. Continue reading...

An old farming technique called silvopasture, which allows cows to graze on a variety of plants in forests and tree-filled pastureland, is seeing a resurgence across the worldBrett Chedzoy and his wife, Maria, live on a 300-acre farm in Watkins Glen, a small town along the Finger Lakes in New York, with 100 cows – primarily Black Angus, with a few White Galloways scattered throughout the herd.The farm, Angus Glen, has lush green pastures and wooded areas, where black walnut and black locust trees stretch skyward out of rolling seas of tall grasses, shrubs and clovers. When Chedzoy, 54, walks through the pasture at sunset, the cows pop their heads up, follow him and wait patiently at the gate. As he pulls it aside, the cows rush forward into the wooded area to nibble on tree branches and shrubs, before turning their attention to the emerald grass around the trees. Continue reading...

Locals have strolled on The Stray for centuries but now two bodies have very different ideas on how to preserve itUsually disputes about land are between developers building the future and campaigners preserving our heritage. But the Harrogate Stray has always been unusual.Instead, it is the focus of a conflict between two organisations that both have the greening of the country at their heart. In one corner is the Stray Defence Association (SDA), set up in 1933 to ensure that these 80 hectares (200 acres) of green space in the heart of Harrogate remain untouched, and in the other is the Open Spaces Society (OSS), which has been campaigning to defend footpaths, village greens and commons since 1865. Continue reading...

Red flags are going up on beaches from Scarborough to Whitstable as pollution levels soar and businesses are forced to close due to sewage dischargesThe sun has been shining on Scarborough’s South Bay all week, but Steve Crawford isn’t opening up the surf shop he’s so proud of – “mahogany door, views over to the castle” – because the water isn’t safe to swim in.“My business has vanished overnight,” he says. “On coronation weekend, the red flags went up warning people not to go in the water because of poor water quality, and now there are signs at every access point to the beach saying ‘No swimming’.” Continue reading...

Suppliers may be forced to cut large-scale usage by businesses amid fears of a repeat of last year’s heatwaveIf water industry bosses think they are having a stinking time of it, they should cast their minds back to when Trevor Newton was head of Yorkshire Water. Urging customers to reduce consumption in balmy 1995, he confessed he had “not had a bath or shower in three months”.As a bout of sweltering weather grips Britain, with forecasts of a baking summer, there are concerns that a widespread drought and a repeat of last year’s heatwave could force water suppliers to ban certain companies from using large quantities. It promises to be a fresh headache for an industry already under fire over sewage dumping, leakage rates, large dividends, a £10bn customer-funded investment plan and “flimsy” pledges to give up bonuses. Continue reading...

Some communities may be cut off by flooding as warm, humid air causes storms to develop, says Met OfficeThunderstorms set to sweep across the UK this weekend could cause flash flooding, forecasters have warned.Parts of the UK could face train and bus delays and some communities may be cut off by flooding as warm, humid air causes storms to develop, the Met Office said. Continue reading...

Youth plaintiffs accuse state officials of violating their right to a healthy environment in landmark case in HelenaGrace Gibson-Snyder, 19, loves her home state of Montana. Thinking about its future fills her with fear.She’s seen the lands she loves change since she was a child, she told the first judicial district court of Montana this week. The rivers she grew up rafting are getting lower amid frequent dry spells. The air she breathes in during soccer practice more frequently fills with wildfire smoke. And in Glacier national park in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, the glaciers are melting. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ecologists say there are early signs that the population is recovering in remote forestsIt is a discotheque for Britain’s biggest type of grouse. Before dawn, male capercaillie will begin their courtship rituals, their black tail feathers erect and fanning out, chests puffed out, their heads thrust high into the cold spring air.Their dancefloors are forest clearings in the Highlands which echo the males’ wheezing, popping and clattering mating calls. Often perched in surrounding pine trees, hens will carefully watch as their potential mates compete to win their affection. Continue reading...

Millions of crickets – or rather shield-backed katydids – migrating across state, after hatching was delayed in springMillions of flightless insects known as Mormon crickets have descended across Nevada, alarming residents, blanketing roadways and buildings, and fueling nightmares.Footage shared on social media and by local news outlets captures six Nevada counties under siege, with thick carpets of bugs moving slowly and efficiently across the state. A local hospital had to deploy brooms and leafblowers to clear the way for patients to get into the building, a spokesperson for the Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital, told local news outlet KSL. Continue reading...

Feedback argues ministers’ failure to include measures to reduce production of meat and dairy products was unlawfulMinisters broke the law by failing to make plans to cut consumption of meat and dairy in England, activists will argue in a legal challenge after they were granted permission for a full judicial review of the government’s food strategy.Overturning two previous decisions, the court of appeal ruled that the food systems campaigners Feedback could challenge the national food strategy on the basis that it failed to take into account ministers’ duties to cut carbon emissions. Continue reading...

Some areas left with little or no water, forcing schools to shut and residents to fetch drinking water from bottle stationsA hosepipe ban is scheduled to come into effect across Kent and Sussex as a result of record demand for drinking water, South East Water bosses have said.Parts of the region have been left with little or no water this week during the hot weather, forcing schools to shut and residents to fetch drinking water from bottled water stations. Continue reading...

Pett Level on England’s south coast was once full of oak, elm and ash trees. Today, it offers clues as to how climate breakdown can affect landscapesOn a broad expanse of beach overlooked by towering cliffs on the UK’s south coast, a ghost forest can be glimpsed at low tide. Easily missed among the boulders and rock pools, a landscape of gnarled black stumps and enormous fallen tree trunks is revealed and submerged twice a day in a bay between Hastings and Rye.Twisted and smoothed by the tides, the soggy wood is strewn with barnacles and peppered with thousands of holes made by piddocks – burrowing shellfish which have made the logs their home. Continue reading...

Warning comes as 12 areas of UK put on red alert for ‘very high’ pollen levelsVery high pollen levels and hot weather are conspiring to bring discomfort to hay fever sufferers across the country, with the Met Office saying climate change could make pollen seasons longer and more extreme.Weekly visitors to the site’s hay fever advice pages have tripled in the past five weeks, according to NHS England, with 27,834 visits in 24 hours on Sunday – one every three seconds. On Friday, the Met Office put 12 areas of the UK, covering England, Wales and most of Scotland, on red alert for “very high” pollen levels. Continue reading...

Environment minister says redesign would ‘avoid most adverse impacts’ on Gouldian finch, while critics point to Australia’s ‘terrible record on extinctions’

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs, including hot monkeys, baby flamingos and a hitchhiking cygnet Continue reading...

WWF showcases work saving endangered species in Fiji, home to five of the world’s seven species of marine turtles Continue reading...

Paul Nowak says workers need a seat at the table to ensure a quick and fair transition to a net zero economyThe UK is in danger of being left behind in the global race to decarbonise the economy with potentially disastrous consequences for jobs and communities, according to the TUC’s general secretary.In an interview, Paul Nowak said the UK was “limping towards a green future” and he called for a “national collective effort” involving employers, workers and the government to ensure a quick and fair transition to a net zero economy. Continue reading...

In 1967, Roger Payne, who has died at 88, noticed that the mammals’ calls were organised in repeating patterns, spurring the discovery of whale songThe idea that whales “sing”, commonly accepted today, is relatively recent. Until the late 1960s it was thought that whale noises were nothing more than expressive sounds or calls. But in 1967, a discovery by the marine biologist Roger Payne, who died last Saturday, changed our understanding – ushering in a new way of looking at the world’s largest mammals.As the young Payne listened on repeat for days to recordings made of humpback sounds captured underwater off the coast of Bermuda, he noticed the calls were organised in repeating patterns. Speaking to Guardian Seascape in 2020, he described it as his “wow” moment, spurring on the discovery – made alongside other researchers – that all whale species “sing” in some rhythmic form, even in the “clicks” of toothed whales, such as sperm whales. Continue reading...