PM says energy security strategy will launch shortly after plans reworked to meet net zero commitmentsAn energy security strategy will be launched “shortly”, Rishi Sunak has promised, with a focus on ramping up carbon capture and small modular reactors to develop homegrown energy and meet net zero commitments.Ministers have been forced to rework their plans after a ruling by the high court last July. It found that the government’s net zero strategy was unlawful due to a breach of the 2008 Climate Change Act, given the document did not outline how climate policies would meet legally binding carbon budgets. Continue reading...
by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent on (#69QZG)
Broadcaster speaks as Save Our Wild Isles campaign launches to halt destruction of nature in UKSir David Attenborough has warned that “nature is in crisis” as he urged people to unite behind action to save it.The natural historian, who has presented programmes including Planet Earth and The Blue Planet, spoke out as the charities the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the National Trust launched a joint initiative aimed at halting the destruction of nature across the UK. Continue reading...
Research finds waste flushed down toilets and sent to sewage plants probably responsible for significant source of water pollutionAll toilet paper from across the globe checked for toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” contained the compounds, and the waste flushed down toilets and sent to sewage treatment plants probably creates a significant source of water pollution, new research has found.Once in the wastewater plant, the chemicals can be packed in sewage sludge that is eventually spread on cropland as fertilizer, or spilt into waterways. Continue reading...
Plans to protect 16m acres of Alaska and Arctic circle from drilling comes as president prepares to reveal decision on Willow projectJoe Biden has announced new steps to ban oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean and limit onshore drilling in Alaska, as his administration reportedly prepares to approve a huge new oilfield in the state.Plans announced Sunday night will bar drilling in nearly 3m acres of the Beaufort Sea – closing it off from oil exploration – and limit drilling in more than 13m acres in a vast swath of land known as the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska. Continue reading...
by Melissa Hobson in Lancing, West Sussex on (#69R0Z)
Steve Allnutt has watched the lush beds disappear from local waters over the years, and decided to take on the job of restoration himselfSteve Allnutt shivers and zips up his coat as he checks on the water tanks holding thousands of specimens. He confirms the temperature, adjusts the lighting and fishes out a tiny piece of kelp to inspect under his microscope.Allnutt’s unusual setup – in his garage in Lancing, West Sussex – features 20-odd tanks full of the algae. He aims for the atmosphere to mimic natural ocean conditions, so the air in the garage is brisk but the light is cool and calm, like a winter’s day. In summer, he’ll need to wear sunglasses. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#69QZE)
Plan would provide fresh locally grown food, promote sustainable agriculture and cut carbon emissionsPlans have been submitted to create a first-of-its-kind urban farm on top of a multi-storey car park in Birmingham as part of a vision to “turn grey space to green productive space”.Slow Food Birmingham, a grassroots organisation that promotes hyperlocal food production, has sent proposals to the council to build a farm, glasshouses, community space and garden, as well as an education hub and cafe on the site. Continue reading...
Indigenous Carbon Industry Network says it has no connection with Pieces of Australia, which confirmed it has removed content that may have been inappropriately used
Amnesty International hits out at ‘shocking’ annual figure reaped through sale of fossil fuelSaudi Aramco has reported a record $161bn (£134bn) profit for 2022, the largest annual profit ever recorded by an oil and gas company, fuelled by soaring energy prices and rising global demand.The largely state-owned company’s profits rose by 46% year on year and it made more than the recent bumper results reported by Shell, BP, Exxon and Chevron combined. Continue reading...
Boss of packaging firm DS Smith calls for clarity on government’s long-term plans to decarbonise energyThe UK should “level up” its investment in green technologies to match the US and the EU, according to the chief executive of FTSE 100 packaging company DS Smith.Speaking just days before the chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s spring budget, Miles Roberts said the UK government needed to give a clear signal of its long-term plans particularly for low-carbon power generation. Continue reading...
by Lucas Amin, Ben Webster and Jon Ungoed-Thomas on (#69Q62)
Environmental groups criticise cut in passenger tax, which will increase flights, but government says it remains committed to net-zeroA controversial new cut in air passenger tax due next month was passed after the airline industry told the government it would lead to a new era of “ultra low” prices for domestic flights in the UK, with one airline predicting a 31% rise in passengers, industry documents reveal.The new cut in air passenger duty (APD) for domestic flights was approved by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor, halving the price to £6.50 from 1 April. The rail industry has warned the move could increase carbon emissions by 27,000 tonnes a year and result in 220,000 fewer rail journeys a year. Continue reading...
by Lauren Aratani in Ventura, California on (#69Q69)
The company is one of the largest outdoor apparel brands globally, but it has long grappled with how growth can contradict environmental activismUnder California blue skies, the Patagonia outdoor clothing brand’s corporate campus is bustling with its usual mix of employees, pets – and kids.Situated in Ventura, north-west of Los Angeles and close to the beach for surfing purposes, the sprawl of neutral-colored stucco buildings is very on-brand for a business with a cult following among environmentalists. Wood-lined interiors make the offices feel more cabin than corporate. Blown-up posters from past marketing campaigns line hallways. “There are no profits to be made on a dead planet,” reads one from 2004. Continue reading...
A fresh atmospheric river pummeling the state has caused flooding as rivers swell past their banks; experts say more wet weather is comingAuthorities ordered more than 1,500 people to evacuate early Saturday from a northern California agricultural community famous for its strawberry crop after the Pajaro River’s levee was breached by flooding from a new atmospheric river pummeling the state.Monterey county officials on Saturday said the break in the levee – upstream from the unincorporated community of Pajaro along California’s central coast – is about 100 feet (30.48m ) wide. Crews had gone door to door Friday afternoon to urge residents to leave before the rains came but some stayed and had to be pulled from floodwaters early Saturday. Continue reading...
Signing off on the Willow plan would place the president’s political career in conflict with climate-minded DemocratsThe Biden administration has denied reports that it has authorized a key oil drilling project on Alaska’s north slope, a highly contentious project that environmentalists argue would damage a pristine wilderness and gut White House commitments to combat climate crisis.Late Friday, Bloomberg was first to report citing anonymous sources that senior Biden advisers had signed off on the project and formal approval would be made public by the Interior Department next week. Continue reading...
Heat pumps have become the tech of choice to keep homes warm – but what are they and how do they work?Few climate technologies have ever had a moment quite like the one heat pumps are currently enjoying.While the share of electric vehicles and induction stoves sales may be growing, they still represent a sliver of all cars and stoves sold respectively. US heat pump sales, though, surpassed those of gas furnaces last year as the tech of choice to keep homes comfortable. Continue reading...
We tried five bikes from Swapfiets, Buzzbike and Brompton to see what you get for your monthly moneyFor people new to cycling, buying a bike can seem daunting. Aside from the outlay, there is maintenance, and what if you decide you just don’t enjoy pedalling around?This is where subscription bikes come in. An increasingly common idea in continental Europe and now in parts of the UK, these let you rent a bike by the month or year, generally with a lock and mechanical support. As well as for the cycle-curious, this can be ideal if you are in a city temporarily, or a student. Continue reading...
The modern oil industry was born in 1859, yet it would take more than 100 years – and the near-extinction of a species – before it replaced blubber. As we now seek to replace oil in turn, are there lessons to be learned?Humpback whales can rhyme. Their songs are made up of individual themes, phrases and sounds – many of them ending similarly. These are repeated in patterns that create rhythms and structures. To human ears, the songs are a series of grunts, groans, sighs, burps and squeaks. But they are arranged by the whale in a highly elaborate manner.The songs change over time, too: themes develop and are replaced, and phrases shift until every few years a completely new song emerges. Whales also adopt the songs of other whales – like a pop hit that everyone starts singing. Continue reading...
Ridding country of the shrub will take 250 years at the current rate of progress, despise posing ‘a mortal threat’ to Britain’s temperate rainforest, say campaignersIt will take 250 years to eradicate rhododendron from England at the current rate of removal, according to new figures, despite the invasive woodland shrub posing “a mortal threat” to Britain’s temperate rainforest, campaigners warn.Rhododendron, introduced from Asia and widely planted by the Victorians, covers at least 37,600 hectares (93,000 acres) in England, much of it in the west of the country, which is also home to the remaining fragments of temperate rainforest. Continue reading...
‘Reset’ of clean energy policy, including small nuclear reactors, is response to Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction ActThe chancellor is poised to announce a £20bn investment in technology to reduce Britain’s carbon emissions at next week’s budget, in a riposte to Joe Biden’s flagship Inflation Reduction Act that aims to create thousands of new jobs.Separately, the government plans to add urgency to Britain’s nuclear programme, with a competition to develop small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). Continue reading...
Officers with C-IRG accused of ripping off protesters’ masks and pepper-spraying them during protest in British ColumbiaCanada’s federal police force has opened an investigation into a controversial unit tasked with overseeing environmental protests, following hundreds of complaints that officers used excessive force, disregarded court orders and violated protesters’ rights.The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, a watchdog arm of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said on Thursday it would examine the activities of the community-industry response group, or C-IRG, based in British Columbia. Continue reading...
by Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro on (#69NRW)
Satellites show record destruction for the month of February as new government tries to undo damage wreaked under BolsonaroDeforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rose in February to the highest level on record for the month, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as it tries to undo the environmental destruction wreaked under the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.Government satellites show that a record 322 sq km of Amazon rainforest were destroyed in February, a 62% increase on last year and the highest number for the month since records began. Continue reading...
by Oli Scarff for Agence France-Presse on (#69NRX)
An enterprising project in the North Yorkshire port aims to protect the marine environment and safeguard the shellfish population for generations to come
Ex-vice-president says new projects ‘are a recipe for climate chaos’ ahead of Biden administration’s decision on Willow developmentAl Gore has warned it would be “recklessly irresponsible” to allow an enormous, controversial oil drilling project to proceed in Alaska, speaking ahead of a decision from the Biden administration on whether to approve it. Gore spoke amid growing alarm among Democrats and campaigners that the Willow development will drastically undermine the US’s effort to confront the climate crisis.The vast, multi-billion-dollar ConocoPhillips oil project, to be situated on the tundra of Alaska’s northern Arctic coast, is awaiting approval from the federal government that could arrive as soon as Friday. Gore, the former US vice-president and leading climate advocate, told the Guardian that the planned drilling would threaten local communities as well as the task of curbing dangerous global heating. Continue reading...
Proposed El Paso climate charter seeks to prohibit use of city water for extraction projects including those in Permian BasinA first-of-its-kind municipal climate charter in Texas could throw a wrench in US fossil fuel extraction. Residents of a major Texas city just west of the Permian Basin, the largest oil field in the US, will have the chance to vote on the package this spring.If the proposal passes, the city of El Paso would adopt a comprehensive climate policy that would include prohibiting the use of city water for extraction projects outside city limits, such as in the Permian Basin, which makes up roughly 40% of all US oil production. Continue reading...
Fire ecologists analysed data from over 10,000 locations and 334 wildfires to assess how post-blaze conditions affect tree growthThe ancient, towering ponderosa pines and Douglas firs that dot the west are dying off at an alarming rate – and increasingly intense megafires, drought and heat are making it harder for their seedlings to grow, a new study has found.In an expansive study, a team of more than 50 fire ecologists analysed data from more than 10,000 locations after 334 wildfires to assess how the severity of a fire and the weather conditions afterwards affected conifers across the US west. Continue reading...
The unusual spectacle of an adult female killer whale spotted with the adopted – or abducted – calf of another species is causing experts to reassess orca behaviourOrcas, or killer whales, are apex predators, best known for their ferocious hunting techniques. So when a female was seen apparently caring for the offspring of another species, it came as a bit of a surprise. “I saw straight away there was something weird about it,” says Marie-Thérèse Mrusczok, who was working as a spotter on the Láki Tours whale-watching boat that witnessed the encounter.The ship’s crew initially thought it was a very small killer whale calf swimming alongside the orca, but photos later confirmed what Mrusczok suspected – that the female, called Sædís, appeared to be looking after a newborn long-finned pilot whale. Continue reading...
A new legal order in the high seas must prevent marine riches from being monopolised or privatisedIn his 1968 essay The Tragedy of the Commons, the ecologist Garrett Hardin argued that resources which do not clearly belong to anyone are likely to be overexploited, since protecting them is in no one person’s interest. That tragedy is unfolding on the high seas – the two-thirds of the ocean that lies beyond coastal states’ national jurisdiction. This is a commons, where fishing and mining have been opened to all. The result is serious damage to a vital resource that covers almost half the planet’s surface. The high seas are not entirely lawless. Yet only a tiny fraction of these waters are protected from exploitation, despite harbouring the world’s marine wilderness and its unique biodiversity.Beneath the waves lies a rich prize. Many scientists think the high seas harbour novel disease-fighting chemistry that might lead to new drugs. Until this month, there was no mechanism to prevent nations or companies monopolising the world’s marine genetic resources. One study in 2018 pointed out that BASF, which calls itself “the largest chemical producer in the world”, owned nearly half of the 13,000 patents derived from marine organisms. Mining exploration licences in the Pacific alone span an area almost as wide as the US. If deep sea extraction were permitted to go ahead, many warn, it would lead to biodiversity loss on an enormous scale. Continue reading...
Exclusive: One-fifth of money given directly to fossil fuel industry was to support new extraction and miningThe UK government has given £20bn more in support to fossil fuel producers than those of renewables since 2015, the Guardian can reveal.The research, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, found that while renewable energy was given £60bn in support over that time, fossil fuel companies were given close to £80bn. Continue reading...
Many agree that strides have been made in protecting biodiversity and the oceans – but much remains to be doneLate last Saturday in New York, exhausted negotiators reached a landmark agreement on protecting life on Earth: the high seas treaty, the second big environment deal in just three months after Cop15, the biodiversity summit in Montreal. The moment, nearly two decades in the making, overwhelmed the president of the conference, Rena Lee, who cried as she announced that a deal had been done.On paper at least, countries nearly have a complete strategy for action on the three planetary crises of our era: the climate emergency, biodiversity loss and pollution. Governments are still negotiating a UN agreement on plastics pollution, with another round of talks scheduled in Paris this year. But world leaders, business heads – all of us – know what we must do in the next decades to avoid disaster. Continue reading...
Railway forecast to quadruple crude oil production in Uinta Basin and will damage Biden’s climate credentials, campaigners sayDevelopers are seeking billions of dollars in tax breaks for a new oil railroad in Utah that will threaten the Colorado River and be a risk to the health and safety of millions of Americans while damaging Joe Biden’s climate credentials, campaigners say.The 88-mile proposed Uinta railway is forecast to quadruple crude oil production in the Uinta Basin by connecting it to the national rail network and coastal refineries. Continue reading...
In the mid-2000s, the United States unearthed a huge amount of methane – the main ingredient in natural gas. To ship it overseas, companies built factories to compact it into a liquid. But these facilities weren't just built in industrial areas; they were also built near people's homes.In this video, four residents whose communities were sacrificed in these ventures share their stories. 'I just love this place, and I want to share with my children, my grandchildren,' said Gwen Jones of Freeport, Texas, where facilities have displaced entire neighborhoods. 'For people to just want to take it, use it just for money reasons – to me, it's not sufficient.' Continue reading...
Last month’s sinking of the oil tanker MT Princess Empress off the coast of Mindoro island in the Philippines has forced the area into a state of emergency, disrupting the marine environment, businesses and more than 15,000 fishersRead more: What happens when a huge ship sinks? A step-by-step guide to averting disaster Continue reading...
Government needs to introduce new ambitious energy policies before next general election, advisers sayMinisters must take control of the UK’s energy system, removing the barriers to planning permission and problems with the national electricity grid, to build the windfarms and other renewable power needed to meet net-zero goals, government advisers have warned.Chris Stark, chief executive of the committee on climate change, the statutory adviser, said the task was too urgent to wait until after a general election, expected within the next 18 months. “It would be an enormous mistake to wait until the next general election to introduce new ambitious policy,” he said. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Groups say chancellor needs to kickstart renewed drive to help cut bills and reduce emissionsA coalition of charities and campaigners have demanded the chancellor funnel more funds into making Britain’s leaky housing stock energy efficient at next week’s budget to help cut bills and protect the environment.In a letter to Jeremy Hunt, more than 20 organisations asked the government to set aside at least £6bn a year over the next decade to support an acceleration in insulating home and installations of heat pumps. Continue reading...
Academy Awards gift bag includes ‘a symbolic souvenir’ of pieces of Queensland, which sell on company website for $79.95Oscar nominees are set to receive 1 sq metre of land in outback Australia in their gift bags this year, but green organisations have questioned the environmental mission of the company whose property they say is in the heart of a coal seam gas field.Pieces of Australia is one of a number of brands to pay $4,000 to secure a spot in the hamper that is unaffiliated with the Academy but sent by the company Distinctive Assets to the acting and directing nominees.With additional reporting from Sian Cain and Jonathan Barrett. Continue reading...
by Erin McCormick and graphics by Andrew Witherspoon on (#69JT0)
Exclusive: Cutting-edge analysis of fine particulate levels by area reveals shocking disparities: ‘The underlying variable that is most predictive is systemic racism’The neighborhood where Emprezz Nontzikelelo struggles to breathe the worst air in America was the only part of Bakersfield where Black families like hers were allowed to live when she was growing up.Still populated by predominantly low-income people of color, the eastern side of Bakersfield lies downwind of the oilwells, freeways and pesticide-choked agricultural fields of California’s Central Valley and backs up to a busy rail yard that ships the valley’s produce around the nation. Continue reading...