Initiative aims to stop expansion of fossil fuel exploitation, but who supports it and how would it work?It is a proposed treaty to explicitly stop the expansion of fossil fuel exploitation and manage a just transition away from coal, oil and gas to clean energy. Continue reading...
Outcome of climate summit is crucial to ensuring strong targets at Cop15 in December, warns biodiversity headThe outcome of Cop27 will be crucial not just in terms of tackling the climate crisis but to help ensure a future for nature, the UN’s head of biodiversity has said, outlining plans for “a Paris moment for biodiversity” at Cop15 in Montreal in December.“Clearly the world is crying out for change, watching as governments seek to heal our relationships with nature, with the climate,” said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the convention on biological diversity (CBD), at a media briefing on Thursday. “Scientists have told us in no uncertain terms … that climate change and biodiversity loss are intrinsically connected and that’s why we are looking at the [Cop15] framework as, basically, a Paris moment for biodiversity.” Continue reading...
Environmental group pauses actions to give government ‘time to consider their responsibilities’The Just Stop Oil protests that have disrupted the M25 motorway around London over the past four days are to pause, organisers have said, to give the government time to reconsider issuing fresh licences for oil and gas extraction.The demonstrators said they had chosen Remembrance Day to halt the action to call on Rishi Sunak “to honour all those who served and loved their country” by ensuring a “liveable future”. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#65PQ2)
‘Bleak’ findings come from report at Cop27 that notes ‘no sign’ of urgent cuts needed to stop climate breakdownCarbon emissions from fossil fuels will hit record levels this year, according to a comprehensive analysis. The finding represents a brutal contrast with the need to cut emissions by half by 2030 to restrict global heating to 1.5C and avoid the most devastating impacts of the climate crisis.There is no sign of the decline needed, the researchers said, heaping further pressure on the countries whose representatives are meeting at the UN Cop27 climate summit in Egypt to deliver real and rapid action. Other scientists described the news as “bleak” and “deeply depressing”. Continue reading...
Companies and financial backers are laying the groundwork for a shift in attitudes towards gasGas producers and their financial backers see Cop27 as an opportunity for discussions about rebranding natural gas as a transition fuel rather than a fossil fuel, experts have said.The push is coming from the host Egypt and its gas-producing allies amid a global energy crisis compounded by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...
Exclusive: most extraction points for rivers and groundwater not metered, so government relies on users’ honestyThe government has “no idea” how much water is being taken from rivers and groundwater, according to an Environment Agency (EA) whistleblower, as swathes of England remain in drought despite recent heavy rainfall.The whistleblower told the Guardian that the EA’s regulation of water abstraction points for farms, small businesses and private water supplies was “absolutely pointless” because most were not metered and the monitoring that did take place was unreliable. Continue reading...
Panama Cites convention considers proposals to protect turtle populations also depleted for food, medication and colorful shellsTurtle poaching to meet the rising demand for the species as pets has pushed more than half of the nearly 300 living turtle and tortoise species closer to extinction, a global wildlife conference has heard.The 184-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which is meeting in Panama from 11 to 25 November, has seen one proposal that would ban or limit the commercial trade in more than 20 mud turtle species. More than 10 other proposals have been received that would increase protection for freshwater turtles. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Leader says easing planning curbs would be part of its plan to tap economic potential of wind powerA Labour government would rip up the planning rules restricting the expansion of onshore windfarms as part of a plan to make the UK a clean energy superpower, the Guardian has learned.Keir Starmer admitted that he would have to “persuade some communities to get on board” after Rishi Sunak reinstated a ban, dropped by Liz Truss, on new onshore projects amid fears of local objections. Continue reading...
Joe Biden is on his way to Egypt and more than 50 poor developing countries are in danger of defaultAnd so we are edging towards the end of the first week. Friday is decarbonisation and industry day, with events themed around that topic.The US president, Joe Biden, is heading to Egypt and Asia. He is expected to drop in on Cop27 on Friday before going on to the East Asia Summit in Cambodia and then the annual G20 in Indonesia. It will be interesting to see how that galvanises the discussions.Khaled Ali, the lawyer of the imprisoned hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah, has said he went to the prison where his client was being held but was denied access to visit him.More than 50 of the poorest developing countries are in danger of defaulting on their debt and becoming effectively bankrupt unless the rich world offers urgent assistance, the head of the UN development programme has said.There are a record number of fossil fuel lobbyists at Cop this year. There are 600 of them, an increase of more than 25% on last year, and they outnumber any one frontline community affected by the climate crisis.Obviously, protesters are not happy about this and have called for the “criminal” fossil fuel representatives to be booted out of Cop.Some UK politicians made the rounds, with the net zero tsar Chris Skidmore fitting in no fewer than six events. The business secretary, Grant Shapps, was there too, answering questions about UK oil and gas exploration, and the Cop26 president, Alok Sharma, addressed a couple of panels.Our colleague Damian Carrington brought us two pieces of good news: first, that Israel, Lebanon and Iraq have teamed up to reduce emissions, and that Norway is shutting down plans for a large oilfield.The US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, made some rather extraordinary comments in which she said Republican politicians believe climate breakdown is a “hoax”.Slovenia is the latest in a long line of European countries to quit the energy charter treaty, which gives energy companies the right to sue governments.The Guardian reporter Nina Lakhani spent much of the day with protesters who were wearing white in solidarity with murdered and jailed environment defenders around the world. Egypt is responsible for a few of those imprisonments, notably Abd el-Fattah. Continue reading...
by Bibi van der Zee, Natalie Hanman and Helena Horton on (#65NQH)
British-Egyptian Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who has been on hunger strike for months, stopped drinking water when Cop27 beganThis liveblog is closedWe promised you the full story on fossil fuel lobbyists, and here it is.There are more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists at the Cop27 climate conference, a rise of more than 25% from last year and outnumbering any one frontline community affected by the climate crisis.While the average delegation at Cop1 was 88% male and 12% female, this has shifted over time. For example, Cops 23 to 25 all had an average gender balance of 62% male to 38% female, while Cop26 had a balance of 64%-36%.The provisional gender balance of Cop27 is similar, clocking it at 63% male to 37% female. Continue reading...
Developing countries falling into default would be catastrophic and delay climate action, UN development chief warnsMore than 50 of the poorest developing countries are in danger of defaulting on their debt and becoming effectively bankrupt unless the rich world offers urgent assistance, the head of the UN Development Programme has warned.Inflation, the energy crisis and rising interest rates are creating conditions where an increasing number of countries are in danger of default, with potentially disastrous impacts on their people, according to Achim Steiner, the UN’s global development chief. Continue reading...
Blockade delayed arrival of rescue vehicle, but attending doctor says this had no influence over cyclist’s deathThe death of a cyclist after a traffic collision in Berlin has revived a growing debate in Germany about climate crisis protests.Sandra Umann, 44, was severely injured last Monday when her bike collided with a cement mixer lorry when she was cycling to work. A specialist rescue vehicle dispatched to the scene was delayed in reaching her because of a blockade by activists from the movement The Last Generation. Her death was announced on Friday. Continue reading...
The Office star Rainn Wilson announces he has changed his name to raise awareness of Arctic weather changesThe actor Rainn Wilson says he has changed his name to Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson to protest against the climate crisis.In a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday, Wilson said: “as a cheap little stunt to help save planet Earth, I’ve changed my name on Twitter, Instagram and even on my fancy writing paper.” It is not clear if Wilson has legally changed his name. Continue reading...
An expedition to find Wallace’s giant bee in the wild led to its ‘rediscovery’ in Indonesia’s Maluku islandsA “flying bulldog” is how conservation photographer Clay Bolt described it, while local people call it raja ofu, or the king of bees. Wallace’s giant bee (Megachile pluto) is certainly a bee-hemoth. The world’s largest species of bee, it can grow to four times the size of a honeybee, with a wingspan of 64mm (2.5in). Such a giant should be hard to lose, but the incredibly rare bee, native to a cluster of Indonesian islands, was feared extinct for nearly 40 years, until Bolt and his colleagues “rediscovered” it in 2019.The naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, a contemporary of Charles Darwin, collected the first known sample of the bee in 1858 while exploring Bacan, one of northern Indonesia’s Maluku (Moluccas) islands. Wallace collected a single female of the species, and noted it as “a large, black wasp-like insect, with immense jaws like a stag-beetle”. Continue reading...
Proposal, a first in 26 years, aims to disburse benefits to communities most impacted by the climate crisisOn Tuesday, New York state voters passed a ballot measure that would fund up to $4.2bn for environmental improvement projects – including increasing flood resiliency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, electrifying school buses and creating more green and open spaces.The proposal also aims to reach communities most affected by the climate crisis. If approved, it will allow the state to sell bonds in order to raise funds to finance several projects.Climate change mitigation: Up to $1.5bn for projects including reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from state-owned properties and agricultural lands, reducing air and water pollution in environmental justice communities, and addressing the effects of extreme heat in cities with measures like increased green space and community cooling centers. The act also specifies at least $500m will go toward electric school buses.
Enough supply to avoid worst-case scenario of rolling blackouts given milder weather and key electricity link to France back on lineNational Grid expects there to be “sufficient generation” to avoid rolling power cuts this winter, with Britain’s supplies boosted by the return of a crucial electricity link to France that was hit by fire.The power networks owner warned last month that Britain should be able to meet its energy needs this winter, but could experience rolling power cuts in a worst-case scenario if Russia cut off gas supplies into Europe. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey, Ekaterina Ochagavia, David Levene, P on (#65NSZ)
In a crucial year for the climate, award-winning Guardian environment editor Fiona Harvey reflects on 30 years of Cops and meets the politicians, activists and scientists asking who is responsible for saving the planet.In November last year, the world’s gaze focused on Glasgow at Cop26 as 'a historic, collective achievement' was forged between 200 countries – the Glasgow climate pact. Since then, unprecedented global events have threatened this commitment to limiting climate destruction, and the hopes of 'keeping 1.5 alive' have been dashed. We follow Fiona as she prepares for Cop27 in Egypt, asking presidents, global leaders, activists and scientists if global diplomacy is enough to save humanity from the brink of annihilation Continue reading...
Third of Congo basin’s tropical forests are under threat from fossil fuel investments, undermining climate action, report warnsThe area of land given over to oil and gas extraction in Africa is set to quadruple, threatening to wipe out a third of the dense tropical forests in the Congo basin and accelerate the climate breakdown, a report warns.Almost 10% of the African continent is already covered by oil and gas production fields, but this could expand to almost 38% if proposals for new projects get the go-ahead – unleashing a huge carbon bomb into the atmosphere that would severely undermine global climate action, according to mapping and analysis by Rainforest Foundation UK and Earth Insight. Continue reading...
Experts say world has ‘overreached’ in replacing Russian supply, which could kill 1.5C targetThe global dash for gas amid the Ukraine war will accelerate climate breakdown and could send temperatures soaring far beyond the 1.5C limit of safety, analysis has shown.If all of the new gas projects announced in response to the global gas supply crunch are fulfilled, the resulting greenhouse gas emissions would add up to about 10% of the total amount of carbon dioxide that can safely be emitted by 2050. Continue reading...
The not-for-profit had said a fire at a Melbourne facility linked to the closure of Coles and Woolworths soft plastics recycling had delayed processing, but now says this is not the case
Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai/Kia on track to make far more petrol and diesel cars than is sustainableThe world’s biggest carmakers plan to build about 400m more diesel and petrol cars than what is sustainable to contain global heating, a study has found.Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the University of Applied Sciences of the Industry in Bergisch Gladbach and Greenpeace Germany compared the rate at which the world needed to embrace zero-emissions vehicles with the rate at which major car companies were planning to produce various models. Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Economics correspondent on (#65NEX)
TUC says vital services had been left short-staffed and overwhelmed after over a decade of austerityRishi Sunak’s government has been warned that Britain’s creaking public services will require at least £43bn a year in additional funding just to “stand still” amid the fallout from soaring inflation.The Trades Union Congress said next week’s autumn statement needed to protect both public services and workers’ pay from the highest rates of inflation since the early 1980s to avoid a further collapse in the quality of support for health, social care, education, justice, and the environment. Continue reading...
Negotiations move behind closed doors and China confirms ‘informal’ talks with USAfter the leaders’ speeches of the first couple of days, most of the negotiations have now moved behind closed doors. The big discussions today were all around finance, and there does appear to have been some movement on this, as Damian Carrington reported, with positive momentum potentially starting to build on a pivotal issue as the UK said it would allow some debt payment deferrals, while Austria and New Zealand put forward funding for loss and damage.Other developments included:The family of the jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah demanded proof of life for the third day in a rowA Kulkalgal activist from the Torres Strait Islands said the way the world often treated Indigenous people was an insult and that he was at the conference “fighting for our home”Bill McKibben, a US environmentalist and founder of 350.org, told an audience: “This year we’ve fully understood the link between fossil fuels and fascism. Putin could not have invaded Ukraine without the profits from oil and gas, or [cowed] the west with threats of turning off the taps.”The World Bank president, David Malpass, said he was not a “climate denier”. The Donald Trump appointee previously said he did not “even know” if he accepted climate science.Protesters staged rallies inside the central conference area, ignoring Egypt’s attempts to keep displays of dissent out of sight.Almost half of young people in Africa say they have reconsidered having children due to the climate crisis, according to a Unicef poll.China’s envoy said the US had “closed the door” to climate talks and needed to reopen it. Xie Zhenhua said Beijing and Washington were having “informal talks”. Xie also hinted that China may contribute to a “loss and damage” fund.John Kerry, the US climate envoy, announced a global carbon credit trading initiative that he said would be “critical” in helping developing countries transition to cleaner forms of energy. That has received a mixed reaction from environmental groups. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#65N1N)
Home secretary says it is officers’ duty to take a firmer line to safeguard public orderThe home secretary, Suella Braverman, has accused police of failing in their duty and demanded an intensified crackdown on Just Stop Oil activists disrupting the M25 motorway.In a rare move to criticise officers in the midst of an operation, Braverman told police chiefs at their annual conference that she expected “a firmer line to safeguard public order. Indeed, that is your duty.” Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#65NNW)
Analysis released at Cop27 climate summit shows plans would thwart chances of keeping global heating to 1.5COil and gas companies are planning a “frightening” expansion that would result in 115bn tonnes of climate-heating CO2 being pumped out, equivalent to more than 24 years of US emissions, a new analysis has found.Virtually all oil and gas companies are planning further exploitation of fossil fuels, the report found, pouring $160bn dollars into exploration since 2020. None of this investment is compatible with the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) route to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and limiting the climate crisis, the report said. Continue reading...
Legislation approved by Senate will apply to existing and new car parks with space for at least 80 vehiclesAll large car parks in France will be covered by solar panels under new legislation approved as part of president Emmanuel Macron’s renewable energy drive.Legislation approved by the French Senate this week requires existing and new car parks with space for at least 80 vehicles to be covered by solar panels. Continue reading...
A Kulkalgal activist from the Torres Strait Islands has said Indigenous people are ‘fighting for their homes’ as conference discussions focus on climate financeThis live blog is closedMore photos from today:Xie Zhenhua continues to say that Beijing is willing to contribute to a mechanism for compensating poorer countries for loss and damage caused by the climate crisis. Continue reading...
Proposal, a first in 26 years, aims to disburse benefits to communities most impacted by the climate crisisOn Tuesday, New York state voters passed a ballot measure that would fund up to $4.2bn for environmental improvement projects – including increasing flood resiliency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, electrifying school buses and creating more green and open spaces.The proposal also aims to reach communities most affected by the climate crisis. If approved, it will allow the state to sell bonds in order to raise funds to finance several projects.Climate change mitigation: Up to $1.5bn for projects including reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from state-owned properties and agricultural lands, reducing air and water pollution in environmental justice communities, and addressing the effects of extreme heat in cities with measures like increased green space and community cooling centers. The act also specifies at least $500m will go toward electric school buses.
There is little doubt that we have already pushed our climate system to the very edge, says Prof Tim Atkinson. Plus letters from David Cottee and Adam HartGeorge Monbiot is correct – the geological record shows a series of disastrous extinctions caused by the climate system being pushed beyond tipping points (Fossil fuel burning once caused a mass extinction – now we’re risking another, 3 November). Although such tipping points might soon be reached, it’s more persuasive to know exactly where the system is right now.You report that temperatures in Europe are now rising by around 0.5C per decade, equivalent to 5C per century (Europe’s climate warming at twice rate of global average, says report, 2 November). Compare this rate with the end of the last ice age, when the system was entering its present relatively warm state. Evidence from fossil insects in Britain shows that by a conservative estimate, the average temperature rose by 1.7C to 2.6C per century, with maximum possible rates inferred from the same data up to 2.8C to 7.2C per century. Continue reading...
Climate change committee chair tells chancellor there are many small changes people can make to save energy and moneyThe UK government must improve its energy-saving advice for households to help cut costs for consumers and the Treasury this winter, its climate advisers have said.The climate change committee chair, Lord Deben, said Britain was exposed to fluctuations in the price for fossil fuels that had forced the government to commit tens of billions of pounds in support and still left homes and businesses facing an extra £1,300 on average annual bills. Continue reading...
US-China relations hit new low this year after Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, over which China claims sovereignty• Cop27 live – latest news updatesChina’s top climate official has said the US must take responsibility for any reconciliation between the two countries at the UN Cop27 climate summit, calling on the US to “clear the barriers” to talks.Xie Zhenhua, the climate envoy for China, said he had met his US counterpart John Kerry, special presidential envoy for climate, in Sharm el-Sheikh, in Egypt, where governments and world leaders have gathered for a fortnight of talks on the climate crisis. Continue reading...
Canadian diver captures footage of the cephalopod drawing closer and closer until it fully embraces herFor outsiders, scuba diving in the frigid waters of the northern Pacific can seem daunting: limbs quickly go numb without the right equipment, and unlike the sparkling blue of the tropics, the water has a gloomy, greenish tint.But a recent viral encounter between a diver and an octopus has highlighted the particular magic of the sunken kelp forests off the coast of British Columbia. Continue reading...
Mia Mottley, PM of Barbados, who, at Cop27 called again for climate justice, is devising a debt relief and loan blueprint, targeting the IMFMia Mottley’s speeches in defence of climate justice dominated media headlines at Cop26 in Scotland last year, where she called on world leaders to seize the moment and deliver on climate action. On Monday she tried again. “We have the collective capacity to transform,” she urged those gathered at Cop27 in Egypt.One of the main targets in the sights of Mottley, prime minister of Barbados, is a new finance solution to the climate crisis, which is swiftly becoming one of the key issues being negotiated at the conference. Continue reading...
Two climate protesters have scrawled over one of the National Gallery of Australia’s prized modern art pieces, Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans.The activists are part of the Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies group, which in a statement called for the Australian government to end support for the oil, gas and coal industries.
Environment | The Guardian