Offshore regulator directs company to mitigate risks as Greens call for stronger laws ‘to govern the decommissioning of these toxic facilities’

Activists spraypaint logo on masterpiece and one glues her hand to gallery wall to protest desecration of Burrup peninsula rock art

Miners to be required to set aside up to 10% of production for domestic users, Matt Kean says

Plan unveiled at Davos to find fair limits on impact of climate and other crises, which most affect poorer countriesCountries, companies and cities need to establish environmental justice targets to counter the impact of the climate and other crises on global inequality, according to the authors of the most comprehensive study of the issue to date.From floods in Pakistan to air pollution in India, the Earth Commission researchers say the poorest parts of the world are being disproportionately harmed by environmental problems, which is adding to global injustice and threatening social stability. Continue reading...

Protest held over levelling up secretary’s decision to approve new coalmine in Cumbria

Study shows ‘disastrous consequences for wildlife’ if human-caused emissions push global temperatures up 4.4CMore than 40% of land vertebrates will be threatened by extreme heat by the end of the century under a high emissions scenario, with freak temperatures once regarded as rare likely to become the norm, new research warns.Reptiles, birds, amphibians and mammals are being exposed to extreme heat events of increasing frequency, duration and intensity, as a result of human-driven global heating. This poses a substantial threat to the planet’s biodiversity, a new study warns. Continue reading...

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, accused big oil companies of peddling 'the big lie', calling for them to be held accountable. 'Today fossil fuel producers and their enablers are still racing to expand production knowing full well that this business model is inconsistent with human survival,' he said.Guterres said the world was 'flirting with disaster', warning that global temperature pledges were at risk of being breached. 'The commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees is nearly going up in smoke. Without further action we are headed to a 2.8-degree increase'

Climate-induced extreme weather has damaged people and communities as much as buildings and land, researchers say

Carbon offsets can help achieve emissions goals, some experts argue, while others say they are actively dangerous

The Guardian visits the Peruvian Amazon as part of a continuing investigation into forest-based carbon offsetting

Carbon credits and offsets do not have a great record but the funds they raise are a vital part in fight against deforestation

Former ministers say PM risks counter-rebellion over planning, environment and online safety amendments

Criticism at Davos for big companies that, ‘like the tobacco industry’, ride roughshod over their own scienceThe head of the United Nations has accused the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies of refusing to abandon a business model at odds with human survival despite knowingly putting the world on course for a climate meltdown decades ago.Speaking at the Davos summit of business and political leaders, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, launched a strong attack on the world’s leading oil companies, many of which are represented at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at the Swiss resort. Continue reading...

I recently moved from a gas stove to an induction range, and I love it. Other Americans probably will, tooOf all the political issues I assumed would come to the fore in 2023, gas stoves were not on my bingo card. And yet Americans’ right to cook on an open gas flame has turned into a red-hot culture war issue. Conservatives are gearing up for a War of the Cooktops – and unfortunately, some Democrats aren’t helping.Some five decades’ worth of studies have found that gas stoves are hazardous to human health, with a recent one suggesting that gas stoves in US homes may be to blame for nearly 13% of childhood asthma cases. Gas stoves are bad for the environment, too, powered as they are by fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Scientists say yields from crops fertilised with recycled human waste rival those produced by organic methodsUsing fertilisers derived from human faeces and urine can be as productive as conventional organic ones, with no risk of transmitting disease, according to new research.It may seem unappetising, but humans have been using human waste as a fertiliser for thousands of years because it contains the key nutrients that plants need to grow, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Ploughing human excrement – conventionally flushed down our toilets and into the sewage system – back into the soil creates a more sustainable farming system without significant drops in yield, the researchers found. Continue reading...

Automatic warning system activated to issue flood alerts during industrial action by staff on WednesdayFlood-prone areas in England will be relying on automated back-up systems for flood alerts and warnings on Wednesday, as Environment Agency (EA) workers strike over pay.Systems that would normally be monitored by experienced staff, some of whom have been left relying on food banks as a result of the cost of living crisis, will be put on autopilot during the industrial action, after weeks of working to rule failed to bring the government to the negotiating table. Continue reading...

High court in Japan agreed defendants could not have predicted the massive tsunami that crippled the power plant and triggered a nuclear meltdownThree former executives from the company that operates the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have had their not-guilty verdicts upheld by a court in Japan, dealing a blow to campaigners demanding the firm take legal responsibility for the disaster in March 2011.The Tokyo high court on Wednesday cleared Tsunehisa Katsumata, the former chairman of Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), along with former vice-presidents Ichiro Takekuro and Sakae Muto, of professional negligence resulting in death. Continue reading...

Study also says eating one serving of fish with PFAS could be equivalent to drinking contaminated water every day for a monthWild caught, freshwater fish in the United States are far more contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” than those commercially caught in oceans, and the highest levels are found in fish from the Great Lakes, a new analysis of federal data suggests.The peer-reviewed study by public health advocate Environmental Working Group (EWG) also found eating one serving of US freshwater fish contaminated with median PFAS levels could be equivalent to drinking highly contaminated water every day for a month. Continue reading...

Visitors urged to stay away from Myora Springs on Minjerribah, also known as North Stradbroke Island

Researchers use thermal vision to unpack how the spiny monotremes tolerate the searing Australian heat

Exclusive: Sales of Chinese-made vehicles increased 61% in 2022 with one industry expert saying companies are ‘innovating faster’

Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca and Antonio Díaz Valencia’s bullet hole-riddled vehicle was found after an anti-mining meetingFears are mounting for the safety of two missing Mexican land rights activists after their vehicle was found ridden with bullet holes.Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca, a human rights lawyer and environmentalist and Antonio Díaz Valencia, leader of the Aquila Indigenous community in Michoacán, were last seen on Sunday evening travelling toward the neighbouring state of Colima after attending an anti-mining community meeting. Continue reading...

Thunberg was held at the Garzweiler 2 mine near the village of Lützerath, but released after an identity checkGreta Thunberg was among climate activists detained during a protest against the demolition of a German village to make way for a coalmine.Thunberg was detained after sitting near the edge of the opencast Garzweiler 2 mine, about 5 miles from the village of Lützerath. Continue reading...

Almost two-thirds of sharks and rays living on world’s coral reefs at risk, with 14 of 134 species reviewed critically endangered

The city hasn’t gone over 30C since February 2022, and is just eight days off its longest streak of days below that level

Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia have increased kangaroo harvest quotas for 2023 but impact from floods yet to be assessed

Pressure cookers can steam-cook anything from vegetables and pulses to fish and stews in a fraction of the time, and our panel of chefs agrees they preserve flavour, too

Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall was given £5,000 according to parliament’s register of members’ interests in 2020A Conservative MP who received thousands in a donation from a wealthy landowner who took Dartmoor National Park Authority to court has refused to comment on a legal decision that has led to a ban on wild camping in the park.Last week, the right to wild camp in England and Wales was lost after hedge fund manager Alexander Darwall successfully brought a case against Dartmoor national park. It was the last place it was possible to wild camp without seeking permission. Continue reading...

Whitehaven colliery will release about 17,500 tonnes of methane every year, estimates thinktankThe new coalmine in Cumbria is likely to prevent the UK from meeting its internationally agreed commitment to reduce emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane, analysis has suggested.The Whitehaven colliery, controversially approved by ministers shortly before Christmas, will release about 17,500 tonnes of methane every year, according to estimates from the Green Alliance thinktank. Continue reading...

Material from dry landscapes has surged since the 1800s, possibly helping to cool the planet for decadesDust that billows up from desert storms and arid landscapes has helped cool the planet for the past several decades, and its presence in the atmosphere may have obscured the true extent of global heating caused by fossil fuel emissions.Atmospheric dust has increased by about 55% since the mid-1800s, an analysis suggests. And that increasing dust may have hidden up to 8% of warming from carbon emissions. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

Toxic pesticides used to eradicate grain-eating quelea may harm the country’s endangered raptors, say conservationistsA drive by the Kenyan government to kill up to 6 million red-billed quelea birds that have invaded farms will have unintended consequences for raptors and other wild species, experts have warned.The continuing drought in the Horn of Africa has reduced the amount of native grass, whose seeds are queleas’ main food source, causing the birds to increasingly invade grain fields, putting 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of rice under threat. About 300 acres of rice fields have been destroyed by the birds. Continue reading...

Financial institutions signed up to GFANZ initiative accused of acting as ‘climate arsonists’Banks and finance institutions that have signed up to net zero pledges are still investing heavily in fossil fuels, research has shown, leading to accusations they are acting as “climate arsonists”.The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) initiative was launched by the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, as one of the main UK achievements in hosting the Cop26 UN climate summit at Glasgow in 2021. Continue reading...

‘Cease and desist’ letter signed by over 650,000 people sent to oil and gas CEOs follows removal of Greta Thunberg from coal protestHundreds of thousands of young climate activists have said they will continue “protesting in the streets in huge numbers” against fossil fuels, a day after Greta Thunberg was removed by German police from a condemned village atop a massive coal deposit.In a cease-and-desist letter to the CEOs of fossil fuel companies, youth campaigners accuse them of a “direct violation of our human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, your duties of care, as well as the rights of Indigenous people”. Continue reading...

US climate envoy says pick is a ‘terrific choice’ but activists equate pick to asking ‘arms dealers to lead peace talks’US climate envoy John Kerry backs the United Arab Emirates’ decision to appoint the CEO of a state-run oil company to preside over the upcoming UN climate negotiations in Dubai, citing his work on renewable energy projects.In an interview Sunday with the Associated Press, the former US secretary of state acknowledged that the Emirates and other countries relying on fossil fuels to fund their state coffers face finding “some balance” ahead. Continue reading...

A pair of the semi-aquatic mammals will be released on to Ewhurst Park estateBeavers are set to be reintroduced into an enclosure in Hampshire, marking the first time in 400 years that they have lived in the county in southern England.A pair of the semi-aquatic mammals will be released on to Ewhurst Park estate, which is being restored for nature and sustainable food production. Continue reading...

Nothing is produced at Sellafield any more. But making safe what is left behind is an almost unimaginably expensive and complex task that requires us to think not on a human timescale, but a planetary one Continue reading...

Plans aimed at preventing tactics such as ‘slow marching’ part of Rishi Sunak’s public order crackdownPolice in England and Wales are to be given powers to shut down protests before any disruption begins under Rishi Sunak’s plans for a public order crackdown, which aim to prevent tactics such as “slow marching”.Sparking outrage from civil liberties campaigners, the government said it would be laying an amendment to the public order bill to toughen its crackdown on “guerilla” tactics used mainly by environmental protesters. Continue reading...

Readers respond to a Pass Notes column on the four-minute showerYour article (Pass notes, 9 January) presented the idea of four-minute showers. In September 2021, at a time of water shortages, I wrote to Yorkshire Water suggesting that they adopt a measure that I saw several years ago while working in Australia – the water supplier had given each householder a three-minute hourglass egg timer to stick to the wall of the bathroom shower. The Aussies then practised “beat the egg timer” while showering. I suggested that this would save both water and energy in these difficult times. Of course, as a follically challenged older man, I might have to donate some of my minutes to my wife to deal with her more luxurious tresses. I received a “that’s interesting” acknowledgment from Yorkshire Water.

Investors paid almost £9bn in dividends and share buyback schemes over last five years, report has revealedNational Grid, which maintains the backbone of Britain’s electricity network, should be taken under government control to ensure the rapid transition to net zero, campaigners said, after a report revealed that the business paid investors almost £9bn in dividends and share buyback schemes over the last five years.The stock-market-listed firm, which counts the fund managers BlackRock, Vanguard and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority among its top five shareholders, has a 19% operating margin on its electricity business, allowing the board to fund an average £1bn a year in dividends. Continue reading...

Forty-five-year-old and her partner were hiking with a mountain guide when accident happenedA British woman has died after getting caught in an avalanche as she was hiking with two other people on the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps, rescue services have said.The accident happened on Saturday on the Argentière Glacier, one of the Mont Blanc mountain range’s biggest glaciers. Continue reading...

One sample taken close to the plant contained 80,000 times the safe level of banned substance TBTA large marine paint-making company has been fined £650,000 after a highly toxic banned chemical was washed out from a holding tank into a “pristine” river in south-west England.International Paint Ltd “utterly failed” to control a substance called TBT that it had stored at its mothballed plant on the banks of the Yealm in Devon, a judge concluded. Continue reading...

Erchana Murray-Bartlett reaches end of epic journey from ‘tip to toe’ of Australia – smashing women’s record for consecutive daily marathons

This year’s figure of 3,796 pup births is almost double the count during the winter of 2019-20A record number of baby seals have been spotted on a five-mile stretch of coast in Norfolk.A total of 3,796 seal pups have been born so far this winter, while 1,169 adults have been spotted by volunteers. Continue reading...

Tale told on Joe Rogan podcast leads fossil hunters to murky depths off Manhattan even as museum pours cold water on storySeveral groups of treasure hunters have been seen on the East River in New York City after a guest on the Joe Rogan podcast claimed a boxcar of valuable prehistoric mammoth bones was dumped in the river in the 1940s.Despite a lack of evidence, treasure seekers have used boats, diving gear and remote-operated cameras to search. Continue reading...

New studies show just how harmful to health they can be, but there are good alternatives to the open flameGas stoves are a hot topic. A new study linked them to one in eight childhood asthma cases, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said it would look into banning them, and Republicans expressed anger at the mere suggestion.At the same time, federal and state policies are aiming to give gas stoves’ main competition – regular electric stoves and the ballyhooed induction stove – a boost. Continue reading...

Marine farmers point finger at jellyfish swarms but campaigners call for boycott to curb ‘ever-worsening problem’ of overcrowdingSalmon deaths on fish farms in Scotland nearly doubled last year, official figures show, owing to growing levels of disease, parasites and jellyfish blooms. Campaigners have blamed overcrowding and called for a boycott.Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) data shows that nearly 15m salmon mortalities were reported by farms in Scotland from January to November 2022, the latest data available, compared with 8.58m in all of 2021 and 5.81m in 2020. Continue reading...

A review panel on the 2021 Teesside eco-disaster is due to send its findings to ministers this week, but evidence from academics may not be given full weightScientists who led research into the mystery deaths of thousands of crabs and lobsters along England’s north-east coast say they have been asked no questions by the panel investigating the disaster.The expert review panel has also been excluded from examining government processes as part of its inquiry, despite widespread scrutiny of the official explanation for the deaths, the Observer understands. Continue reading...

A judge’s decision making it unlawful to pitch a tent on the moors without the landowner’s permission is set to spark a wave of right-to-roam protestsStanding at the summit of Hound Tor, wind whistling, ponies grazing nearby and the greens and browns of Dartmoor visible through the filter of the wet mist, the imposing facade of the high court could not feel more distant.But on Saturday morning, carrying his backpack containing his tent, a rubbish bin, trowel and cooking equipment, Mark Hayhurst, 43, came here to mourn a ruling by the court on Friday that made it unlawful to wild camp on the land without permission. Continue reading...

Edelman, which will publish the latest edition of its ‘trust barometer’ at Davos, says trust is its legacy – but critics say its reluctant to follow its own adviceAt the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week, the public relations juggernaut Edelman will publish the latest edition of its “trust barometer”, an annual survey that purports to measure whether people around the world trust businesses, governments, NGOs and the media.There’s just one problem: even as Edelman promotes its brand and pursues clients with stern warnings about the importance of trust, critics charge the company appears reluctant to follow its own advice. The firm’s clients have ranged from ExxonMobil to the Saudi government and members of the Sackler family, the former owners of the opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma. Continue reading...