Environment | The Guardian

Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels and investors must stop funding it, say campaignersHundreds of coal companies around the world are developing new mines and power stations, according to a study. The researchers said the plans were “reckless and irresponsible” in the midst of the climate emergency.Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels and its use must be quickly phased out to end the climate crisis. However, almost half the 1,000 companies assessed are still developing new coal assets, and just 27 companies have announced coal exit dates consistent with international climate targets. Continue reading...

Good Car Company plans to run a batch-buy program that would source cars from Japan and the UK

The Australian conference supposedly devoted to ‘bold action’ from the right spent much of its time pouring scorn on any form of climate action

Shehbaz Sharif says he wants ‘climate justice’ from rich polluting countries after monsoons put a third of his country under waterShehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, has said Pakistan should not be forced to go out with a “begging bowl” to rich polluting nations after the floods that have devastated the country and said he would be seeking “climate justice” from the international community.Speaking from his home in Lahore, Sharif warned that Pakistan is facing an unprecedented crisis of health, food security and internal displacement after the “apocalyptic” monsoons which put a third of Pakistan’s regions under water. Some areas were hit by 1.7m of rainfall, the highest on record. Continue reading...

A group of 50 NGOs found that bank and subsidiaries had funded oil refinery and gas processingThe World Bank has provided nearly $15bn of finance directly to fossil fuel projects since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015, and is likely to have spurred far greater investment indirectly, new research has found.Funding for “upstream” oil and gas projects from the World Bank was meant to stop from 2019, but the Big Shift Global, a coalition of more than 50 NGOs, has found the bank and its subsidiaries funding oil refinery and gas processing since then. Continue reading...

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A lack of rain on the western coasts saw 65,000 dead salmon wash up on the creekTens of thousands of dead wild salmon scattered along a creek bed are the latest casualty of a drought that has gripped the province of British Columbia for more than a month and left communities bracing for more devastation.In a video clip posted to social media, the carcasses of pink and chum salmon are seen piled near the community of Bella Bella. Continue reading...

Caroline Lucas responds to the business secretary’s claim that only she and ‘the socialists’ do not support his plansIf Jacob Rees-Mogg really believes that the only people who don’t like fracking are “the socialists and Caroline Lucas”, he’s clearly not been paying attention (Rees-Mogg tells Tories he’d welcome fracking in his back garden, 3 October)This may come as no surprise since, until recently, his most memorable position on the green benches at Westminster has been horizontal. But if he couldn’t see the large numbers of his own party’s backbench MPs queueing up to voice their outrage at his proposal to restart fracking when he made his announcement a few weeks ago then he should certainly have been able to hear them. Continue reading...

‘It’s like putting in a transmission line over the Opera House,’ says National Parks Association of NSW

The RSPB, National Trust, green farmers and anti-frackers all got it in the neck at the Conservative conference

Hunting lobby, which has support of Emmanuel Macron, claims its members are being ‘stigmatised’French hunters have reacted angrily to suggestions they be stopped from drinking while out shooting to reduce accidental deaths and injuries.The proposal would make those taking part in hunts subject to the same rules on blood alcohol limits and subsequent penalties as motorists. It is one of 30 recommendations made by France’s upper house of parliament, the senate, to address issues with hunt safety and the threat to members of the public. Continue reading...

Herders lodge appeal against ruling in their case against the Tanzanian government, which they say is violently evicting them from ancestral landLawyers for Maasai herders who say the Tanzanian government is trying to violently evict them from their ancestral land to make way for a luxury game reserve have lodged an appeal against a court ruling that dismissed their case.Donald Deya, lead counsel for the herders and chief executive officer of the Pan-African Lawyers Union (Palu), said his team had, on Wednesday, appealed against the verdict of the east African court of justice, which campaigners branded “a shocking blow” to Indigenous land rights. Continue reading...

Activists taken away by security after holding up banner reading ‘Who voted for this?’

Andrew Liveris says his position at Saudi Aramco means he ‘knows the solutions’ as he presides over climate-positive games

Chiriquí harlequin frogs went extinct in 1996 due to a fungal disease that has driven the decline of 501 amphibian speciesIt was a remarkably elaborate mating ritual. When a male Chiriquí harlequin frog found its mate, it would climb on to the female’s back, grip its armpits with its forelimbs and hug it. Females of the species were often twice as large as the males, and they would remain in this mating clasp for days or even months – depending on when the female was ready to lay her eggs. During this time, the male might forgo eating and lose up to 30% of its body weight, but it was willing to wait.It has been almost 30 years since a scientist last witnessed this act. In 2019, with little fanfare, the species was declared extinct. Continue reading...

Out of 44 charities, only 4% said they had a consistently implemented action plan to increase ethnic diversityThe environment sector has failed to act on its ambitions to become more inclusive, suggests new research that finds just one in 20 organisations are enacting plans to increase ethnic diversity.According to a sector-wide survey, out of 44 environment charities, 84% had considered or were taking action over a lack of inclusion, but only 4% said they had a consistently implemented action plan. Continue reading...

Government deems controversial project critical state infrastructure in order to have it approved ‘as quickly as possible’

‘Bizarre’ weather patterns are deterring farmers from planting crops and forcing others to sell livestock earlier than usual, says NSW grazier

States have plans to ban gas-powered cars and the White House wants chargers along highways, but implementation is a challengeSpeaking in front of a line of the latest electric vehicles (EVs) at this month’s North American International Auto Show, President Joe Biden declared: “The great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.”Most vehicles on the road are still gas guzzlers, but Washington is betting big on change, hoping that major federal investment will help reach a target set by the White House for 50% of new cars to be electric by 2030. But there are roadblocks – specifically when it comes to charging them all. “Range anxiety,” or how far one can travel before needing to charge, is still cited as a major deterrent for potential EV buyers. Continue reading...

Few in Somerset MP’s constituency share his enthusiasm but some do agree with need for ‘unpopular measures’The sun was shining and the wind blowing steadily across Jacob Rees-Mogg’s manicured garden and the Somerset hills beyond.“It’s obvious on a day like this, isn’t it?” said Gary Marsh, a stonemason and a neighbour of the business secretary and Conservative MP for North East Somerset. “We should be putting more money into solar and wind energy. Plus tidal power on the coast at places like Burnham-on-Sea and Weston-super-Mare. Not fracking, messing with the earth and water.” Continue reading...

Exclusive: Note setting out business secretary’s views looks for ways to accelerate schemes, including streamlining HSE requirementsMinisters are actively examining ways to evade legal, environmental and public scrutiny of new oil and gas projects including fracking, the Guardian has learned, sparking a furious reaction from green groups and opposition parties.Senior staff working on energy projects in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have been instructed to look into ideas raised by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, to escape potential judicial review of policies or public consultation. Continue reading...

Australian Conservation Foundation report finds modular reactors are expensive and introduce unnecessary challenges in managing radioactive waste

Report commissioned by Wave Swell Energy says the machines would make a future clean electricity grid more stable and more reliable

Advocates deride $224.5m funding pledge given one study suggests $2bn a year needed to recover 2,000 threatened plants, animals and ecological communities

Plastics campaigners call it ‘astounding’ that multinational they say is world’s top polluter has sponsored key UN climate meetingA sponsorship deal between this year’s UN climate conference and Coca-Cola, which has been described as the “world’s top polluter” by an environmental group, has been branded “greenwash” by campaigners.Cop27, to be held in the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from 6-18 November, is the world’s primary forum for governments, businesses and environmental organisations to tackle the climate emergency. Continue reading...

Our cooks say you can use up that residual heat for baking, roasting, drying out bread and herbs, toasting nuts – or just to warm plates• Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.comI don’t want to waste the residual heat from my cooling oven. What can I cook or bake in there?

British women beat 6,000 applicants to spend five months working on Goudier IslandIt was one of the strangest of job alerts: a call to run the world’s most remote, coldest post office – on an island with no permanent residents – and count penguins in almost continuous daylight.But bizarre or not, it struck a chord: 6,000 people applied for the four jobs on Goudier Island in Port Lockroy, and now the winners have been announced: a newlywed, who will leave her husband behind for what she is calling a “solo honeymoon” and three other British women, who are equally thrilled by the adventure ahead. Continue reading...

Several African leaders at last month’s UN general assembly left dismayed after their calls for action on the climate crisis were overshadowed by the Ukraine war. One was Kenya’s new president, who writes here about why priorities must changeThere is almost no facet of society that will be left untouched by the ravages of the climate crisis and how we respond to it. The crisis poses fundamental questions for the economy; it affects public health and jobs, and its threats range from food security to national security. That is why it will be among the central concerns of my government and why I believe any responsible world leader must make it a priority.Climate change drives the droughts that affect the provision of water; destroys lives and livelihoods; cripples food production, and destroys our homes and infrastructure. Extreme temperatures affect migration patterns and exacerbate conflicts as hundreds of thousands flee to seek alternative livelihoods for survival. Continue reading...

Renewables, decarbonisation, activism, cooperation … The challenge is immense, but the situation is far from hopeless

Study finds minority ethnic people make up nearly half of populations in areas with very high NO or PM2.5 levelsPeople of colour in England are more than three times more likely to live in neighbourhoods with very high air pollution, putting them at disproportionate risk of heart attacks, cancer and strokes, according to research.Minority ethnic people make up nearly half the populations living in areas where average levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO) or small particulate matter (PM2.5) were double World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, research based on official statistics showed. Continue reading...

‘Very significant’ weather systems to move across state this week, with warnings also for northern Victoria and southern Queensland, bureau says

Group will also develop more rental and resale options as it aims to be more sustainableJohn Lewis has pledged to have “buy back or take back” schemes operating in every product category by 2025 and to develop more rental and resale options as it steps up efforts to be a more sustainable business.The group, which runs Waitrose supermarkets as well as a string of department stores, will also invest £2m over the next five years to restore and protect nature in Norfolk, a key source of meat, cereal and vegetable products, and in India’s Noyyal and Bhavani river basins, where it sources cotton, under a partnership with the wildlife charity WWF. Continue reading...

Priority targeting includes many of Australia’s best-known native animals but will also help others in the same habitats, environment minister says

Speaking at a conference fringe event, business secretary dismisses those who oppose practice as ‘socialists’

Unusual diplomatic intervention prompted by fears over Liz Truss’s commitment to net zeroThe Egyptian government, host of the next UN climate summit, has warned the UK against “backtracking from the global climate agenda”, in a significant intervention prompted by fears over Liz Truss’s commitment to net zero.The warning before the Cop27 conference, which will take place in just over a month in Sharm el-Sheikh, to the host of Cop26, which took place in Glasgow last November, is highly unusual in diplomatic terms. The hosts of successive Cops are responsible for a smooth handover of the talks. Continue reading...

Business efforts to get pro-fossil fuel material into classrooms experience opposition due to role in climate change

EU’s meteorological agency warns La Niña weather pattern makes cold, still and dry snap more likelyEurope is likely to experience a colder, drier and less windy early winter, according to forecasting models compiled by the EU’s meteorological agency, as the UK energy regulator warned there is a “significant risk” of gas shortages this winter.The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) cautions that predicting winter conditions are “notoriously difficult” in early October. But it says a cold, still and dry snap in November and December, which would worsen the cost of living crisis, is more likely, because of this year’s La Niña – a powerful weather pattern influenced by cooler temperatures in the Pacific. Continue reading...

Electricity-producing firms ask regulator to change rules that could penalise them if gas supplies run outGreat Britain’s energy regulator has warned there is a “significant risk” of gas shortages this winter, which could also hit electricity supplies.Ofgem’s head of wholesale market management, Grendon Thompson, said a gas supply emergency could impose “load shedding” on the largest consumers, forcing gas-fired power stations to close. Continue reading...

Documents show zones with ‘liberalised’ planning laws could get go-ahead even in the most environmentally protected areasInvestment zones with “liberalised” planning laws to accelerate development could be designated within national parks and in the most environmentally protected areas of the UK, government documents reveal.Details of the government’s new zones to increase housebuilding and commercial development reveal councils can apply for zones in national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty, (AONBs) sites of special scientific interest, (SSSIs) and green belt land.A national park.An area of outstanding natural beauty.A site of special scientific interest, or equivalent designation.The buffer zone of a world heritage site.Designated green belt. Continue reading...

Activists from global south demand recompense for damage from countries most responsible for crisisYoung people from some of the countries most affected by climate breakdown have warned they are not victims but a force to be reckoned with in the run-up to a UN climate conference in Egypt.Led by climate groups across Africa and the Middle East, hundreds of activists from countries that are the least responsible for the crisis but are experiencing the worst impacts have gathered in Tunisia to prepare for what they say will be a collective fight for justice for their countries and communities, which they will take to Cop27 next month. Continue reading...

Oxfam research suggests up to 40% of bank’s reported climate-related spending cannot be accounted forThe World Bank has come under fire for failing to show that its claimed spending on the climate crisis is real, in a report suggesting up to 40% of its reported climate-related spending is impossible to account for.Of $17.2bn that the World Bank reported it spent on climate finance in 2020, up to $7bn cannot be independently verified, according to research by Oxfam. Continue reading...

Thames, Southern and nine other firms penalised after missing targets on pollutionThames Water, Southern Water and other companies will be forced to cut tens of millions of pounds from consumers’ bills after the regulator said they had missed pollution targets.Eleven water companies will have to return about £150m to customers in the form of lower bills in the 2023-24 financial year, the water regulator for England and Wales, Ofwat, announced on Monday. Continue reading...

Climate Change Committee chair says measures needed to cut energy bills will also help reach net zeroTackling the cost of living crisis requires insulating British homes as a matter of urgency and deploying renewable energy generation faster, the chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has said.Lord Deben, a Conservative former environment secretary, said the measures needed to bring down energy bills were the same as those needed to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

Economic analysis suggests any proposal to allow fracking in Queensland basin would not be commercially viable

Loss-making venture led by Amit Gudka eyes continent as countries move towards using renewable powerThe co-founder of collapsed energy supplier Bulb is planning to expand his loss-making battery storage venture into Europe as the energy crisis escalates.Amit Gudka hopes to develop Field Energy, the business he set up after leaving Bulb in February 2021, on the continent as countries attempt to switch toward renewable power. Continue reading...

Wildlife charities accused of trying to ‘upset people’ by urging members to condemn environment policiesTory MPs have criticised the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), accusing it of using claims of a government attack on nature as a “marketing strategy”.The bird charity, one of the UK’s oldest and most respected conservation organisations, has joined the country’s other largest environment NGOs, including the Wildlife Trusts and National Trust, to condemn mooted plans to create investment zones – which would weaken environment protections – and to get rid of the post-Brexit nature-friendly farming subsidy. Continue reading...

Farmers are increasingly being forced to sell off parts of herds and seeing cows perish as drought conditions worsen

Burgundy insect farm ramps up production to offer a meat-free futureIn a box-like building on an out-of-town industrial estate in Burgundy, trays of Alphitobius diaperinus – otherwise known as the lesser mealworm – are being fattened up by robots then cooked, dried and turned into protein-rich powder and oil.This is the headquarters of Ÿnsect a French company that is building the world’s largest insect farm, to open at the end of the year in preparation for what the French company believes will be a large increase in demand for a healthy alternative to meat. Continue reading...

Prime minister reportedly raised objections to him going during personal audience at Buckingham PalaceKing Charles III has reportedly abandoned plans to attend and deliver a speech at the Cop27 climate change summit on the advice of Liz Truss.The monarch, a veteran campaigner on environmental issues, had been invited to the 27th UN climate change conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, next month. Continue reading...

Most now see opportunity instead of job losses – but Labor will have to match ambition with action if it’s to deliver on 80% renewables by 2035