Environment | The Guardian

Brazilian president says predecessor emboldened wildcat miners which led to wrecked forests and disease and death among Indigenous peopleBrazil’s new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has accused Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right administration of committing genocide against the Yanomami people of the Amazon, amid public outrage over a humanitarian catastrophe in the country’s largest Indigenous territory.Lula visited the Amazon state of Roraima on Saturday to denounce the plight of the Yanomami, whose supposedly protected lands have been plunged into crisis by government neglect and the explosion of illegal mining. Continue reading...

Growers fear a perfect storm for a tradition that has long bound rural communities togetherA sharp wind shunts clouds across the low and endless skies of La Mancha as Carlos Fernández stoops to pluck the last mauve flowers of the season from the cold earth. Their petals, which stain his index finger and thumb blue, enclose an almost weightless prize whose crimson threads are treasured in Spain and across the world.But despite the prices his crop fetches, and the weighty comparisons those prices inevitably invite, the life of a saffron grower is not without its trials, travails and frustrations. Continue reading...

YQT community signs unprecedented agreement with coal company giving Indigenous leadership ‘veto’ on proposed projectTwo landmark deals in western Canada could reshape the role of Indigenous nations in resource development projects, placing greater power in the hands of groups that have long been excluded and signalling a possible shift in how industry and governments negotiate with communities on the frontlines of environmental degradation.In recent years, a string of fierce battles over pipelines have put a spotlight on the fractious nature of resource extraction projects, often pitting First Nations communities against powerful companies. Continue reading...

Electric car battery firm planned to build large facility in Northumberland with government funds if it found investorsMinisters were using the electric car battery maker Britishvolt as a prime example of the government’s record for “securing business investment in the UK” just months before the scheme collapsed without any public investment.The company, once heralded as Britain’s potential champion for battery making, fell into administration last week after the failure of last-ditch talks to find emergency funding to keep it afloat. Its demise has been criticised as showing the government’s lack of industrial strategy, the shortcomings of “levelling up” and Britain’s failure to grasp new manufacturing opportunities in the wake of Brexit. Continue reading...

More than 3,000 people protest on estate of Alexander Darwall after his court victory ends right to wild camp in EnglandMore than 3,000 people joined one of the UK’s largest ever countryside access protests on Saturday on the Dartmoor estate of a wealthy landowner who won a case ending the right to wild camp in England.Groups of walkers, families, students and local people arrived by foot, shuttle bus and bike to the small Dartmoor village of Cornwood throughout the morning and then thronged for hours along moss- and ivy-draped lanes up on to the rugged, boulder-strewn moorland owned by the Conservative party donor and hedge fund manager Alexander Darwall. Continue reading...

A combination of water technologies and cool building materials are more effective at tackling urban heat than greenery, a study has found

Encouraging sign for river that suffered as dumping ground for waste from nearby factoriesDolphins have been spotted frolicking in New York City’s Bronx River, an encouraging sign of the improving health of a waterway that was for many years befouled as a sewer for industrial waste.A pair of dolphins was seen gliding through the river’s waters on Monday, the New York City parks department confirmed, near a small park in the city’s Bronx borough. The Bronx river rises north of New York City and cuts through the Bronx before terminating in the East River, the estuary that separates the Bronx and Manhattan from the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Continue reading...

A young innovator has won a top award for developing software to map the tube routes with the cleanest airLike most Londoners, Tanya Beri has mixed views of the city’s vast underground rail network that carries millions of passengers every day on its 11 lines and through its 272 stations. The tube keeps London moving, though often in cramped, uncomfortable and unhygienic conditions.However, Beri believes she has found a way to improve travel for concerned commuters. She has developed a phone app that can direct passengers to routes that offer minimal air pollution. Continue reading...

Killing of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, who opposed training facility, is ‘unprecedented’ in history of environmental activism, experts sayBelkis Terán spoke with her child, Manuel, nearly every day by WhatsApp from her home in Panama City, Panama. She also had names and numbers for some of Manuel’s friends, in case she didn’t hear from the 26-year-old who was protesting “Cop City”, a planned gigantic training facility being built in a wooded area near Atlanta, Georgia.So by midweek, when she hadn’t received a message from Atlanta since Monday, she began to worry. Thursday around noon, a friend of Manuel’s – whose chosen name was “Tortuguita,” or “Little Turtle” – messaged her with condolences. “I’m so sorry,” they wrote. “For what?” she asked. Continue reading...

Selling credits should fund forest protection, but unscrupulous firms are making deals where land stewards lose out, say local leaders

Exclusive: Alexander Darwall, who said he brought case to improve conservation, is releasing pheasants near protected woodlandThe landowner who took Dartmoor national park to court to ban wild camping may be putting a rare beetle at risk by releasing pheasants next to an ecologically important woodland, against the advice of environmental experts.This is despite him having said he pushed for a wild camping ban in order to “improve conservation of the Dartmoor commons”, arguing that campers damage the national park with litter and disturbance. Continue reading...

Frontbencher to call for more help with energy bills for householders and to promise massive green power programmeRachel Reeves has said she wants to be “Britain’s first green chancellor” ahead of a speech in which she will call on ministers to extend relief on energy bills and promise that Labour will reduce these in the longer term with a massive green power programme.Addressing the Fabian Society conference on Saturday, the shadow chancellor is to argue that investment in renewable energies, plus a huge programme to retrofit insulation to homes – part of Labour’s flagship £28bn-a-year investment in climate measures – could save households up to £1,400 off annual bills each year. Continue reading...

The minister for mines, Irene Vélez, told world leaders the country will shift away from fossil fuels to begin a sustainable chapterColombia’s leftwing government has announced that it will not approve any new oil and gas exploration projects as it seeks to shift away from fossil fuels and toward a new sustainable economy.Irene Vélez, the minister for mines told world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the time had come for the Andean nation to move away from its reliance on oil and gas and begin a new, greener chapter in the country’s history. Continue reading...

Industry body working on new way to reassure customers schemes will protect the environmentNew standards should bring greater scrutiny of carbon offsets and give buyers confidence their money is helping protect the environment, leading figures in the carbon credits market have insisted, after an investigation by the Guardian revealed widespread problems with offsetting.Annette Nazareth, chair of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, which sets nonbinding principles to which sellers of carbon credits can sign up said the body was working on new standards that should reassure consumers. Continue reading...

Relatives denounce transnational Ternium over case of lawyer Ricardo Lagunes and Indigenous leader Antonio Díaz ValenciaRelatives of two missing Mexican environmentalists are pointing the finger at a transnational mining company which they claim is responsible for environmental destruction and violence in the rural community, and may have links to the criminals who abducted their loved ones.Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca, a renowned human rights lawyer, and Antonio Díaz Valencia, leader of the Aquila Indigenous community in the state of Michoacán, were last seen on Sunday evening after attending an anti-mining community meeting. Continue reading...

Angela Rayner, Labour deputy leader, says Rishi Sunak is ‘propping up a motley crew of scandal-ridden ministers’. This live blog is now closedPeter Hain, the Labour former Northern Ireland secretary, has called for an official Norway-style involvement for Sinn Féin and the DUP in EU laws that apply in Belfast in an attempt to end the “democratic deficit” caused by Brexit.He says political leaders should be made “ex officio” of the UK delegations on UK-EU bodies that discuss matters not just relevant to the protocol but also to devolved competence.Boris Johnson and Lord Frost, endorsed by Rishi Sunak, negotiated a deal making Northern Ireland an EU rule-taker rather than, as the UK was before Brexit, an EU rule-maker.These are practical, common sense solutions to a real problem which quite understandably exercises unionists, and I hope that UK ministers, the Irish government and the EU will support them. Continue reading...

Wood banks distribute firewood to people in need as the average US gas bill goes up by 28% this winterInflation may be going down in the US, dropping to 6.5% from last month’s 7.1%, but the cost of keeping a home warm this winter is still on the rise. The average gas bill will increase by 28% this winter compared to last, according to estimates from the Energy Information Administration.In some places across the country, people are returning to a surprising source of heat to keep costs down: wood. In areas where wood is more widely available and used for heating – such as forested parts of New England – wood banks are emerging as a vital way to stay warm this winter. Continue reading...

Also, an alcohol study sinks spirits, and the Velma series is a Scooby-Don’t for TV criticsIn a headline to sink one’s already dismal January spirits, the New York Times presents a study into the effects of drinking with the alarmist summary Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health. This finding, contrary to previous scientific studies – clung to by many of us as to the edge of a cliff – asserts that, in fact, moderate red wine intake may not be good for the heart. Scrap that, says Dr Tim Naimi, director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. “Alcohol,” he says, “is harmful to the health starting at very low levels.” Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including an injured kite, baby seal pups and a rescued joey Continue reading...

Several US states say news that Exxon scientists predicted global heating accurately strengthens their lawsuits against companyFurther revelations of the extent of Exxon’s historical knowledge of the unfolding climate crisis may have deepened the legal peril faced by the oil giant, with several US states suing the company for alleged deception, claiming their cases have now been strengthened.A research paper published last week found that from the 1970s onwards, Exxon climate scientists “correctly and skillfully” predicted climbing global temperatures, rising by around 0.2C a decade due to the burning of fossil fuels, often matching or surpassing the accuracy of projections by independent outside scientists. Continue reading...

Small interventions on electric cars and plant-based meat could unlock rapid emissions cuts, say expertsThree “super-tipping points” for climate action could trigger a cascade of decarbonisation across the global economy, according to a report.Relatively small policy interventions on electric cars, plant-based alternatives to meat and green fertilisers would lead to unstoppable growth in those sectors, the experts said. Continue reading...

After hours of debate among locals, Queensland’s acting premier Steven Miles declared that rangers had spoken

Video of alleged criminal damage shows a woman spraypainting Woodside logo on artwork in protest of operations near sacred rock art on Burrup peninsula

Calls for businesses to do own due diligence after Guardian revealed more than 90% of rainforest credits from a leading offsets provider were likely worthless

The animal weighed in at a possible new world record of 2.7kg (6lbs) and was discovered by park rangers on a walk in Queensland

Climate activist at Davos says lobbyists have been influencing conferences ‘since forever’Four years after taking the World Economic Forum by storm, Greta Thunberg returned to Davos on Thursday to blast the United Arab Emirates for appointing the head of its state-owned oil company to chair the Cop28 climate talks later this year.Thunberg said it was “completely ridiculous” that Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), will preside over the next round of global climate talks in Dubai in November. Continue reading...

Labour hits out at PM’s ‘recklessly expensive habits’ after latest flight to event in Lancashire

In this week’s newsletter: In the US, rightwing politicians and commentators are red hot about a future without gas stoves – but it’s the change America needs

Right to camp in park without permission was lost last week after court challenge by wealthy landownerDartmoor landowners will be paid for allowing wild camping on their land under a new agreement with the national park.Last week, the right to wild camp in the park without permission from the landowner was lost after a wealthy landowner took the park authority to court. Dartmoor was the last place in England or Wales where there was a right to wild camp. Continue reading...

Campaigners say long delay is adding to pollution and not including glass will break manifesto pledge

What seeks to be comprehensive review actually contains huge gaps and is devastating assessment of Tories’ failuresChris Skidmore, the head of the government’s net zero review, said he aimed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the UK’s net zero ambitions. The 323-page net zero review covers the whole of the UK’s economy, as well as the impacts on individuals and communities. Continue reading...

The state’s EPA is unveiling what it calls Australia’s ‘most comprehensive plan’ to cut carbon emissions

Greta Thunberg joined a panel of climate activists in Davos to debate the environmental crisis with the executive director of the International Energy Agency. To open the discussion, Thunberg told the audience it is 'absurd' that in Davos 'we are listening to the people who are mainly causing the climate crisis, rather than those on the frontline'. She explained: 'We are being bombarded by messages by these people, those responsible for the destruction of the planet.' Thursday is the penultimate day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

A high-tech micro-dairy called Floating Farm in Rotterdam is helping rethink agriculture in the age of climate crisisSamuel L Jackson can have his snakes on a plane. Peter and Minke van Wingerden have concocted something even wilder: a herd of cows floating on the sea.The Dutch husband-and-wife team’s experiment on sustainable agriculture, a hi-tech micro-dairy called Floating Farm, can be found bobbing in the port of Rotterdam. The modernist structure houses 40 Maas-Rijn-Ijssel cows, who collectively produce some 200 gallons (757 liters) of milk per day. In addition to helping nourish the local community, the waterborne farm is playing a part in the global conversation about how the climate crisis is pushing farmers to reconsider how – and where – they produce food. Continue reading...

UK government’s piecemeal response to harmful practice attacked as too slow to stop ‘industrial fishing frenzy’The UK government has proposed “feeble” new restrictions on harmful bottom trawling within 13 marine parks in England that would only actually ban it in three, campaigners say.Under the proposals put forward by Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, three out of the 13 marine protected areas (MPAs) would introduce whole-site bans on the environmentally destructive practice of bottom trawling. The other 10 would introduce partial bans in certain areas, mostly reefs and rocks where trawling is unlikely to occur anyway. England has 40 offshore marine protected areas in total. Continue reading...

Exclusive: number of motor vehicles in 46 low-traffic neighbourhoods studied also significantly reducedLow-traffic neighbourhoods significantly reduce the amount of motor vehicles within their boundaries without appearing to push traffic on to roads around their edges, the most comprehensive study yet of such schemes in the UK has concluded.The research, which was based on traffic count data before and after the installation of 46 so-called LTNs in London, found a reduction in motor traffic within the zones of 32.7% when measured as the median, and a 46.9% drop when calculated as the mean. Continue reading...

‘Subvertisers’ hijack 400 posters in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK to satirise what they claim are misleading ads by carmakersGuerrilla “subvertisers” have taken aim at BMW and Toyota with a campaign of spoof adverts that they say reveals the truth behind the carmakers’ claims to be going green.As the European Motor Show opened its doors in Brussels for its 100th anniversary over the weekend, climate activists hijacked more than 400 advertising billboards and bus stops in Belgium, France, Germany and England, calling out the companies. Continue reading...

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...