Environment | The Guardian

Eucalyptus regnans, commonly known as mountain ash, swamp gum and stringy gum, named Australia’s favourite eucalypt

PM announces $5.4bn in funding for project that’s yet to have environmental approvals or final business case

Greenpeace argues oil fuels conflict and urges Biden to invoke the defense production act to build energy independenceEnvironmentalists have launched protests against a Russian tanker bringing oil into New York, amid a flurry of oil imports into the US before a ban on oil and gas coming from Russia comes into force.Activists from Greenpeace set out in two boats to intercept the Minerva Virgo oil tanker on Tuesday morning as it set about unloading its cargo in the port of New York. The green campaign group, which unfurled a banner reading “Oil fuels war” in front of the 50,000-ton tanker, had already confronted the Greek-flagged vessel on Sunday as it made its way to the port. Continue reading...

Some stations reported winter temperatures 30C warmer than usual with situation echoed in AntarcticaAn extreme heat event in the Arctic could cause it to reach the maximum of the extent of its ice for this year “considerably earlier” than usual, a scientist has warned.Temperature records were broken in Norway last week, with rain falling at Svalbard airport, and unusually warm temperatures recorded in Greenland and the Russian archipelago of Franz Josef Land. Continue reading...

Climate campaigner says Swedish government is violating indigenous rights and waging ‘war on nature’Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg denounced as “racist” and “colonial” the decision by the Swedish government on Tuesday to allow a British company to dig an open-cast iron ore mine on land belonging to the indigenous Sami people.Beowulf Mining, headquartered in London, has fought for nearly a decade to win approval for the mine, but has consistently faced stiff opposition from Sami and environmentalists. Continue reading...

Ukrainian authorities say Russian control of plant is hampering efforts to control the blazesForest fires have erupted in the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, with Ukraine claiming that Russian control of the abandoned power plant is hampering efforts to control the flames.At least seven fires have been spotted within Chernobyl’s exclusion zone via satellite imagery taken by the European Space Agency, according to a statement by Ukraine’s parliament. Continue reading...

Weeks after a warehouse fire rained debris onto suburbs, residents say they have been left in dark about the cleanup

Open letter calls on politicians to make climate a primary focus in election year and ‘address this clear and present danger’

Environmentalists fear for area near Doñana national park in Spain over plan which would legitimise illegal farms and wellsA group of leading supermarkets, including Asda, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose, has written to the regional government of Andalucía, warning that plans to allow more strawberry farms near one of Europe’s largest protected wetlands could risk “the reputation and the long-term development of the region”.Last month, rightwing MPs in the southern Spanish region ignored protests from the central government, the EU, Unesco and several ecological groups by voting to “regularise” 1,461 hectares (3610 acres) of land near the Doñana national park. Continue reading...

Maine’s disaster from PFAS-contaminated produce is causing farms to close and farmers to face the loss of their livelihoodsSongbird Farm’s 17 acres (7 hectares) hold sandy loam fields, three greenhouses and cutover woods that comprise an idyllic setting near Maine’s central coast. The small organic operation carved out a niche growing heirloom grains, tomatoes, sweet garlic, cantaloupe and other products that were sold to organic food stores or as part of a community-supported agriculture program, where people pay to receive boxes of locally grown produce.Farmers Johanna Davis and Adam Nordell bought Songbird in 2014. By 2021 the young family with their three-year-old son were hitting their stride, Nordell said. Continue reading...

Company is reviewing decision to withdraw from North Sea project because of high oil price, report claimsClimate activists have reacted with concern to reports that Shell is reconsidering its decision to abandon development of the Cambo oilfield, warning that such a reversal would further threaten emissions reductions targets.The fossil fuel producer could U-turn on a decision to pull out of the North Sea project because the “economic, political and regulatory environment had changed enormously since the decision was announced just three months ago”, according to sources cited by the BBC. Continue reading...

NSW MP Gareth Ward denies historic sexual abuse allegations; South Australian hospital system ‘under extraordinary strain’ new premier says, as at least 23 Covid deaths recorded nationally; Anthony Albanese proposes award in late Victorian senator Kimberley Kitching’s honour. This blog is now closed

The average family’s energy bill will soon be increasing by 54% in the UK, amid soaring energy prices caused in part by Covid-19 lockdowns and Vladimir Putin’s decision to reduce gas exports prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In response, the UK government is considering all its options to secure its energy supplies and dampen costs – including fracking. But could fracking really provide any kind of solution? Anand Jagatia speaks to the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, about how fracking works, why it is back on the table, and whether it could ever be a viable optionArchive: ITV News, Channel 4 News, On Demand News Continue reading...

Land council still waiting on Morrison government promise of $2m for consultation over Beetaloo Basin gas project

Poorest states should be given until 2050, says research aiming to set out fair way of ending fossil fuel economyRich countries must end all oil and gas production in the next 12 years, while the poorest nations should be given 28 years, to provide a fair transition away from fossil fuels, according to a study.The report, led by Prof Kevin Anderson from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at Manchester University, found that wealthy countries such as the UK, US and Australia had until 2034 to stop all oil and gas production to give the world a 50% chance of preventing devastating climate breakdown, while the poorest nations that are also heavily reliant on fossil fuels should be given until 2050.The 19 “highest-capacity” countries, with average non-oil GDP per capita of more than $50,000, must end production by 2034, with a 74% cut by 2030. This group produces 35% of global oil and gas and includes the US, UK, Norway, Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.The 14 “high-capacity” countries, with average non-oil GDP per capita of nearly $28,000, must end production by 2039, with a 43% cut by 2030. They produce 30% of global oil and gas and include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Kazakhstan.Eleven “medium-capacity” countries, with average non-oil GDP per capita of $17,000, must end production by 2043, with a 28% cut by 2030. They produce 11% of global oil and gas and include China, Brazil and Mexico.Nineteen “low-capacity” countries with average non-oil GDP per capita of $10,000, must end production by 2045, with an 18% cut by 2030. They produce 13% of global oil and gas and include Indonesia, Iran and Egypt.Twenty-five “lowest-capacity” countries, with average non-oil GDP per capita of $3,600, must end production by 2050 with a 14% cut by 2030. They produce 11% of global oil and gas and include Iraq, Libya, Angola and South Sudan. Continue reading...

Unlike disaster management, there’s no playbook for the shift to green energy. With more than half of all jobs at risk in some LGAs, here’s how Queensland can ensure nobody is left behindA decade on from Queensland’s “summer of disasters”, the state’s south-east faces another mammoth clean-up and recovery effort. According to the deputy premier, Steven Miles, the recent floods are the 90th natural disaster event to impact Queensland since 2011. Recovery will take time, requiring resilience, discipline and focus from leaders and communities who were tired and depleted from a pandemic even before the rivers and creeks started rising.But a bigger test of Queensland’s resilience is looming. Geopolitical tensions may be driving demand for (and royalties from) exports like coal and liquid natural gas, but globally the energy transition is accelerating. Recent research from the Centre for Policy Development reveals the Australian impacts will be concentrated in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia. CPD’s analysis estimates more than 10% of jobs are exposed in seven Queensland local government areas, with more than half of all jobs at risk of disappearing in the Isaac and Central Highlands LGAs. Continue reading...

PM meets industry bosses to discuss new power stations, with several reactors slated for closure as energy demand risesBoris Johnson has told nuclear industry bosses that the government wants the UK to get 25% of its electricity from nuclear power, in a move that would signal a significant shift in the country’s energy mix.Johnson on Monday met executives from major nuclear utilities and technology companies including the UK’s Rolls-Royce, France’s EDF, and the US’s Westinghouse and Bechtel to discuss ways of helping to speed up the development of new nuclear power stations. Continue reading...

If he goes ahead, Rishi Sunak would be handing money to people in proportion to how much they drive and how fuel-inefficient their car wasRaising taxes on petrol and diesel is an important policy that governments can use to put the brakes on runaway climate change. However, it appears that the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, wants to accelerate rather than slow the pace of planetary damage. In this week’s mini-budget, he looks likely to announce a temporary 5p per litre reduction on fuel duty. This could cut the cost of filling an average family car by around £2.75 and might help some who have suffered as pump prices jumped in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, this is a false economy. Even with the pandemic lockdowns, transport remained the largest emitting sector, responsible for 24% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions.Cutting fuel duty flies in the face of the government’s claim to be a green leader. It is also a regressive measure. The New Economics Foundation says that only 7% of the savings from cutting fuel duty will go to the poorest fifth of households – while one-third will go to the richest fifth. If he were to go ahead with the policy, Mr Sunak would be handing money to people in proportion to how much they drive and how fuel-inefficient their car was. Labour has supported Mr Sunak. This is a triumph of political expediency over the environment. Neither party thinks it can afford to upset a significant number of voters. Polls suggest that an election held today would result in a government without a parliamentary majority. Continue reading...

Climate action rules announced by SEC chair Gary Gensler expected to face opposition from Republicans and industry groupsThe US’s top financial watchdog proposed on Monday that publicly traded companies report information on their greenhouse-gas emissions and even those of their suppliers and consumers in one of the Biden administration’s most sweeping environmental actions to date.The new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules faces staunch opposition from some politicians and members of the business community and will be open to public comment for at least two months before final rules are released. Continue reading...

It’s a messy compromise, but the west needs to avoid a recession that would hit its longer term green plansDo you feel lucky? That was the subliminal message of Alexander Novak when Russia’s deputy prime minister channelled his inner Clint Eastwood to warn the west of the consequences of extending its sanctions to his country’s oil.No question, there was a hint of both bravado and desperation as Novak said it was possible – although not likely – that the cost of crude could hit $300 (£227) a barrel. The measures imposed since the invasion of Ukraine are starting to bite. Continue reading...

Conservationists despair at ‘glacial pace’ of negotiations to protect wildlife and oversee fishing amid high seas’ ‘governance vacuum’UN member states have failed to agree on a treaty to protect the high seas from exploitation, with scientists, environmentalists and conservation organisations blaming states that were “dragging their feet” for the “glacial pace” of talks.The longer the negotiations took, the more wildlife would be lost from the ocean, they warned, urging ministers and heads of state to work together with the president of the UN high seas conference to speed up a further round of negotiations to close a “governance vacuum” on the high seas. Continue reading...

Widespread bleaching during the cooler temperatures of La Niña has left scientists dreading the damage that could be caused by the next El Niño

Campaigners say the pace at which native species habitat is being cleared for mining is accelerating despite warnings of an endangered species crisis

Studies ‘debunk the myth that Africa is running out of water’ but say resource needs to be better managedGroundwater resources in sub-Saharan Africa are enough to transform agriculture in the region and provide people with adequate safe water for their drinking and hygiene needs, if the resource can be better managed, researchers have said.Groundwater – found underground in aquifers, rocks and soils – makes up about 99% of all liquid freshwater on earth, and is abundant in much of Africa, but a lack of investment has left it untapped or poorly managed, two major studies have found. The reserves could be used for irrigation and to supply clean and safe water, but there is also a danger that if used unsustainably they could be rapidly depleted or polluted. Continue reading...

Police started investigating after owner died and found 139 species, all classed as invasive or dangerousSpanish police have recovered dozens of exotic animals, including two caimans, three pythons, eight iguanas and 46 giant African snails, after discovering a private zoo on the Canary island of Gran Canaria.Officers from the Guardia Civil’s environmental division, Seprona, began investigating after hearing that a resident of the central town of San Bartolomé de Tirajana had died recently, possibly leaving behind a large and illegal menagerie. Continue reading...

Fears for water quality as swimmers discover invisible microfibres in samples 400 feet undergroundInvisible microplastics have been found almost 400ft (120 metres) underground in UK water streams, according to the results of a citizen science project conducted by wild swimmers.More than 100 outdoor swimmers in the UK became “waterloggers”, collecting water samples from their favourite place for a dip using empty glass wine bottles. Continue reading...

Despite recent success in increasing numbers, Congo’s rising sea levels, coastal erosion and now the country’s first deep sea port pose new threatsThe sun is peeping over the horizon when eco-guard Christian Ndombe tips a bowl containing hundreds of baby turtles on to the beach where the Democratic Republic of the Congo meets the Atlantic surf. The newborns, who have spent the last eight weeks incubating at the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) hatchery near the town of Muanda, inch towards the waves before being swept into the sea.Over the past decade, the efforts of Ndombe and other ICCN rangers at Congo’s only marine national park have helped to increase the number of nesting turtles by reducing poaching, educating fishers and helping to safeguard nests. But rising sea levels and increasingly aggressive coastal erosion are shrinking the beach, leaving the females without the quiet, dry, sandy areas they need to lay their eggs.Christian Ndombe, an eco-guard at the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation Continue reading...

António Guterres says countries seeking alternatives to Russian energy may increase use of fossil fuels

Dawn King’s dystopian courtroom drama The Trials, dubbed ‘12 Angry Young People’, is part of a programme that also includes European premieres of The Band’s Visit and A Doll’s House, Part 2The Donmar Warehouse in London is to stage a “searing” dystopian play in which a teenage jury hold their elders to account for crimes against the climate. The Trials, written by British playwright Dawn King (Foxfinder), is set in a near future in which a radical green government is in power and must manage scarce resources.The Donmar’s artistic director, Michael Longhurst, who has dubbed the courtroom drama “12 Angry Young People”, described it as a punchy, galvanising and “quite shocking” play which changed his perception of the world. Continue reading...

National Trust acquires two areas of land near monument that it will turn back into chalk grasslandPart of a ceremonial approach to the great circle of Stonehenge and a spot nearby where ancient hunter-gatherers shared feasts with the first British farmers have been saved from the threat of modern agriculture.The areas are to be restored as chalk grassland, which will benefit flora and fauna, including wild flowers, butterflies and hares, with the aim that they will eventually be opened to the public. Continue reading...

Federal government has not ruled out the use of underwater explosives and ‘bean bag rounds’ in trial off north-west Tasmania

Acting premier says review will investigate preparedness for such catastrophic events, as well as response and recovery

Meeting comes as Boris Johnson prepares to publish his energy security strategy amid soaring prices and Ukraine warBoris Johnson will chair a meeting on how to increase the UK’s nuclear power output on Monday, as he prepares to publish his energy security strategy this month amid soaring prices.The prime minister will discuss domestic nuclear projects with leaders from the nuclear industry at a roundtable meeting at Downing Street, No 10 said. Continue reading...

Long-term contract will not immediately stop flow of money to Russia, for which German ministers have been criticised

Scientists find 6PPD-quinone in Queensland creek and call for urgent research to see if local aquatic life was harmedA toxic chemical released from tyres as they wear down on roads and implicated in mass deaths of salmon in the United States has been found in an Australian waterway for the first time.Scientists detected the compound – known as 6PPD-quinone – among a cocktail of chemicals and hundreds of kilograms of tyre particles washed into a creek from a motorway during storms. Continue reading...

The blaze near Parkgate, which burned reedbeds on a site of special scientific interest, has been put outA large fire that ravaged important reedbeds looked after by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is no longer burning but concern remains about its consequences for wildlife.Fire crews and six engines from Cheshire and Merseyside fire and rescue services tackled the blaze on marshland near Parkgate on the Wirral peninsula, after being called out at about 6.20pm on Saturday evening. Continue reading...

Byungsu Kim pleaded guilty to attempting to ferry more than 3,700 wild dudleya plants from California parks to South KoreaWhen Byungsu Kim appeared for his sentencing hearing on Zoom from the Santa Ana jail in California, his jaw was wired shut.The 46-year-old South Korean national had been in prison for more than two years on two different continents. According to the US government, he was an “international succulent trafficker”, perhaps the most notorious houseplant poacher in the world. Continue reading...

A move out of the city gives you a front-row seat for the show of the seasonLast spring, I finally moved out of town. That makes it sound like I gave in after decades of edgy murder-mile living, rivers of piss, my children playing with syringes. I did a tiny bit of that back when you could still see blowjobs and drug deals from the window of my east London flat and not men in ironic Deirdre Barlow glasses selling rare succulents for £700, but mainly I lived in a quiet corner of Brussels. When I moved back to the UK, it was to a provincial city centre where I complained constantly, like those idiots who pay millions to live in Soho, then decide they don’t like the noise of people having fun.So after a year enveloped in the blessed peace of the outer suburbs, what have I learned? Well, after a lifetime of aching for the first frost, fetishising boots and boring on about hygge, I admit it: I was wrong about winter. It turns out that when you move somewhere with no insulation as an energy crisis starts to bite, no amount of woodsmoke-scented candles and hot chocolate will keep you cosy. When people recommend turning your thermostat down a degree, I laugh, my breath dancing spirals in the morgue-cold air: the modest number on ours is a mad aspiration, like me saying I’ll do a 7am yoga class. Getting out of bed (two duvets, blanket, electric blanket, flattened and grilled like a human panini) requires superhuman effort: I put my clothes on top of my pyjamas, so no skin is ever exposed, mummying myself in so many layers my arms stick out like a toddler in a padded snowsuit. It’s very sexy. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Multiple families who evacuated during the NSW floods left with no choice but to move back home in recent days

Ending onshore wind projects, solar subsidies and energy efficiency schemes has added to inflated bills, study findsThe decision by David Cameron’s government to ditch what he denounced as “green crap” policies will cost every household as much as £150 a year by the autumn, new analysis has shown.With energy prices already soaring and bills set to rise even further this year, it suggests Cameron’s decisions to effectively end onshore wind projects in England, cut solar subsidies and slash energy-efficiency schemes played a large part in rising bills. It comes with the government preparing to announce its much anticipated energy strategy this week, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine further drives up energy prices. It is expected to push measures such as solar and onshore wind power generation, as well as North Sea oil projects. However, there are concerns that the Treasury is holding back more radical action. Continue reading...

Yoga guru will visit dozens of countries en route from London to India to raise awareness of plight of one of nature’s greatest resourcesOne of India’s best-known spiritual leaders is embarking on a 100-day motorbike journey from London to India to raise awareness of one of nature’s most undervalued resources.Sadhguru, or Jaggi Vasudev, is setting off on Monday on a 30,000km (18,600-mile) trip through Europe and the Middle East in an effort to “save soil”, meeting celebrities, environmentalists and influencers in dozens of countries along the way. Continue reading...

Amid a cost-of-living crisis the government is attempting to secure energy supplies and try to dampen soaring costsSoaring energy prices are helping to create a cost-of-living crisis, with the average family’s energy bill rising by 54%. The energy price cap has been raised to £1,971 and a further increase is expected later this year, which would take the average household bill to about £2,300. The government has responded by offering a one-off £200 discount on bills from October, to be paid back over five years. Continue reading...

A report from the International Energy Agency makes clear that viable alternatives are limited

People asked to record flowering cherry and plum trees near them to see whether patterns are changingThe British public have been asked to track flowering fruit trees to help determine whether climate change is changing blooming patterns, in one of the largest studies of its kind.The University of Reading and Oracle for Research have developed a fruit recording website where citizen scientists can easily post their findings. People will initially be asked to record the flowering cherry and plum trees near them, with apple trees soon to follow. Continue reading...

Hens have been indoors for months because of avian flu and their eggs must now be differently labelledConsumers will no longer be able to buy free-range eggs in the UK from Monday, with birds not having been allowed outdoors since November due to fears of avian flu outbreaks.Eggs sold in shops will have to carry a sticker or label saying they are in fact “barn eggs”, the name given to eggs produced by hens permanently housed indoors. Continue reading...

More chemicals being released by reused plastic could indicate need for ‘super clean’ recycling processA widely used kind of recycled plastic bottle passes more potentially harmful chemicals into their contents than newly manufactured bottles, researchers have warned.Researchers from Brunel University London found 150 chemicals that leached into drinks from plastic bottles, with 18 of those chemicals found in levels exceeding regulations. Continue reading...

Tory chair hits out at ‘net zero dogma’, Corbynistas and ‘cancel culture brigade’The Conservative chair has announced that Boris Johnson will kick off a two-year election campaign from May, as he hit out at “net zero dogma” and sought to pitch Labour as still linked to Jeremy Corbyn.Oliver Dowden, the party co-chair and former culture secretary, made his comments in a speech at the Tory spring conference in Blackpool, as the party attempts to draw a line under the prime minister’s troubles over alleged lockdown-breaking parties. As part of an attempt to downplay the scandal, the Brexit minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, dismissed the furore over Partygate as “disproportionate fluff” compared with the crisis in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Russian invasion diverts attention but may ironically help push world towards cleaner future, say experts

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a rescued goat, a leaf monkey cub and fishing cats Continue reading...

Jacob Rees-Mogg’s call to once more dig for coal at the colliery has been granted and many fear it will hamper tourism as well as damage the environmentNestled beneath waterfall country in the south western tip of the Brecon Beacons national park, the town of Glynneath is perfectly positioned to exploit the visitors drawn to the beauty of the landscape.It is as Jacob Rees-Mogg said in the House of Commons, our green and pleasant land. But a powerful group of Tory MPs pushing back against the need to pivot away from fossil fuels to meet the UK’s net zero targets believe it should play host not to a future involving clean air, renewable energy and sympathetic tourism but to the revival of the coal industry. Continue reading...