Environment | The Guardian

Net zero advisers say refusing new licences would signal green ambition, but final decision must be for ministersThe prospects for an expansion of oil and gas drilling in the North Sea have cleared a major hurdle, as the Committee on Climate Change said “stringent tests” must be applied to any new exploration licences but stopped short of saying they could not be issued.New drilling would not reduce energy bills for UK consumers, the committee found, and its chair, former Conservative environment secretary Lord Deben, said he would “favour” a moratorium on North Sea exploration. Continue reading...

Labor, the Greens and crossbenchers unite to disallow water capturing licences despite minister already moving to issue them

Government says it aims to make code covering VicForests clearer but experts fear that will allow more logging

Research by sustainability charity Wrap debunks idea single-use plastic on fruit and veg helps prevent wasteSupermarkets should stop selling fresh produce such as apples and potatoes in plastic packaging, research suggests, because it does not make them last longer and adds to pollution and food waste.The 18-month study by the sustainability charity Wrap, which also looked at sales of bananas, broccoli and cucumbers, debunks the idea that single-use plastic wrappers help prevent waste. Continue reading...

Police release video of attack on workers’ equipment at camp of Coastal GasLink, a 400-mile pipeline opposed by First Nation groupsPolice in Canada have released footage of axe wielding attackers as they investigate a “calculated and organised” night-time raid on a remote work camp.Up to 20 people are believed to have attacked Coastal GasLink’s pipeline construction camp last week on Marten Forest Service Road in British Columbia. Continue reading...

Bee and butterfly groups are among those asking MPs to ‘defend freedoms’ essential to protecting environmentBumblebee and butterfly conservationists are among dozens of environmental groups calling on MPs to back amendments removing powers to curtail protest from the government’s crime bill.They are among 32 signatories to a letter urging all MPs to back amendments by the Lords that removed clauses giving powers to police to impose restrictions on protests considered too noisy, and to place conditions on static rallies and one-person protests. Continue reading...

Rising temperatures pushing much more freshwater towards poles than climate models previously estimated

Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has made a multibillion-dollar bid to buy energy company AGL – Australia’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter – and speed up its exit from coal. In response, prime minister Scott Morrison and AGL executives have warned this plan could raise electricity prices and cost jobs.Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to Guardian Australia’s climate and environment editor Adam Morton about this historic bid and what it says about Australia’s lack of planning for a cleaner future

Australian Conservation Foundation says blowouts show government’s safeguard mechanism is ‘failing’ to control industrial emissions

Bid by Mike Cannon-Brookes to take over AGL drew some strong words from the prime minister, but do his claims stack up?

Officials finds ‘significant deficiencies’ in decision-making process that approved plan to build road through indigenous landThe Biden administration has halted a Trump-era plan to approve a mining road in Alaska that would cut through indigenous land and alter one of the last roadless wildernesses in the US.The construction of the Ambler Road in northwest Alaska was permitted under Donald Trump over the objections from some native American groups, allowing the laying of 211 miles of road through the traditional homelands of the Koyukon, Tanana Athabascans and Iñupiat peoples. Continue reading...

Stellar results cap mixed year for miner after Serbian lithium project shut down and scandal over poor workplace culture

Advertising watchdog demands company provides proof of its products’ green meritsThe drinks company Innocent has had an advert banned by the Advertising Standards Authority after environmentalists reported it for claiming that drinking its smoothies is good for the environment.In the television ad, a man and his otter companion find that their boat is hijacked by revellers celebrating chaotically as they approach a large waterfall. They sing about “messing up the planet” until they find themselves in peril, hanging off the edge of a cliff. They then row back to safety, clear up the rubbish, and start turning apples on a tree into Innocent smoothies, which they all drink as they “fix up the planet”. Continue reading...

Campaigners fear trade bond may damage environment abroad and end up weakening regulations in UKThe UK is exporting its pesticide footprint to other countries, environmentalists say. A new report, from the Pesticide Action Network UK, has found that increasing trade with Brazil could fund the use of harmful pesticides that are banned in Britain.The Brazilian government is currently pushing through a bill that would slash laws to protect human and environmental health from pesticides. Even without this new package of laws, Brazilian farmers are allowed to use almost double the number of hazardous pesticides as those in the UK, including the lethal herbicide Paraquat, which has caused tens of thousands of deaths across the world from acute poisoning, and neonicotinoids, which are toxic to bees. Continue reading...

Even previously unaffected countries likely to see uncontrollable blazes, says study, which calls for shift to spending on preventionWildfires that have devastated California, Australia and Siberia will become 50% more common by the end of the century, according to a new report that warns of uncontrollable blazes ravaging previously unaffected parts of the planet.The escalating climate crisis and land-use change are driving a global increase in extreme wildfires, with a 14% increase predicted by 2030 and a 30% increase by 2050, according to a UN report involving more than 50 international researchers. Continue reading...

International Energy Agency reports nearly all the industry’s methane emissions could be avoided at no net costPlugging methane from leaky oil and gas facilities would be free of cost almost everywhere in the world, and in many cases would produce a significant profit, at today’s soaring gas prices, the International Energy Agency has found, suggesting that governments have few excuses for not taking action to curb emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas.Governments have been underreporting their emissions of methane to a dramatic extent, and those emissions are still rising fast, according to the Global Methane Tracker report from the IEA published on Wednesday. Using satellites and other new data, the energy watchdog found emissions were about 70% higher than national governments had suggested, showing the need for far greater monitoring, as well as efforts to staunch leaks. Continue reading...

Decision to give grants to Liberal-linked Empire Energy for NT exploration prompts anger among environment and Indigenous groups

Australia’s building boom comes amid $485.8bn in pipeline construction activity globally

Pleas for short- and long-term solutions as town is flooded for third consecutive yearTrapped in her home on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Siobhan Connor said this was the 17th time she had been flooded in 14 years – and it was only becoming more frequent.“If you look at all the forecasts, this is going to become an annual or biannual occurrence,” Connor said from her first-floor window, as flood water filled the ground floor up to waist height. “We’ve had four major floods here in two years, and they’re now at record level.” Continue reading...

Pipeline operator sought to overturn 2020 legal victory striking down a key federal permitThe US supreme court has rejected a case by the Dakota Access oil pipeline operator to avoid a legally mandated environmental review, in a major victory for tribes and environmentalists campaigning to permanently shut down the polluting energy project.Energy Transfer, the pipeline operator, had sought to overturn a legal victory won by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in 2020 that struck down a key federal permit that violated the National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa). Continue reading...

Scientists say record drop can’t yet be linked to global heating but urgent research needed to work out cause

Chief operating officer says consortium needs to offer at least 30% premium on share price and ‘engage once more or two times more’

Severe flood warnings in place for parts of River Severn after night of rescues from waterlogged villageResidents were rescued from flood water overnight and others were left marooned in their homes as river levels continued to rise in the wake of Storm Franklin and heavy rain slowed down the recovery.The fire service was called to rescue 14 people and four dogs from a waterlogged village in Shropshire on Monday night after flooding along the River Severn. Continue reading...

Successful trials found growing crops beneath panels – known as agrivoltaics – reduced water loss and resulted in larger plantsSolar panels are not a new way of providing cheap power across much of the African continent, where there is rarely a shortage of sunshine. But growing crops underneath the panels is, and the process has had such promising trials in Kenya that it will be deployed this week in open-field farms.Known as agrivoltaics, the technique harvests solar energy twice: where panels have traditionally been used to harness the sun’s rays to generate energy, they are also utilised to provide shade for growing crops, helping to retain moisture in the soil and boosting growth. Continue reading...

Survey reveals dramatic difference between state of urban and country populations, with rural numbers continuing to plummetBritain’s urban hedgehogs are showing signs of recovery, according to a new report, but rural populations have fallen by as much as 75% in some regions in just 20 years.The charismatic prickly creature, voted the UK’s favourite mammal in 2016, has experienced a dramatic fall in numbers since the turn of the millennium due to loss of habitat, attacks by dogs, vanishing prey and being killed by traffic. However, new analysis of hedgehog surveys has revealed a stark distinction between the fortunes of the town and country hedgehog, with clear signs the urban population has stabilised and may even be on the up. Continue reading...

Takeover bid comes as energy companies look to expedite shutdown of coal-fired power plants in face of growing renewable competition, Schott says

Hank, who is far bigger than the average black bear, has broken into nearly 30 homes near Lake TahoeAuthorities in South Lake Tahoe in California have launched a special trapping effort to trap a 500-pound black bear known as “Hank the Tank”.Hank is, according to authorities, “readily identifiable due to [his] exceptionally large size and dark coat with a lighter muzzle”. Continue reading...

Ex-Paralympian James Brown and James Ruggles claimed rail project a danger to London’s drinking waterTwo environmental activists have been convicted of charges relating to a protest against HS2 after occupying a 100ft-high drilling rig to highlight damage they claimed the rail project was causing to London’s drinking water supply.James Brown, 57, a partially sighted former Paralympics cycling champion, and James Ruggles, 25, appeared at Uxbridge magistrates court charged with criminal damage and aggravated trespass after a protest in February 2020 when they climbed on to drilling machinery in the Colne Valley, Hillingdon. Continue reading...

Mike Cannon-Brookes believes backing renewable energy over old coal power plants will keep electricity prices down, create jobs and slash emissions – is he right?It is, by any measure, an extraordinary intervention in Australia’s rapidly evolving electricity market. A consortium worth hundreds of billions of dollars on Saturday lodged a formal offer to buy AGL Energy – the country’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter – for just short of 5% above the closing share price on Friday. Continue reading...

Donations include £1.3m from Italian oil group Eni and appear to run contrary to aim of being net zero by 2035The University of Oxford accepted at least £1.6m from oil, gas and petrochemical companies in 2020-21 despite its 2035 net zero commitment, according to a report by students.The funding was in addition to the more than £11m Oxford received from fossil fuel donors between 2015 and 2020. Continue reading...

Animal, which was caught in a trap and had leg amputated, cannot return to wild, but region lacks resources to rehabilitate itA rare Persian leopard being temporarily held in an Iraqi zoo faces an uncertain future, wildlife specialists fear.Six weeks ago the male leopard was caught in a trap set by a villager who had recently lost dozens of goats in the mountainous Batifa area of northern Duhok province, in the autonomous Kurdistan region, and had to have its right hind leg amputated. Continue reading...

Members’ links with energy companies prompt fears over church’s plans to end investments in high-carbon firmsKey members of the Church of England’s pensions board have strong links to the fossil fuel industry, research has shown, amid concerns over the organisation’s plans to end its investments in high-carbon companies.Analysis by DeSmog, the environmental investigation group, has found three prominent members of the pensions board of the Church Commissioners, the body that looks after Church of England investments, with former or current roles in energy companies, while other major figures have indirect links. Continue reading...

As campaign launched to enshrine right to green space, Bolton woman describes how ‘tranquility walks’ helped her through lockdown

As a campaign veteran, I know people here won’t stand for the latest attempt to use the energy crisis to save a dying industryWe thought fracking in England was over after the government banned it in 2019. So the call by more than 30 Conservative MPs, along with the fracking company Cuadrilla, to reopen exploration in Lancashire is disappointing. It is also desperate: a last-minute attempt to use the recent energy crisis to save a dying industry.And the people of Lancashire won’t stand for it. Nor will other communities threatened by this damaging industry. Neither the company nor this minority of MPs seem to understand how united people are against fracking. It’s telling that nobody who is publicly backing the letter is from an area directly threatened by fracking. Most are from the south, not the “industrial” north, as it is perceived to be. These MPs and their allies are at best misinformed and at worst delusional. Continue reading...

Licensing regime for flood plain harvesting has already been disallowed twice by the upper house

Activists say one in three people in England cannot access green spaces, with the poorest most deprived

Bid led by Atlassian founder to buy Australia’s biggest polluter and shut its coal plants earlier than planned rejected as not in shareholders’ best interests

New data exposes a strategic failure to drive growth in sectors that can provide the good jobs of the futureIn the lead-up to Cop26 in November, Boris Johnson was at his most panglossian as he extolled the economic benefits of the country’s transition to net zero. “The UK’s path to ending our contribution to climate change,” the prime minister forecast, “will be paved with well-paid jobs, billions in investment and thriving green industries … by moving first and taking bold action, we will build a defining competitive edge in electric vehicles, offshore wind, carbon capture technology and more.”Back in the real world, matters stand rather differently. Far from forging ahead of the rest, Britain risks falling behind in the new industrial revolution, as latest figures from the Office for National Statistics make depressingly clear. The green economy more or less flatlined between 2014 and 2020, the ONS found. Employment in the low-carbon and renewable energy sectors – which include manufacturing, energy supply and construction – actually fell. This dismal state of affairs predated the Covid pandemic and the accompanying recession. Continue reading...

The Rosebud Sioux nation in South Dakota aims to build the largest Indigenous owned herd to help food security and restore the landA trio of bison has gathered around a fourth animal’s carcass, and Jimmy Doyle is worried.“I really hope we’re not on the brink of some disease outbreak,” said Doyle, who manages the Wolakota Buffalo Range here in a remote corner of south-western South Dakota in one of the country’s poorest counties. The living bison sidle away as Doyle inspects the carcass, which is little more than skin and bones after coyotes have scavenged it. Continue reading...

Lobbyists for energy companies help to run parliamentary groups without needing to declare their roleLobbyists representing fossil fuel giants are quietly helping run parliamentary groups on energy and climate policy without the need to formally declare their involvement.The trade associations, which are funded by oil and gas producers including Shell, BP and ExxonMobil, provide administrative and public relations support to groups of MPs. Continue reading...

Senator Angus King urges US trade representative to press Beijing to live up to promise to increase spending on tasty crustaceansChina has failed to live up to its promise to buy more Maine lobster under a deal that opened the door to an easing of a trade war under Donald Trump, Maine’s congressional leaders say.Maine’s lobster industry was hurt by retaliatory Chinese tariffs in 2018 but failed to see substantial export gains after China committed to buying an additional $200bn in US goods, the delegation contends. Continue reading...

Expert report warns of dangers of relying on Victorian drainage system, lack of funding and awareness of risksThere is now a significant risk of people drowning in London as the threat of major flash floods increases in the city because of climate change. According to a report by a London Councils taskforce published this month, the danger is particularly severe because there is no overall plan or authority to tackle the increasing threat of flooding in the city.In its analysis of the citywide disruption that struck last July, when torrential rain swept across London on several occasions, the group says that more than a month’s average rain fell on the city in an hour on several different days. For example 48.5mm of rain fell on Shepherd’s Bush in an hour on 12 July while its average rainfall for that month is 46.8mm. Continue reading...

Energy giant assessing unsolicited bid worth up to $8bn from tech billionaire and Canadian investment firm

Infrared satellites made by British company will use thermal imaging to pinpoint heat lossA flotilla of British-built heat-sensing satellites is to be launched into Earth orbit to pinpoint badly insulated buildings across the planet. Seven thermal-imaging probes are being constructed in Guildford, and these are intended to play a key role in the battle against global heating by showing how homes, offices and cities can be made more energy efficient.This week, the British space company Satellite Vu will announce that the first of its heat-sensing satellites is to be carried aloft early next year on a Falcon 9 rocket, the launcher operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. Continue reading...

With fewer than 2,000 Australasian bitterns left in the wild, the endangered bird relies on the wet rice fields to fledge their young

After Friday’s record-breaking winds, rail chaos and power cuts, weather warnings remain amid fears of more storms to come

City won’t issue final permit necessary for potentially toxic plant in majority Latino neighborhood to openA year after a hunger strike brought national attention to a potentially toxic metal shredder in a majority Latino neighborhood in Chicago, the city has announced it will not issue the final permit necessary for the plant to open, calling it an “unacceptable risk”.“In an already vulnerable community, the findings from the [city’s health impact assessment] combined with the inherent risks of recycling operations and concerns about the company’s past and potential noncompliance are too significant to ignore,” said the Chicago department of public health commissioner, Allison Arwady, in a press release. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester mayor says comments made in relation to Marie-France van Heel are ‘frankly disgraceful’

Eraring, the country’s largest coal-fired power station, will shut in three years, but transition plans for employees, communities – and the grid – are lacking

A rare red warning has been issued as back-to-back storms sweep the UKStorm Eunice is battering parts of the UK, felling trees and scattering roof tiles as forecasters warn of a “significant threat to life”. But is it caused by climate breakdown, and can we expect an increase in such disruptive storms? Continue reading...