Lancaster University researchers say sowing wildflowers alongside panels would have benefits for farmers who rely on pollinatorsSolar parks could provide habitats for wildlife – and particularly bumblebees – to flourish, if managed in the right way, benefiting farmers and nature, new research suggests.There are already 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) of solar parks in the UK, in which arrays of solar panels are installed over a large area, and an estimated 90,000 hectares will be needed. Yet the parks have attracted controversy over claims they are ugly, blight productive land and harm nature. Continue reading...

Technique has ‘huge potential’ for monitoring decline in biodiversity, say scientistsInsect DNA has been gathered from the air and for the first time used to detect 85 insect species, according to scientists from Lund University in Sweden.Bees, moths, flies, beetles, wasps and ants have been identified in a study which raises hopes that airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) could become a useful tool in monitoring insect abundance and declines in biodiversity. Continue reading...

Minister says $2m app will reduce plastic going to landfill but experts warn the recycling industry remains under-resourced

Boggabilla farmer Pete Mailler says there is not enough capacity in causeways and culverts after raising of the Newell Highway

Record-breaking number of vessels being built or on order worldwide, despite environmental concerns

Anger after investigation finds Imperial College London, Cambridge and Oxford among institutions to have accepted fundingSome of Britain’s most prestigious universities are among those to have shared in funds totalling at least £89m from major oil companies in the last four years, an investigation has found.Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London are among the universities to have been given funding from some of the world’s biggest companies, according to new research by openDemocracy. Continue reading...

Oilwells set alight by Iraqi forces in 1991 were put out within months, but insidious pollution still mars the desertFor 10 months in Kuwait, everything was upside down. Daytime was full of darkness from the thick smoke, and nights were bright from the distant glow of burning oilwells.When Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered the occupation of Kuwait in August 1990 in an attempt to gain control of the lucrative oil supply of the Middle East and pay off a huge debt accrued from Kuwait, he was fairly quickly forced into retreat by a US coalition which began an intensive bombing campaign. Continue reading...

Local council has declared climate emergency but house is in a conservation areaA south London man has described his incredulity after Merton council ordered him to remove his solar panels – flying in the face of attempts to tackle the climate crisis and in spite of the fact his neighbour has had some on their roof for more than 10 years.In 2019, Merton council declared a climate emergency and said the borough would become net zero by 2050. But that hasn’t stopped council officials ordering Syd Reid, who lives in Wimbledon, remove his panels because his property is in a conservation area. Continue reading...

Group of six argued obstruction in London’s financial district was lawful protest against government inactionSix climate crisis activists whose protest halted transport links serving London’s financial district have been acquitted by a jury.The group of Extinction Rebellion protesters targeted the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), which runs commuters around the City, Canary Wharf and other parts of east and south-east London, saying they wanted to draw attention to the financial industry’s contribution to the climate emergency. Continue reading...

A sycamore saved by activists who slept beneath it and a cypress on a beach are among the contendersA sycamore tree saved from felling by Nottinghamshire rebels who slept beneath it, and a Monterey cypress growing on a Welsh beach that was also protected by people’s passion for trees, are among 10 contenders for Britain’s Tree of the Year 2021.Public voting is open for the Woodland Trust’s annual contest which the charity hopes will highlight the lack of legal protection for ancient and much-loved trees in Britain. Continue reading...

Move to stop and ‘evaluate next steps’ throws future of project and of oil exploration in area into doubtWork on the Cambo oilfield off Shetland is being paused, its developers have said, plunging the future of oil exploration in the area into doubt.Shell, which had been planning to develop the field with the private equity-backed fossil fuel explorer Siccar Point Energy, pulled out of the project last week after fierce opposition to it from environmental activists. Continue reading...

Experts were amazed to find population of the most endangered feline in the Americas living on the edge of Santiago, Chile, a city with a population of 8 million

Open letter calls on IEA to help researchers by removing paywalls from global energy datasetsThe International Energy Agency is facing calls to make the national energy data it collects from governments publicly available.This would aid independent research, which in turn could help to accelerate the global transition to low-carbon energy. Continue reading...

Four charities selected this year all help protect the rights of marginalised people most affected by the climate crisis

Record numbers of endangered manatees are dying as polluted waters kill off their food sourcesFlorida wildlife officials will undertake a manatee feeding and rescue operation involving hand-feeding the mammals romaine lettuce, amid unprecedented mortality among the gentle aquatic creatures affectionately known as “sea cows”.Typically, manatees return to warm water winter feeding grounds, where they feast on plentiful seagrass. Continue reading...

Elusive Andean cat, thought to exist only in extremely remote rocky outcrops, caught on camera close to Santiago cityTeetering over an arid cliff face above the sprawling Chilean capital, Bernardo Segura reviews the footage from the camera trap and lets out a yell of excitement as the images reveal a flickering striped tail.On the screen displaying the conservationist’s latest video capture is an Andean cat – the most endangered feline in the Americas. Looking a little like a miniature snow leopard, the 4kg (9lb) male enters the frame and begins spray-marking the shrubs at the base of the cliff, before stealing away through sharp rocks with his banded brown and grey tail aloft. Continue reading...

Tie-up with Canada Pension Plan is power supplier’s second big investment since start of energy crisisOctopus Energy has raised $300m of investment to value the power supplier at $5bn – despite soaring energy prices that have triggered a wave of collapses among its rivals.The long-term tie-up with Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board is the second big investment in Octopus Energy since the start of the energy crisis during which dozens of smaller supply rivals have folded. Continue reading...

Law will cover near-threatened, threatened and endangered species, from lions to rhinos and polar bearsBritons who kill endangered animals abroad for fun will not be able to bring their hunting trophies home, the government has announced.The proposed law will prevent big game hunters from bringing home body parts of 7,000 species including lions, rhinos, elephants and polar bears. It comes two years after the government pledged to introduce a ban. Continue reading...

Move follows two external investigations commissioned after Guardian Australia uncovered failures in offset programs

Recorded over four decades, the calls of 53 native birds were gathered on an album raising funds and awareness for species facing extinction

Termed “neopelagic communities”, these colonies are thriving in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and going where the current flowsMasses of ocean plastic are providing artificial habitat for otherwise coastal species, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Nature Communications.The study’s authors observed floating water bottles, old toothbrushes and matted fishing nets. The possibility exists that species may be evolving to better adapt to life on plastic. Continue reading...

Frieda River mine proposed by Chinese-owned PanAust sparks appeal to government in Australia where company is registeredMore than 2,000 people in 60 villages in Papua New Guinea’s north – where the country’s largest gold, copper and silver mine is slated to be built – have filed a human rights complaint with the Australian government against developer PanAust.The landowners of the proposed Frieda River mine, on a tributary to the Sepik in the north of New Guinea island, allege that PanAust failed to obtain their consent. Continue reading...

Former politician says ‘I want my life to change’ and will pursue a private-sector career, despite Scott Morrison urging her to contest seat

Residents will be required to use green waste bins to dispose of food which municipalities will turn into compost or biogasCalifornia will soon enact the largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program in the US in January, an effort designed to dramatically cut down on organic waste in landfills and reduce the state’s methane emissions.When food scraps such as banana peels and leftover veggies and other organic materials break down they emit methane, a greenhouse gas more potent and damaging in the short-term than carbon emissions from fossil fuels. Organic material such as food and yard waste makes up a fifth of the state’s methane emissions and half of everything in California landfills, according to CalRecycle. Continue reading...

Study finds natural regrowth yields better results than human plantings and offers hope for climate recoveryTropical forests can bounce back with surprising rapidity, a new study published today suggests.An international group of researchers has found that tropical forests have the potential to almost fully regrow if they are left untouched by humans for about 20 years. This is due to a multidimensional mechanism whereby old forest flora and fauna help a new generation of forest grow – a natural process known as “secondary succession”. Continue reading...

Latest blueprint by Aemo says grid has already ‘outpaced all expectations’ and anticipates ninefold increase in wind and solar by 2050

Nicola Sturgeon pushes button on controlled explosion at what was Scotland’s largest freestanding structureScotland has marked the end of its coal-powered history by demolishing the huge chimney at its last remaining coal plant at Longannet in Fife.The chimney, which was Scotland’s largest freestanding structure, dominated the skyline for more than half a century before it was destroyed on Thursday morning with 700kg of explosives. Continue reading...

New research sees two-thirds of mollusc types only found living by hydrothermal vents added to IUCN’s red list of endangered speciesAlmost two-thirds of the hundreds of mollusc species that live in the deep sea are at risk of extinction, according to a new study that rings another alarm bell over the impact on biodiversity of mining the seabed.The research, led from Queen’s University in Belfast, has led to 184 mollusc species living around hydrothermal vents being added to the global red list of threatened species, compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). While researchers only studied molluscs that were endemic to the vents (hot springs on the ocean floor), they said they would expect similar extinction risks for crustaceans or any other species reliant on the vents. Continue reading...

Project backed by Boris Johnson likely to get go-ahead but is on site that rare birds travel though, campaigners sayA major new windfarm project that will power millions of homes is likely to be approved on Friday, but conservationists fear for the safety of endangered birds in the area.The Norfolk Boreas offshore windfarm is due to get the green light from the government, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...

Scientists working on the Search For The Lost Fishes project have spotted the freshwater Batman River loach, which has not been seen since 1974A freshwater fish that scientists thought was extinct has been found in south-east Turkey, after an absence of nearly 50 years.“I’ve been researching this area for 12 years and this fish was always on my wishlist,” said Dr Cüneyt Kaya, associate professor at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University. “It’s taken a long time. When I saw the distinctive bands on the fish, I felt so happy. It was a perfect moment.” Continue reading...

George Eustice says restrictions in place since start of November require all birds to be kept indoorsThe UK has been hit by a record outbreak of avian flu that has led to 500,000 captive birds being culled in recent months.The environment secretary, George Eustice, told the House of Commons: “This year we are now seeing the largest ever outbreak in the UK of avian influenza, with 36 confirmed cases.” Continue reading...

Institution jumps 66 places on People and Planet’s annual university sustainability league

People and Planet’s annual sustainability league table finds patchy progress across sectorMore than half of universities are not on track to meet their emissions targets, according to an analysis.The student network People and Planet has published its annual sustainability university league, which found that 46% of higher education institutions were on course to meet the target, up from a third in 2019. Continue reading...

Trump’s energy department blocked a rule intended to phase out less efficient bulbs. Now Biden plans to move forward, slowlyThe Biden administration has moved to reverse the depredations endured by one of the more unusual targets of Donald Trump’s culture wars during his time as US president: the humble lightbulb.The US Department of Energy has put forward a new standard for the energy efficiency of lightbulbs that would essentially banish the era of older, incandescent technology in favor of LED lighting. Continue reading...

Care for creation unites every person in this room, Anthony Albanese tells faith summit

Climate change is happening, and businesses know it. So why don’t company reports show it?Last week, Shell walked away from 170 million barrels of oil off the coast of Shetland, declaring the “economic case for investment” too weak. As might be expected with such a politically sensitive venture, there has been much speculation about what other factors might have been at play, whether pressure from Nicola Sturgeon or from Whitehall. But let’s try another question: how did Shell ever decide that there was an economic case? After all, the energy giant does not deny that its entire business will have to change. It advertises its “target to become a net zero emissions” company by 2050, publishes a “sustainability report” and partners with environmental organisations around the world. Yet little of this environmental awareness shows up in the hard numbers.The company’s latest accounts features this disclaimer: “Shell’s operating plans, outlooks, budgets and pricing assumptions do not reflect our net zero emissions target.” In other words: whatever the oil giant says is not what it thinks. Continue reading...

Outages hit Ireland and parts of UK after severe winds, rain and snow sweep in from AtlanticAlmost 30,000 homes in Ireland and 500 properties in Scotland have been left without power after Storm Barra swept in from the Atlantic bringing severe winds, rain and snow.The latest outages came days after the final homes in Britain were reconnected after Storm Arwen, which caused “catastrophic damage” to electricity networks mainly in north-east Scotland, affecting 135,000 properties. Continue reading...

Farmers and rural business owners call for stricter rules and enforcementFly-tipping incidents in England increased last year, with household waste accounting for by far the biggest proportion of the problem, which has been worsened by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.From March 2020 to March 2021 in England, 1.13m fly-tipping incidents were dealt with by local authorities, an increase of 16% on the 980,000 reported in the previous year, according to data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Wednesday. Higher numbers of incidents were reached in 2007-09, but the way the data is collated has changed, so direct comparisons with years before 2018 are not possible. Continue reading...

MeaTech 3D created the 4oz steak using 3D printing with real bovine cells that mature into muscle and fatThe largest lab-grown steak yet produced has been unveiled by the Israeli company MeaTech 3D, weighing in at nearly 4oz (110 grams).The steak is composed of real muscle and fat cells, derived from tissue samples taken from a cow. Living bovine stem cells were incorporated into “bio-inks” that were then placed in the company’s 3D printer to produce the steak. It was then matured in an incubator, in which the stem cells differentiated into fat and muscle cells. Continue reading...

Emails tabled in NSW parliament reveal consultant on motorway project and ex-government conservation officer hold shares in offset site

Firm illegally discharged about 360,000 litres of raw sewage from Worcestershire treatment plants in 2018Water company Severn Trent has been fined £1.5m by a court for illegal sewage discharges from its wastewater treatment plants.The firm was fined for discharges from four sewage treatment works in Worcestershire between February and August 2018, the Environment Agency said. Continue reading...

High court hearing puts UK financial support for the fossil fuel industry in the spotlightThe UK government failed to account for the billions of pounds in financial support it provides to the fossil fuel industry when deciding how much oil and gas to extract from the North Sea, climate campaigners have argued.A high court hearing that began on Wednesday has put the economics of the fossil fuel industry under the spotlight and raised questions about the compatibility of oil and gas production with a net zero goal. Continue reading...

After demonstrations see police use teargas and the death of one man, work begins to clear waste in Sfax after decision to move siteWork has begun to clear 30,000 tonnes of household rubbish from the streets of Tunisia’s “second city” of Sfax after the government backed down in a long-running dispute over a landfill site.Residents and activists in Agareb, where the current dump is located, said the site, opened in 2008 near the El Gonna national park, was a risk to human health. In recent weeks, unrest in the region has escalated, with access to the site blocked and police using teargas against demonstrators from the town. One man, Abderrazek Lacheb, has allegedly died after being caught up in the demonstrations, although the police have denied his death was due to teargas. Continue reading...

Conservation groups call the deaths ‘shocking and heartbreaking’ and have offered a $43,000 reward for informationThe dead wolves began turning up in Oregon in early February.First, state fish and wildlife troopers found an entire pack of five wolves – known as the Catherine pack – killed by poison in Union county. Then, between March and July, authorities found three grey wolves, two females and a male, similarly poisoned to death within the same county about 275 miles east of Portland. Continue reading...

Charity warns of ‘catastrophic’ increase in tree and plant disease because of climate breakdownAt least 30,000 ash trees are due to be felled by the National Trust this year at a cost of £3m due to dieback, as the charity warns of a “catastrophic” increase in tree and plant disease because of climate breakdown.Changing weather patterns are expected to cause pests and diseases that destroy trees to thrive, which could bring dramatic change to British landscapes. Continue reading...

Jake Fiennes is putting wildlife back into the farmed landscape, showing how nature can be at the heart of post-Brexit reformsFrom the driver’s seat of his pickup truck, Jake Fiennes points to the dark green strips of grass that betray the location of a dried-out saltwater creek system on the Holkham estate in Norfolk. If the early autumn rains allow, a rotary ditcher dragged by a tractor will soon score shallow channels in the sandy soil to excavate many of the old waterways. Fiennes, the estate’s conservation director, and his wardens, Andy and Paul, will then fill them with standing water from the site’s chalk aquifers, part of a plan to transform dozens of fields into grazing wetlands on the 10,000-hectare (25,000-acre) farm and nature reserve.Fiennes is certain that next spring will see yet more lapwings, avocets and other rare wetland birds thriving in the mud on the edges of the channels – known as field drains – in the habitat they share with a herd of about 800 cattle. Continue reading...

The smelter, Victoria’s biggest electricity consumer, could slash emissions if Alinta’s proposed offshore windfarm goes ahead

They are Britain’s largest bird and, flying overhead, Theroux described them as sounding like ‘a couple making love in a hammock’The mute swan is not so much a bird, more of a national treasure: the avian equivalent of Sir David Attenborough or the Queen. And just like them, swans are widely loved and admired.Yet people also sometimes fear swans: when a territorial male chases after you, hissing and spreading his wings, he can be a fearsome adversary. And at times, people wilfully seek to harm them. Perhaps because they present such huge and obvious targets, swans are regularly shot and killed. Continue reading...

Vibrant soundscape shows Indonesian reef devastated by blast fishing is returning to healthFrom whoops to purrs, snaps to grunts, and foghorns to laughs, a cacophony of bizarre fish songs have shown that a coral reef in Indonesia has returned rapidly to health.Many of the noises had never been recorded before and the fish making these calls remain mysterious, despite the use of underwater speakers to try to “talk” to some. Continue reading...

Activist investor Elliott Management is right – if SSE wants to be the UK renewables champion it needs green heavyweights on boardElliott Management’s open letters are improving. When the US activist hedge fund tried to take a pop at GlaxoSmithKline in the summer, it produced 17 pages of waffle that could have been condensed to a few sentences of substance. Tuesday’s 10-page blast at energy group SSE was tighter, scored a couple of solid hits and should make the newish chairman, Sir John Manzoni, realise the Perth-based firm is in a scrap.That is not to say Elliott is right on every score, or even on its main demand that SSE should be split in two. Indeed, one of the activist’s points was plainly exaggerated – the idea that an “unequivocal message” was sent by the 4% fall in SSE’s share price on the day last month when the company unveiled its energy transition strategy alongside a delayed dividend cut. Continue reading...