Environment | The Guardian

Failure to do so increases the risks of the economic impacts of climate change for investors and the wider economy, says Charlie KronickAuditors like PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and EY are paid to check that company accounts are accurate. If most energy intensive businesses and fossil fuel producers consistently overvalue fossil fuel assets on their balance sheets and in their business plans (Half world’s fossil fuel assets could become worthless by 2036 in net zero transition, 4 November), those auditors clearly are not doing their jobs. ClientEarth found that 90% of financial accounts and audit reports for the 250 largest UK listed companies made no reference to the financial implications of climate change.This failure increases the risks of the economic impacts of climate change for pension fund members, institutional investors and the wider economy, as well as huge impacts on vulnerable communities and global biodiversity. Continue reading...

Officers accused of trying to break into Baile Hoose with battering ram and entering rooms with batons drawnThe occupants of a disused building in Glasgow that was reopened to offer emergency accommodation for climate activists have accused police of trying to break into the site with a battering ram early on Monday morning.The activists at Baile Hoose, a former homeless shelter in the Tradeston district, said up to 20 officers from the Metropolitan police and Welsh forces mounted the raid at 3am, claiming to be acting under orders from Scottish police. Continue reading...

Negotiators say funding needed to speed up decarbonisation and help developing countries to adaptAfrican nations want Cop26 to open discussions this week on a mega-financing deal that would channel $700bn (£520bn) every year from 2025 to help developing nations adapt to the climate crisis.Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale, the chair of the African Group of Negotiators on climate change, said the increased finance was needed for the accelerated phase of decarbonisation required to hold global heating to 1.5C. Continue reading...

West African nation’s environment minister says richer countries must finally honour funding commitment made at Cop15 in 2009Rich countries must hit their $100bn climate finance target in the last week of Cop26 or it will be catastrophic for the poorest nations suffering the most from the climate crisis, the Gambian environment minister has warned.In an interview with the Guardian as he prepared to leave for Glasgow, Lamin B Dibba urged developed countries to finally honour the annual funding commitment that was made 12 years ago at the Copenhagen climate summit (Cop15) – but which has never been achieved. Continue reading...

Christel and Luc Fockaert awarded €110,000 after over health problems they claim were caused by windfarmA French court has recognised “turbine syndrome” after a couple complained their health was damaged by living near a windfarm.In what is believed to be the first judgment of its kind in France, Belgians Christel and Luc Fockaert were awarded more than €100,000 in compensation by the judge in Toulouse. Continue reading...

Senior Beijing adviser also defends scale, depth and detail of country’s ‘unappreciated’ climate actionsChinese officials are sceptical of claims that Cop26 commitments will keep global heating below 2C, and want other countries to focus on concrete actions rather than distant targets in the final week of the talks.They feel that China, the world’s biggest emitter, is doing more than it is given credit for, including plans to peak coal consumption by 2025 and add more new wind and solar power capacity by 2030 than the entire installed electricity system of the US. Continue reading...

NSW parliamentary inquiry told concerns of Rachel Musgrave and another ecologist were ‘watered down’ by consultants

Officials have been sending out misleading and overhyped statements during the conference. Fiona Harvey dissects one missive• What is Cop26 and why does it matter? The complete guideThe first week of Cop26 was a packed affair, with world leaders of the G20 group of the world’s biggest economies first meeting in Rome, then moving on to meet more than 100 other leaders in Glasgow for the initial stage of a fortnight of intensive talks.António Guterres, the UN secretary general, warned that recent optimistic assessments were “an illusion”, exhorting leaders to make stronger efforts to cut greenhouse gases. The biggest country to respond was India, the world’s third biggest emitter, which set out a target of net zero by 2070, which most regard as too late for the Cop26 goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels but some said would be met sooner.END OF COAL IN SIGHT AS UK SECURES AMBITIOUS COMMITMENTS AT COP26 SUMMITThanks to a package of support from the UK and our international partners, a 190-strong coalition has today agreed to both phase out coal power and end support for new coal power plants.The UK’s campaign sees major banks commit to end financing coal, on top of China, Japan, Korea and the G20 commitments to end overseas finance for coal generation by the end of 2021, effectively ending all public financing of new unabated coal power.Agreed under the UK’s Cop26 presidency, countries pledge to accelerate coal phase-out and rapidly scale up deployment of clean power generation, marking a momentous turning point in the global clean energy transition.The end of coal – the single biggest contributor to climate change – is in sight thanks to the UK securing a 190-strong coalition of countries and organisations at Cop26, with countries such as Poland, Vietnam, Egypt, Chile and Morocco announcing clear commitments to phase out coal power.Today’s commitments, brought together through UK-led efforts including the new ‘Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement’, encompass developed and developing countries, major coal users and climate vulnerable countries. This includes 18 countries committing for the first time to phase out and not build or invest in new coal power, including Poland, Vietnam, and Chile, marking a milestone moment at Cop26 in the global clean energy transition.This statement, launched today, commits nations across the world to:· End all investment in new coal power generation domestically and internationallyThis is on top of China, Japan and Korea, the three largest public financiers of coal, committing to end overseas finance for coal generation by the end of 2021, announced in the last year during the UK’s incoming Cop26 presidency. Agreements at the G7, G20 and OECD to end public international coal finance send a strong signal that the world economy is shifting to renewables. This could end over 40GW of coal across 20 countries, equivalent to over half of the UK’s electricity generating capacity.The business and energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said:There has also been a 76% cut in the number of new coal plants planned globally over the last six years, which means the cancellation of 1,000GW of new coal plants since the Paris agreement, roughly equivalent to 10 times the UK’s total peak generating capacity.Today’s global agreement to move away from coal to clean power has been made possible thanks to a number of other UK-convened initiatives, including: Continue reading...

The ratchet issue is among several sticking points still to be finalised as negotiators return to the Cop26 tableCountries that have failed to come up with national plans on cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with limiting temperature rises to 1.5C must be forced back to the negotiating table every year from now on, poor countries have said ahead of crunch talks at the Cop26 climate summit.Current pledges are inadequate, and would lead to heating of 2.7C, according to UN calculations. But under the Paris agreement, countries are only required to ratchet up their pledges – known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – every five years, with the next deadline falling in 2025. Developing countries say this is much too late. Continue reading...

Seen by their guardians as sacred, Ethiopia’s church forests are protected and cared for by their priests and their communities. Photographer Kieran Dodds has brought together his images of these oases and the story of the country’s spiritually driven conservation movement in a new book, The Church Forests of Ethiopia.By Kieran DoddsSouth of the Sahara, and just north of the Great Rift Valley in landlocked Ethiopia, the Blue Nile flows from Lake Tana, the largest lake in the country. Radiating out from the sacred source is a scattering of forest islands, strewn across the dry highlands like a handful of emeralds. At the heart of each circle of forest, hunkered down under the ancient canopy and wrapped in lush vegetation, are saucer-shaped churches – otherworldly structures that almost seem to emit a life force. And in a sense they do.Ethiopia is one of the fastest expanding economies in the world today and the second most populous country in Africa. The vast majority of people live in rural areas, where the expansion of settlements and agriculture is slowly thinning the forest edge by cattle and plough. Continue reading...

Letter to Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund trustees warns of ‘full-blown climate catastrophe’More than 130 MPs, including over half of the parliamentary Labour party, have signed a cross-party letter to their pension fund calling on it to divest from fossil fuel companies to “ensure that our pensions are not funding climate disaster”.The letter, to be delivered on Monday to trustees of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF), applauds recent reductions in investments in fossil fuels, but adds: “We believe you must go a step further, divesting from the fossil fuel industry in its entirety, as quickly as possible. Continue reading...

Foreign minister Simon Kofe hopes the speech will demonstrate the reality for countries on the frontlineTuvalu’s foreign minister has recorded a speech for the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow standing knee-deep in seawater to highlight how his low-lying Pacific Island nation is on the frontline of climate change.Images of Simon Kofe standing in a suit and tie at a lectern set up in the sea, with his trouser legs rolled up, have been shared widely on social media, drawing attention to Tuvalu’s struggle against rising sea levels. Continue reading...

Communities and groups say being shut out of key negotiations will have dire consequences for millionsThe legitimacy of the Cop26 climate summit has been called into question by civil society participants who say restrictions on access to negotiations are unprecedented and unjust.As the Glasgow summit enters its second week, observers representing hundreds of environmental, academic, climate justice, indigenous and women’s rights organisations warn that excluding them from negotiating areas and speaking to negotiators could have dire consequences for millions of people. Continue reading...

Morrison government rejects direct calls for action from Britain, the US, Europe and Pacific nations at Cop26

Exclusive: poll of 10 countries including US, UK, France and Germany finds people prioritising measures that are already habitsCitizens are alarmed by the climate crisis, but most believe they are already doing more to preserve the planet than anyone else, including their government, and few are willing to make significant lifestyle changes, an international survey has found.“The widespread awareness of the importance of the climate crisis illustrated in this study has yet to be coupled with a proportionate willingness to act,” the survey of 10 countries including the US, UK, France and Germany, observed. Continue reading...

From Philippines to Greenland, protecting dying coral reefs to melting ice sheets, young people are fighting for their futures• What is Cop26 and why does it matter? The complete guideFor millions of young people around the world, climate breakdown is something they have known their entire lives. Many live in regions that are particularly at risk of being affected by tipping points - parts of the Earth’s system where small changes, such as increased temperatures, could lead to accelerated and irreversible impacts.A landmark IPCC report earlier this year warned that tipping points such as melting ice sheets or Amazon forest loss could soon be triggered, with the potential to bring catastrophic change to vulnerable areas. Continue reading...

Levy on imports related to CO2 generated by meat production might be necessary, says ministerThe UK may eventually need to implement a carbon dioxide border tax to stop consumers effectively exporting greenhouse gas emissions abroad, the environment secretary has said.On Sunday, George Eustice insisted he was not in favour of a domestic meat tax to help reduce global heating and that such a proposal had “never been on the cards”. Continue reading...

Travel firm amends animal welfare policy to no longer offer activities involving captive cetaceansThe travel company Expedia has stopped selling holidays that include performances by captive dolphins and whales.There have been growing calls in recent years, including from the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, to ban attractions and experiences that involve captive sea creatures. Continue reading...

In the six years since the Paris agreement, the climate crisis has rapidly accelerated. From catastrophes to slow transformations of familiar landscapes, lives everywhere have been upendedThe jubilation of the Paris climate agreement, where delegates from around the world triumphantly declared the climate crisis would finally be tamed, will have felt very hollow to many in the US in the six years since.Following the landmark 2015 deal to curb dangerous global heating, the US has experienced four of its five hottest years ever recorded. A drought of a severity unprecedented in modern civilization has tightened its grip upon the American west, parching cities and farms, fueling the eight largest wildfires on record in California and smothering much of the rest of the country in a choking pall of smoke. Continue reading...

Promised an income, those affected by $20bn oil project are losing their land and resources insteadA bumpy, mud-spattered road leads deep into Kakumiro district in western Uganda, where the longest heated oil pipeline in the world will pass through its homes, farms and wetlands.The villagers in the Kijungu settlements welcomed the project when the route was announced in 2017, hoping that the government and companies involved would buy their land and change their lives for good. Their optimism has since given way to frustration. Continue reading...

Coalition aims to give voice to ideas and solutions it believes are largely absent from the Cop talksA counter climate summit kicks off in Glasgow on Sunday amid mounting criticism from activists about greenwashed solutions and stalled action from corporations and rich nations inside Cop26.The People’s Summit for Climate Justice will bring together movements and communities from across the world to amplify voices, ideas and solutions it believes are largely absent from Cop – including the global green new deal, polluters’ liability, indigenous ecological knowledge and the gulf between net zero and real zero emissions. Continue reading...

The likes of BP and Shell promise a ‘transition’ to green energy backed by their revenues. They need to convince us furtherExecutives at big oil and gas companies, at least the European ones, have spent the past two years trying to change the narrative. The likes of BP and Shell have trumpeted their net zero plans, declared themselves to be “transitioning” to a cleaner energy future and talked up the historical significance of new targets. Think of us as part of the solution, was the message.To climate activists and politicians demanding faster decarbonisation, the industry’s reply has been that switching off investment in oil and gas too quickly would create a supply crisis: instead what’s needed are “integrated” energy companies that can recycle cashflows from hydrocarbons and build the green infrastructure of tomorrow. Continue reading...

Move would encourage landowners to repair peatlands, restore woods and cut carbon emissions, says conservation groupTaxing deer and grouse estates for failing to ensure their land properly locks up carbon dioxide could play a crucial role in fighting the climate crisis, a leading conservation group has said.The John Muir Trust, a charity set up to protect wild places in Britain, says such a plan could help to absorb millions of tonnes of carbon every year, and help the UK – in particular Scotland – achieve its goal of reaching net zero emissions as soon as possible. Continue reading...

The ‘ecotype’, thought to have been wiped out by disease and invasive species, is thriving in the estate’s ancient woodlandsThousands of rare forest honeybees that appear to be the last wild descendants of Britain’s native honeybee population have been discovered in the ancient woodlands of Blenheim Palace.The newly discovered subspecies, or ecotype, of honeybee is smaller, furrier and darker than the honeybees found in managed beehives, and is believed to be related to the indigenous wild honeybees that foraged the English countryside for centuries. Until now, it was presumed all these bees had been completely wiped out by disease and competition from imported species. Continue reading...

As Cop26 reached halfway stage, rallies were held around the world, with actor Idris Elba among those calling for African voices to be central to public debateTens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Glasgow on Saturday to demand stronger climate action from world leaders as the climate crisis summit reached its halfway stage.Protests were also held in London and other parts of Britain. There were rallies in South Korea, Indonesia, the Netherlands and France. Environmental groups, charities, climate activists, trade unionists and indigenous people all joined the Glasgow march in heavy rain. Extinction Rebellion activists dressed as Ghostbusters while another group, Scientist Rebellion – wearing white lab coats – blocked King George V bridge, one of the city’s busiest routes. Continue reading...

Beijing Games will require almost 49 million gallons of water to create conditions for Alpine eventsThe mountains that will be the setting of the Alpine events for the forthcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing boast spectacular scenery and breathtaking runs, but lack just one vital ingredient: real snow.Between January and March this year, the National Alpine Ski Centre in Yanqing, about 55 miles north-west of Beijing, had just 2cm of snow. London, Paris and Madrid all recorded greater snowfalls, according to data compiled by the website worldweatheronline.com. Continue reading...

These elegant birds have long held a special place in the nation’s heart and imagination. But now they are dying in untold numbersTo the British, the swan is not so much a bird as a national treasure – the avian equivalent of Dame Judi Dench or Sir David Attenborough. Its unique status is a result of its long and complex history living alongside us, a relationship that goes back well over a thousand years.Alarm at reports last week that dozens of swans and cygnets have died of bird flu in Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford-upon-Avon – up to half of the town’s population – reminded us just how passionate the British public are about the bird. Continue reading...

A growing number of brands are switching to recycled fibers but experts worry people may believe their purchases are impact-free – when that’s far from trueWoven into your clothes is a material that takes on many disguises. It may have the texture of wool, the lightness of linen or the sleekness of silk. It’s in two-thirds of our clothing – and yet most of us don’t even know that it’s there. It’s plastic, and it’s a big problem.Today, about 69% of clothes are made up of synthetic fibres, including elastane, nylon and acrylic. Polyester is the most common, making up 52% of all fiber production. Plastic’s unique durability and versatility have made it indispensable to the fashion industry. Continue reading...

Up to 100,000, including Kahnawake Mohawk delegates, brave Glasgow rain as 22 arrested after scientists blockade bridgePeople on almost every continent were gathering for marches and rallies on Saturday to mark a Global Day for Climate Justice, halfway through the Glasgow climate change summit.Activists in the Philippines, eight hours ahead of the UK, had already finished their rally as protesters gathered in Scotland. There were also rallies in South Korea, Indonesia, the Netherlands and France. The Belgian arm of Extinction Rebellion occupied a street in Brussels. Continue reading...

Many of the UK’s biggest lenders now offer deals that reward buyers of energy efficient propertiesHomes account for more than a fifth of the UK’s total CO2 emissions, which may help explain why the government and others believe green mortgages could be a gamechanger for moving to a sustainable future.Although they have been around in one form or another for some time, environmentally friendly mortgages have yet to take off in a big way: a poll published this week found that 94% of brokers had never sold one. Continue reading...

Open and fair reporting of progress on targets is crucial for any climate deal to succeed, says an insiderOne of the key negotiating issues for Cop26 remains unresolved at this late stage: transparency. Under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, nations set targets on their future greenhouse gas emissions, but we don’t yet know how we will ensure that the ways they report and account for those targets and emissions are transparent and fair.The discussions on transparency to finalise the nuts and bolts of the framework set up in Paris are stalled. Discussions should have been finalised in 2020 but were postponed owing to the pandemic. We are a year behind in the mandate and with most talks happening in a challenging virtual format throughout last year and this one, there is still no clear path toward agreement. If we do not get this right it threatens to undermine any agreement to close the gap between the targets countries set and the emissions cuts needed to keep warming to 1.5C.Every week we’ll hear from negotiators from a developing country that is involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations and is attending the Cop26 climate conference. Continue reading...

Despite rescue efforts to plant ‘twite meadows’ only 12 pairs of seed-eating bird bred this summerA small bird once so abundant it was called “the Pennine finch” is teetering on the brink of extinction in England after just 12 pairs bred this summer.The twite, an inconspicuous, seed-eating bird that nests in the uplands and spends winters on coastal marshes, has suffered a precipitous decline this century, with the breeding population falling by 75% between 1999 and 2013. Continue reading...

Analysis: the ‘significant outcomes’ came thick and fast but there are question marks about credibilityLong before delegates gathered in Glasgow, the scene for Cop26 was set by the starkest warning yet from the world’s scientists that human activity was unequivocally disrupting the climate, extreme weather was growing more intense, and urgent action was needed to prevent still worse chaos in the future.“Code red,” declared the UN secretary general, António Guterres, as evidence mounted this summer of ever fiercer heatwaves and increasingly deadly storms and floods. No pressure, then, on the climate diplomats who were told they represented the “last best chance” of holding global heating to 1.5C. Continue reading...

A livestreamed session at Cop26 sets out to educate and inspire tomorrow’s leaders, from Ukraine to Peru“Type your favourite crunchiness of peanut butter into the chat thread,” says Matthew Shribman to a global classroom of children, as the scientist and teacher kicks off the Great Big Lesson for Nature at Cop26 in Glasgow.Thousands of schoolchildren from across the world have joined the virtual lesson broadcast live from the nature pavilion in the blue zone, right next to where world leaders make decisions that affect these young people’s future. Continue reading...

Politician says droughts and climate-induced famine in the country are a result of the behaviours of rich nationsMore than a million people facing the first climate-induced famine in Madagascar are paying the price for cheap flights in Europe and appliances such as gas heaters, the country’s environment minister has said.For several years now, the south of Madagascar has suffered successive droughts of increasing severity, and the situation has deteriorated sharply over the last few months. In August, the UN said the country was facing the world’s first climate change famine. On Tuesday, a World Food Programme representative spoke of a “heartbreaking” visit to the country. Continue reading...

Critics say the decision comes at a high cost to both the climate and human healthCalifornia regulators voted Thursday to increase the capacity of a Los Angeles natural gas storage field, where a 2015 blowout caused the nation’s largest-ever methane leak and forced thousands from their homes.Locals, environmental advocates, and lawmakers have called for the closure of the facility, which has been approved to increase more than 20% in capacity. Continue reading...

Laurent Fabius says countries must be open and accountable about how they will deliver pledges in fullProspects of limiting global heating to 1.8C on the basis of commitments made at the Cop26 climate summit are only “a hypothesis”, the godfather of the Paris climate agreement has warned.Laurent Fabius, the former French prime minister who was president of the 2015 Paris summit, said he was “very impressed” by the commitments made in the first week of the Cop26 conference, including a deal to reduce the potent greenhouse gas methane, a net zero target from India, plans from China to reduce emissions and commitments on coal. Continue reading...

Pledges made during Cop26’s first week were encouraging. But without adequate finance and monitoring they don’t mean muchIf week one of the climate conference in Glasgow set out a strong outline, the task for next week is to fill in as many details as possible. The long-term ambition of the global environmental policy now being negotiated would have been hard to imagine just a few years ago. While it is not yet clear exactly where the various pledges will get us to in terms of limiting temperature rises, the new agreement on methane spearheaded by President Joe Biden and a commitment by India to get half of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 are highly significant.Also encouraging is the more integrated approach to the many environmental challenges humanity faces. Previously, conservation and biodiversity were to some extent viewed as separate issues from the changing atmospheric chemistry that drives global heating. Now, with a promise to reverse deforestation and provide funding directly to indigenous people to help them protect their lands, there is greater recognition of the vital part that nature plays in regulating the climate. Continue reading...

Follow Ocean Day events at the climate summit in Glasgow for day five

Representatives of almost 500 parent groups tell Alok Sharma their children’s health depends on an end to funding for fossil fuel industries

Document says it would not be appropriate for schools to encourage children to join campaignsSchools in England should not encourage pupils to take part in climate protests or join campaigns, according to a draft strategy paper on sustainability and climate change published by the Department for Education.The document was published after Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, said students concerned by climate change should consider careers in science and technology, and warned they risked incurring fines if they skipped classes to join protests. Continue reading...

I was trying to chart the peculiar dream-like state we seem to be in, says the poet laureateI wanted to react to Cop26 – so many of my friends and colleagues have been emboldened by the conversation it has generated. And strange times sometimes lead to strange poems.I was trying to chart the peculiar dream-like state we seem to be in, where the rules and natural laws of the old world feel to be in flux, one of those dreams which are full of danger, but not completely beyond the control of the person who sleeps. Continue reading...

With stripes showing temperature rise in the polar regions, the shirts are designed to start conversations about global heatingCop26 may not be the first place that springs to mind when thinking about fashion, but stripes were all the rage in Glasgow this week, where striking white, blue and red shirts were the latest must-have piece for fashion-forward scientists. These statement shirts may look like some 70s throwback but they have been designed using the latest polar data.Climate data is not a natural conversation starter but the shirts, made by Cambridge-based company DressCode Shirts, are designed to get people’s attention. They tell the story of two datasets, which show how rapidly polar regions are warming, using soft blues to represent colder temperatures and reds to show hotter ones. Continue reading...

PM could not resist wheeling out the usual jokes and antics at crucial summit, but the laughs never cameIt was one of the defining images from Cop26.Seated next to Boris Johnson on Monday and wearing a mask was 95-year-old David Attenborough. The prime minister, however, was maskless. At one point, Johnson seemed to have nodded off. Continue reading...

Environment minister of country home to world’s third-biggest rainforest says deforestation pledge must not halt developmentIndonesia has questioned the terms of a Cop26 deal to end deforestation by 2030, days after joining more than 100 countries in signing up to it.The nations agreed on the multi-billion-dollar plan at the climate conference in Glasgow this week to stop cutting down trees on an industrial scale in under a decade. Continue reading...

Richest 1% will account for 16% of total emissions by 2030, while poorest 50% will release one tonne of CO a yearThe carbon dioxide emissions of the richest 1% of humanity are on track to be 30 times greater than what is compatible with keeping global heating below 1.5C, new research warns, as scientists urge governments to “constrain luxury carbon consumption” of private jets, megayachts and space travel.In keeping with the Paris climate goals, every person on Earth needs to reduce their CO emissions to an average of 2.3 tonnes by 2030, about half the average of today. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a baby orangutan, wandering rhino and competing pelicans Continue reading...

Bank says Queensland mine and rail line do not fit in with its environmental, social and governance principles

From a Grade II-listed cottage to a sprawling new-build timber-clad house Continue reading...