Environment | The Guardian

Developing countries’ delegates at UN conference seek recognition of small fisheries’ role in protecting oceans and fighting hungerSmall-scale fishermen and women from coastal nations in the frontline of the “ocean emergency” have accused world leaders and other decision-makers at the UN oceans conference of ignoring their voices in favour of corporate interests.More than half of the world’s fish caught for human consumption comes from small-scale fishing communities, yet their contribution to food security and ocean protection is not being sufficiently recognised, they say. Continue reading...

The two megacities are the only ones in the world where large carnivores thrive as the urban areas have encroached on natural habitatsLos Angeles and Mumbai, India, share many superlatives as pinnacles of cinema, fashion and traffic congestion. But another similarity lurks in the shadows, most often seen at night walking silently on four paws.These metropolises are the world’s only megacities of 10 million-plus where large felines – mountain lions in one, leopards in the other – thrive by breeding, hunting and maintaining territory within urban boundaries. Continue reading...

Pyrotechnic displays pose a heightened fire risk in a time of intense drought and cause distress to wild animalsLake Tahoe’s north shore is breaking with tradition and will replace its Fourth of July fireworks celebration with a colorful light display of an entirely different nature.The tourist town on the Nevada side of the storied lake will offer a night-time drone light show, a display officials at the Incline Village Crystal Bay visitors bureau said carries less danger in a parched landscape primed to burn. Continue reading...

Takeaway coffee cups, polystyrene packing ‘peanuts’ and plastic-stemmed cotton buds being phased out

The bill states that 30% of plastic items sold or bought be recyclable by 2028 and economic responsibility falls to producersCalifornia has passed an ambitious law to significantly reduce single-use plastics, becoming the first state in the US to approve such sweeping restrictions.Under the new law, which California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, signed on Thursday afternoon, the state will have to ensure a 25% drop in single-use plastic by 2032. It also requires that at least 30% of plastic items sold or bought in California are recyclable by 2028, and establishes a plastic pollution mitigation fund. Continue reading...

Climate change minister to announce Prof Ian Chubb will lead six-month probe of scheme labelled ‘largely a sham’ by one expert

Better insulation would save large sums for millions struggling with the cost of living, finds LGA reportPeople in “fuel-poor” households in England are facing annual bills about £250 higher than need be because of their poorly insulated homes, according to Local Government Association (LGA) research.The LGA has identified about 3 million households where better insulation would save large sums for people struggling with the rising cost of living. About £770m is wasted each year trying to heat these leaky homes, according to analysis for the LGA by WPI Economics. Continue reading...

The season now lasts 130 days and will continue to lengthen even if global heating can be kept to 1.5C, researchers say

Court sides with Republican states as ruling represents landmark moment in rightwing effort to dismantle ‘regulatory state’The US supreme court has sided with Republican-led states to in effect hobble the federal government’s ability to tackle the climate crisis, in a ruling that will have profound implications for the government’s overall regulatory power.In a 6-3 decision that will seriously hinder America’s ability to stave off disastrous global heating, the supreme court, which became dominated by rightwing justices under the Trump administration, has opted to support a case brought by West Virginia that demands the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) be limited in how it regulates planet-heating gases from the energy sector. Continue reading...

Producers and apiarists remain concerned about future almond harvest and potential for mites to carry deformed wing virus

State energy minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, says investors need confidence electricity grid will be ready for renewables

Pipeline companies facing opposition in blue states have launched a $10m PR campaign targeting the Democratic baseAmerican energy corporation the Williams Companies was facing yet another setback in its attempts to build a natural gas pipeline in New York.After a years-long battle, state regulators and pushback from protesters had forced the company to cancel its previously proposed Constitution pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York. And in May 2020, another major Williams project – a nearly $1bn gas pipeline that would run underwater from New Jersey to the Rockaway peninsula in Queens – was rejected for a second time. Continue reading...

Nation records 60 Covid deaths; SA records first monkeypox case; Anthony Albanese meets Justin Trudeau at Nato summit. This blog is now closed

Hydrogen is a ‘truly sustainable solution’ for aviation which has so far been hard to decarbonise, says aircraft maker Stralis

Modern biofuels are touted as a boon for the climate. But, used on a large scale, they are no more sustainable than whale oilWhat can you say about governments that, in the midst of a global food crisis, choose instead to feed machines? You might say they were crazy, uncaring or cruel. But these words scarcely suffice when you seek to describe the burning of food while millions starve.There’s nothing complicated about the effects of turning crops into biofuel. If food is used to power cars or generate electricity or heat homes, either it must be snatched from human mouths, or ecosystems must be snatched from the planet’s surface, as arable lands expand to accommodate the extra demand. But governments and the industries that they favour obscure this obvious truth. They distract and confuse us about an evidently false solution to climate breakdown.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

In his ambitious new book, distinguished professor Saleem Ali tries to bridge the gap between politics and science to help plan for a safer futureSaleem Ali – whose Twitter bio begins “Mercurial Professor” – is not trying to be the new Stephen Hawking.“People buy all these theoretical physics books in droves because they think having them on the shelves will make them look smart,” opines the distinguished professor of energy and the environment at the University of Delaware. “A Brief History of Time is a very difficult book to read.” Continue reading...

Number of climate-related lawsuits globally has doubled since 2015, with quarter filed in past two yearsThe world’s most polluting companies are increasingly being targeted by lawsuits challenging their inaction on climate change and attempts to spread misinformation, according to a new report.Research by the London School of Economics Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment found a surge in legal cases against the fossil fuel industry over the past year – especially outside the US – and growing action in other corporate sectors. Continue reading...

Research ‘exposes litany of misleading claims’ by household names, including Coca-Cola and UnileverClaims about plastic packaging being eco-friendly made by big brands, including Coca-Cola and Unilever, are misleading greenwashing, according to a report.The Changing Markets Foundation says claims that companies are intercepting and using “ocean-bound” or “recyclable” plastic to tackle the plastic pollution crisis are some of the most common examples of greenwashing. Continue reading...

NSW Labor and others warn failure to bring land clearing under control is ‘unsustainable’ and threatens Coalition pledge to cut emissions by 2030

One claim from the past week is based on a nuclear plant that hasn’t been built and another confuses the role of battery storage

Norco says 44 workers who lost homes would be affected if government assistance ends

Most likely scenario to reach net zero by 2050 projects all coal-fired power plants exit by 2043, according to market operator

The fences Joe Ricketts erected around his ranch in the middle of the Blackfeet reservation are a deadly hazard for wildlifeAlmost immediately after their new billionaire neighbor put up miles of 5ft fences around his Montana ranch, complaints started coming in to the Blackfeet tribe.In photos and videos captured by Blackfeet tribal members and reviewed by the Guardian, animals such as elk, deer, moose and grizzly bears can be seen struggling to navigate around or over the fences as they follow a historical migration path. Sometimes, they are trapped in corners of the fences, or wounded and limping after failed attempts to jump over the barriers. On numerous occasions, mother moose have been seen separated from their young. Continue reading...

Palace says cheesemakers to Queen must keep up with environmental standards or risk removal of coat of armsThe Queen could remove the royal warrant from her favourite cheddar cheese after its producer filled a river with a noxious black sludge, the Guardian has learned.Sources at Buckingham Palace said the warrant for Davidstow cheddar, produced by Dairy Crest, could be removed on environmental grounds after it was fined £1.5m by the Environment Agency. Continue reading...

Prime minister will say food insecurity has become a significant challenge and Australia has a major role to play in meeting the challenge

Climate activists say plight of jailed Alaa Abd El Fattah shows protesters’ voices will be ignored at Sharm el-Sheikh summitFive months before a pivotal UN climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, one of Egypt’s most prominent political prisoners remains behind bars. Now on his 89th day of a hunger strike, Alaa Abd El Fattah is subsisting on just a hundred calories a day, normally in the form of skimmed milk or a spoonful of honey in his tea.Abd El Fattah, a figurehead of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, has spent most of the past decade in prison. First jailed for organising demonstrations against a law that in effect banned protest altogether, he was re-arrested in 2019 during anti-government protests in which he had no involvement, and last year was sentenced to a further five years in a maximum security prison on charges of “spreading false news undermining national security”, for comments about torture on social media. Continue reading...

Just two species of the freshwater fish still exist in the ancient waters of Lake Lanao in the Philippines after predatory fish were accidentally introducedIt was a celebrated clan: a group of 17 carp species found nowhere else in the world except for an ancient freshwater lake in the Philippines. One so fat it could be fried without oil, another sought after for its delectable egg-filled ovaries, a third known, oddly enough, for its endearing overbite.Yet in recent years 15 of them have been declared extinct, victims of mismanaged fish farming efforts that accidentally introduced predatory fish into their home. In all likelihood, these invaders will continue to menace the native carp until none of them are left. Continue reading...

Climate change minister says inquiry needed as carbon offset scheme is integral to target of 43% emissions reduction by 2030

Remaining curbs on food imports imposed after 2011 nuclear disaster to be scrappedFood from Fukushima will be freely available in the UK from Wednesday, weeks after Boris Johnson snacked on popcorn from the Japanese prefecture hit by a triple nuclear meltdown in March 2011.Britain restricted Fukushima imports after the disaster, the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, but has gradually lifted them, even as other countries limit or ban produce from the region. Continue reading...

In our writer’s garden, and across the country, the scourge of Dutch elm disease has not been entirely eliminatedLook up. If you do, you’ll almost certainly see butterflies where you’ve never noticed them before.The hairstreaks are hugely overlooked mostly treetop-dwelling butterflies. Two species are active now: the white-letter hairstreak and the purple hairstreak. Continue reading...

UK government put under ‘considerable pressure’, says chair of all-party parliamentary group on banning trophy huntingThe US hunting lobby has spent £1m putting pressure on the government to delay the trophy import ban, a new report by MPs has found.Boris Johnson promised to ban the imports of these trophies three years ago, but the legislation has still not gone through parliament. Because of the delay, the Conservative MP and animal welfare campaigner Henry Smith has put forward his own private member’s bill to ban imports of hunting trophies. Continue reading...

Progress report from the Climate Change Committee suggests ministers could renege on greenhouse gas emissions commitment

Committee on Climate Change report paints a dire picture of Britain’s progress in reducing farm emissions and homes insulationThere are currently no credible plans to help the majority of households to improve their energy efficiency, the progress report from the Committee on Climate Change concludes: a gaping policy hole that is costing the UK dear, not just in climate terms but in unnecessarily high energy bills for our leaky homes. Insulating buildings would be the quickest and most effective way to counter soaring gas prices, but has been largely ignored by the government after the botched “green homes grant” was scrapped last year. Even our new homes are not efficient: at least 1.5m homes have been built in recent years that will require expensive retrofitting. “It’s a complete tale of woe,” said Chris Stark, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Campaigners say funding may provide incentive to restart fracking if moratorium is liftedFracking companies are likely to be eligible for tax breaks, potentially worth billions, that the government is extending to oil and gas companies to encourage new exploration of fossil fuel resources.Combined with high gas prices, the extra funding – which amounts to a subsidy, according to campaigners – could provide a strong incentive to restart fracking operations if a moratorium in the UK is lifted, which could happen as early as this week. Continue reading...

Nairobi biodiversity talks end in stalemate, prompting open letter to world leaders calling for action before Montreal conferenceUN biodiversity negotiations have reached crisis point due to a lack of engagement from governments, leading NGOs have warned, three years after experts revealed that Earth’s life-support systems are collapsing.Last week, countries met in Nairobi for an extra round of talks on an agreement to halt the human-driven destruction of the natural world, with the final targets set to be agreed at Cop15 in Montreal. Governments have never met a target they have set for themselves on halting the destruction of nature despite scientists warning in 2019 that one million species face extinction, and that nature is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. Continue reading...

Activists horrified by decision to give green light to stage three of the New Hope Group’s controversial mine

‘It’s the wrong policy debate at the wrong time,’ industry says of capacity mechanism

Scientists warn that while total number of cyclones may be decreasing, global heating will see a higher proportion of more damaging stormsGlobal heating has coincided with fewer tropical cyclones forming each year around the globe compared with the second half of the 19th century, according to a new study.The average annual number of cyclones fell by 13% across the 20th century, with steeper declines seen after 1950. Continue reading...

Former military heads warn of risks to food supply ahead of report from Australian Security Leaders Climate Group

A third of respondents think Albanese should adopt a more ambitious emissions target, while nearly half blame the Coalition’s climate wars for the energy crisis

Discovery of varroa mite at Newcastle port has led to NSW beehives being locked down with a potentially ‘devastating effect’ on crops

Climate-friendly practices can increase yields while improving ecosystem of farms, scientists sayFarmers could continue to produce high crop yields with far less use of artificial fertilisers if they adopted environmentally sustainable practices, an academic study has shown for the first time.Techniques such as adding manure and compost to soils, growing nitrogen-fixing plants between crops, and cultivating a wide range of produce instead of sticking to the same crops, can all increase yields while protecting and improving the natural ecosystems of farms. Continue reading...

António Guterres says the world must turn the tide of rising sea levels, ocean heating, acidification and plastics pollutionThe UN secretary general has declared that the world is in the middle of an “ocean emergency”, and urged governments to do more to restore ocean health.Speaking at the opening of the UN ocean conference in Lisbon, Portugal, attended by global leaders and heads of state from 20 countries, António Guterres said: “Sadly, we have taken the ocean for granted and today we face what I would call an ocean emergency. We must turn the tide.” Continue reading...

Tim and Geli Harris to take agency to high court over groundwater removal for farming near protected wetlandsA couple are taking the Environment Agency to the high court in a landmark case to stop the abstraction of water damaging internationally important wetlands in the Norfolk Broads.In a sign of the growing struggle over the allocation of scarce water resources in the dry south-east, Tim and Geli Harris are seeking to reduce the removal of groundwater to irrigate potatoes and other crops farmed next to three protected wetlands, including Hickling Broad national nature reserve. Continue reading...

Ten arrested as direct action group starts week of ‘disruption’ to ‘resist climate destruction’ as NSW police pledge crackdown

Extreme temperatures forecast for capital this week after premature end to rainy seasonJapan’s government has warned millions of people in the Tokyo region to save energy or face power cuts, as the capital battles record June temperatures after a premature end to the rainy season.Temperatures of 35C (95F) were forecast in the city throughout the day, with similarly extreme weather expected for the rest of the week, according to the Japanese meteorological agency. Continue reading...

After becoming extinct in the wild, European bison were reintroduced to Poland in 1954 and Romania in 2012. Photographer Alexander Turner went in search of Europe’s largest land mammal with rangers from Foundation Conservation Carpathia Continue reading...

New data shows carbon pollution rose 0.8% in 2021 as manufacturing, agriculture and gas bounced back from pandemic lockdowns

Environment minister receives enthusiastic welcome in Lisbon and flags five blue carbon projects to safeguard ocean health