Penalties for peaceful action are now the same as for aggravated assaultLast Friday dozens of armed New South Wales police officers raided a camp near Sydney and arrested two environmentalists. One was Aunty Caroline Kirk, an Aboriginal elder. She was charged with “wilfully obstructing and intimidating police”.“I can’t run, I can’t climb,” she said. “All I can do … is teach my culture. Why are they doing this?” Continue reading...

Spanish city becomes first in the world to adopt measure as periods of hot weather become more frequentThe southern Spanish city of Seville is to become the first in the world to name and classify heatwaves – much in the way that tropical storms or hurricanes are named – in an effort to better shield residents as periods of excessively hot weather become more frequent.The year-long pilot project in one of Spain’s hottest cities will classify heatwaves into three categories and named from a list that include Xenia and Wenceslao. Continue reading...

Nieces of journalist killed in the Amazon pay tribute to their uncle, who sent frequent and funny emails about life in BrazilDom Phillips was a storyteller. Through his career as a journalist, he told the stories of those who were unable to speak out and whose views were overlooked. His second book, How to Save the Amazon, aimed to do exactly this – to speak the story of the Amazon and the Indigenous people within it, and provide solutions to preserve their culture in conjunction with current Brazilian society.For us, however, he was always Uncle Dom. He has been present in our lives since we were born and was very much involved with our upbringing when we were small children. He remained a positive influence, even when he moved to Brazil in 2007. Continue reading...

From Montana’s prairies to Kazakhstan’s steppes, vast tracts of land are being enriched. Here’s how to witness those changes

19-year-old activist warns world faces ‘total natural catastrophe’ unless citizens take urgent actionGreta Thunberg has warned that the world faces “total natural catastrophe” unless citizens take urgent action as she made a surprise appearance at Glastonbury festival.The 19-year-old activist led chants of “climate … justice” after delivering a rousing speech from the Pyramid stage which painted an apocalyptic picture of the future of the planet. Continue reading...

Demands include end to fossil fuels, preservation of biodiversity and greater social justiceAbout 3,500 protesters have gathered in Munich as the G7 group of leading economic powers prepare to hold their annual gathering in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, which holds the rotating presidency this year.Police said earlier that they were expecting a crowd of about 20,000, but initially fewer people showed up for the main protest, which started at midday on Saturday, the German news agency dpa reported. Continue reading...

Control zone had been enforced around a pig farm near Feltwell after possible case reportedOfficials have ruled out a suspected case of foot and mouth disease in Norfolk.Movement restrictions and a temporary six-mile (10km) control zone for animals were enforced around a pig farm near Feltwell in west Norfolk, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Continue reading...

Nearly 100 birds are being ‘headstarted’ to boost numbers as species vanishes from lowland EnglandAn evocative peeping echoes across a large, sunny aviary. The distinctive call of the curlew comes from dozens of chicks, who strut through long grass squabbling over a much-prized worm.The scruffy-looking chicks with the beautiful voices may be the best hope for the endangered species, whose numbers have halved in the past 25 years as it vanishes from lowland England. Continue reading...

Makers of the €250,000 Lightyear 0 hope to convince drivers it can be a viable climate-friendly alternativeWinding past the ochre-coloured plateaux of the Bardenas Reales natural park in northern Spain, Roel Grooten nudged me to take my foot off the accelerator.The car continued to barrel down the open stretch of road, its speed dipping only slightly. “It keeps on going,” said Grooten, the lead engineer for the Dutch car company Lightyear, as we whizzed through the lunar-like landscape. “What you feel is nothing holding you back. You feel the aerodynamics, you feel the low-rolling resistance of the tyres, of the bearings and the motor.” Continue reading...

We must work with local communities to restore key species on a global scale if we are to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises gripping the world

Australian fisheries management says there are regional differences and new data only applies to population in New Zealand

By funding and stocking products from Brazilian meat giant JBS, firms have also supported land-grabbing, investigation claims Continue reading...

Campaigners call to prioritise grain for human consumption over its use as a fuelThe US will press ahead with biofuels production, the deputy secretary for agriculture has said, despite increasing concerns over a global food crisis, and calls from campaigners to prioritise grain for human consumption over its use as a fuel.Jewel Bronaugh, the deputy secretary of agriculture, said US farmers could continue to produce biofuels without harming food production. “We are keeping food security top of mind, but at the same time we also want to remain steadfast in the support and promotion of biofuel,” she told journalists in London, where she met the UK government to discuss a possible trade deal and cooperation on food issues. Continue reading...

1994 agreement allows investors to sue governments for changes in energy policy that harm their profitsClimate activists have said a deal to update a “dangerous” energy treaty has failed to make the agreement compatible with the urgency of the climate crisis.After more than four years of talks, 52 countries and the EU on Friday struck a deal to “modernise” the energy charter treaty, a 1994 agreement that allows investors to sue governments for changes in energy policy that harm their profits. Continue reading...

Government generosity meant industry could pollute for free, and airlines were left with 900,000 excess permits they could keep or sellThe UK government gave airlines nearly a quarter of a billion pounds in free pollution permits in a single year, enough for the entire industry to dodge a carbon emissions cap and trade scheme entirely, according to research.In 2021 the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS), which charges polluters per tonne of carbon emitted, handed airlines 4.4m free allowances and the industry only surrendered 3.4m back. In effect, UK taxpayers covered the entire cost of aviation industry emissions, plus some to spare. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a rare albino otter, a wild toki bird and a big-eared opossum Continue reading...

Lawyers representing 20-week-old foetus allege state is breaching rights of future generationsA 20-week-old foetus is fronting a legal challenge in South Korea that argues the state is breaching the rights of future generations by not doing enough to cut national emissions.Parents and lawyers representing the foetus, as well as 61 babies and children under 11, claim national carbon targets do not go far enough to stop runaway climate change and that this is unconstitutional. Continue reading...

Images from Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta compiled by the state show ‘a shocking drop in water levels’ compared to years pastCalifornia’s two largest reservoirs are at critically low levels, signaling that the state, like much of the US west, can expect a searing, dry summer ahead.This week, officials confirmed that Lake Oroville, the state’s second-largest reservoir, was at just 55% of its total capacity when it reached its highest level for the year last month. Meanwhile, Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir, was at 40% capacity last month – after the state endured its driest start to a year since the late 19th century. Continue reading...

It began with a philanthropic couple buying a swamp but has become one of the world’s boldest experiments in restoring degraded habitats, bringing wildlife and landscapes back from the brink

Records for electricity usage broken in Shandong, Henan and Jiangsu after early summer heatwavesChina’s premier has called for increased production of coal to stave off mass blackouts, as early summer heatwaves have prompted record electricity usage.On Friday, authorities again issued high temperature warnings for about a dozen provinces across the central and northern provinces, after consecutive days in the high 30s. Continue reading...

Opioid fatalities – driven by synthetics such as fentanyl – in the state were up 80% last year compared with 2018 and punishing heat is making things worseAndy Brack was out cold with his head slumped back on the driver’s seat of a white pickup truck, a faint blue tinge around his lips. His friend, Ellen, had called 911 after the 50-year-old lost consciousness while driving to the store.Brack had been smoking fentanyl for two days straight, according to Ellen, who managed to stop the vehicle from crashing. It was around 4.30pm and boiling outside, almost 108F (42C), and the pickup didn’t have air conditioning. She was doing CPR compressions when the paramedics arrived. Continue reading...

Conservationists who re-established the raptors in the UK with birds from Spain are now returning the favourWhen red kites were reintroduced in England more than 30 years ago, young birds were brought over from thriving populations in Spain. Now the carrion-feeding raptor is doing so well that English chicks – with distant Spanish ancestry – are being flown back to Spain to boost ailing numbers there.Fed on culled grey squirrels and meticulously checked by vets, 15 chicks collected from nests in Northamptonshire are this week travelling to southern Spain where they will be held in special aviaries in the countryside until they are mature enough to be set free. Continue reading...

After Russia rejected agreed catch limits, Britain unilaterally licensed boats to hunt toothfish near Antarctica – a move the US says breaches international rulesA diplomatic row has broken out between the UK and the US over efforts to conserve a deepwater species of fish near Antarctica, as Russia obstructs attempts to set catch limits.Last year, amid tensions with the west over Ukraine, Russia rejected catch limits for Patagonia toothfish – also known as Chilean seabass – set by a 26-member fishing regulatory body, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Continue reading...

Tata Chemicals Europe hopes the process will reduce the greenhouse gas’ emissions by 10% annually and supply high-purity C02 for industryA Cheshire chemicals factory is to start capturing carbon dioxide on an industrial scale from energy generation in what is described as the UK’s first major use of the emissions-reduction technology.Tata Chemicals Europe (TCE) hopes to capture 40,000 tonnes of the greenhouse gas per year, reducing its annual emissions by 10% and providing it with a supply of high-purity carbon dioxide that could be used in products ranging from glass and washing detergents to pharmaceuticals and food. Continue reading...

Conservationists say exploitation of amphibians leading to depletion of native species abroadA voracious appetite for frogs’ legs among the French and Belgians is driving species in Indonesia, Turkey and Albania to the brink of extinction, according to a report.Europe imports as many as 200 million mostly wild frogs every year, contributing to a serious depletion of native species abroad. Continue reading...

Research to focus on more efficient and durable solar cells, increasing manufacturing capacity and a shift to more abundant and cheaper metals

Industry and analysts predict budget measure could provide billions in additional revenue

Sector says £5bn energy profits levy will make investment in new projects and renewables more difficultRishi Sunak has asked Britain’s biggest banks to keep the money taps flowing to the oil and gas sector after slapping it with a windfall tax.In a bruising meeting in Aberdeen on Thursday, the chancellor told oil and gas executives he is trying to ensure investment in their businesses is not curtailed. Continue reading...

Deputy opposition leader criticises government’s 43% reduction target but says Liberal party’s climate position is not fixed

Dairy Crest sentenced for repeatedly breaching environmental permit at Davidstow creameryOne of the UK’s biggest dairy firms has been fined £1.5m for repeatedly polluting a river near its Cornwall factory and causing local residents to suffer years of noxious smells – but the problems are continuing.Dairy Crest was sentenced on Thursday at Truro crown court for repeatedly breaching its environmental permit at Davidstow creamery in Camelford. The site, the UK’s largest dairy processing facility, makes Cathedral City cheese, Clover and Country Life. Continue reading...

Out of 14 nations surveyed, UK citizens measured lowest for their oneness with the natural worldFrom the romantic poets to the global reach of Sir David Attenborough, Britain has a reputation for being a nation of nature lovers.But the citizens of this supposedly green and pleasant land are ranked bottom of 14 European nations measured for their “nature connectedness”, according to a new study. Continue reading...

Blaze in Sierra de la Culebra mountains in Zamora province destroyed 30,000 hectares of woodlandThe Spanish government has declared the Sierra de la Culebra mountain range in Zamora province a catastrophe zone after a fire destroyed 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of woodland, raising fears for the future of the local wolf population.The decision gives the Castilla y León region immediate access to €2m (£1.7m) in economic recovery funds to help make good the damage caused by the worst fire in a decade, which destroyed a huge swathe of the 600 sq km biosphere reserve in north-west Spain. Continue reading...

The singer-songwriter and UN environment ambassador is a self-confessed ‘nature nerd’ and urges her fans to get ‘stuck in’ to ecological activism

The Diablo Canyon facility, which provides 9% of the state’s energy, was due to shutter in 2025, but the state’s energy crunch could save itCalifornia’s last nuclear plant was nearing the end of its life.Tucked against picturesque bluffs along California’s central coast, the aging facility known as Diablo Canyon began operating in 1985. It was designed for a different era, with analog knobs and systems that no longer comply with the state’s environmental standards. The plant has faced controversies over its impact on underwater ecosystems, the production of toxic waste and its proximity to earthquake fault lines – and its planned closure by 2025 seemed an all-but-certain step in California’s ambitious journey toward a greener future. Continue reading...

Analysis reveals 73% of remaining fragments of rare temperate rainforest in England are not under protectionNearly three-quarters of England’s remaining temperate rainforests do not have any official protection, according to new analysis, as a campaign urges the public to help identify, protect and expand what remains.Just 18,870 hectares (46,624 acres) survives in England from an ecosystem that once stretched from Cornwall to the west of Scotland, having slowly been cleared by humans over the centuries. Seventy-three per cent of the country’s remaining fragments of temperate rainforest, a species-rich habitat, are not designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), despite their importance for biodiversity. Many are threatened by overgrazing, pollution and invasive species. Continue reading...

Human rights and environment organisations call for police to act ‘responsibly, with integrity’ ahead of planned climate action in Sydney

Housing market posts first monthly decline since September 2020; at least 52 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Lawyers say government is attempting to intimidate pastoralists as thousands flee to Kenya amid escalating row over evictionsTwenty Maasai pastoralists from northern Tanzania have been charged with the murder of a police officer during protests over government plans to use their ancestral land for conservation and a luxury hunting reserve.The officer was allegedly shot by an arrow on 10 June while attempting to demarcate land in Loliondo, which borders Serengeti national park. Continue reading...

National Farmers’ Federation says signing up to US push to limit emissions by 30% could be ‘calamitous’ and jeopardise global food security

Researchers say the return of wolves to Yellowstone in the 1990s kickstarted big changes in habitats. But that narrative is increasingly being challenged

Risk of significant tsunami within next 30 years is nearly 100%, Unesco says, as it urges coastal cities to become ‘tsunami-ready’A tsunami could soon hit major cities on or near the Mediterranean Sea including Marseille, Alexandria and Istanbul, with a nearly 100% chance of a wave reaching more than a metre high in the next 30 years, according to Unesco.The risk of a tsunami in Mediterranean coastal communities is predicted to soar as sea levels rise. While communities in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, where most tsunamis occur, were often aware of the dangers, it was underestimated in other coastal regions, including the Mediterranean, Unesco said. Continue reading...

A meeting between the board, First Nations representatives and environmental activists fails to resolve tensions over the deal, which has been described as ‘artwashing’

Three of the national park’s five entrances have opened as the damage is still being assessed after rare and record floodingPark managers raised the gates at three of Yellowstone national park’s five entrances on Wednesday, reopening part of America’s oldest park for the first time since a devastating deluge caused historic floods that destroyed roads, bridges and buildings earlier this month.Hundreds of cars, trucks and recreational vehicles lined the open entryways in anticipation, an indication that many visitors stuck to their plans despite uncertainty last week about when the park would reopen. Before the extreme weather, park managers were already bracing for the throngs of tourists expected this summer, following its busiest year on record, which drew more than 4.8 million people. Continue reading...

The city famous for its car culture could quit building fossil fuel infrastructure – and it would be the largest city to do so yetLos Angeles could become the largest city to prohibit the construction of new gas stations, joining a movement that seeks to limit fossil fuels at the local level as part of efforts to combat the climate crisis.Officials in America’s second largest city, along with Bethlehem, New York, and Comox valley regional district, British Columbia, said on Wednesday morning that they were working on policies to stop the development of new fossil fuel infrastructure. Continue reading...

Coalition MPs consider the party’s climate target as the Albanese government locks in 43%, and Sky News’s Rowan Dean asks questions that have already been answered

Exclusive: New resources minister also says ‘the pathway from coal to renewables goes only through gas’

Sue Higginson says ‘even inconvenient’ protesting is important for democracy and labels police response ‘extreme’

Retired engineer’s efforts propel Stithians towards multimillion-pound project to link homes to underground low-carbon systemThe environmental evangelising of a retired mechanical engineer, Brian Piper, is bringing a renewable energy revolution to the streets of a small Cornish village.Until now, Stithians, which sits halfway between Redruth and Falmouth, was best known for its annual show, said to be the largest agricultural spectacle in Cornwall. But Piper is determined that in future the village will become known for its role in tackling climate change. Continue reading...

Proposals – the first in 30 years to tackle catastrophic wildlife loss in Europe – include legally binding targets for land, rivers and seaFor the first time in 30 years, legislation has been put forward to address catastrophic wildlife loss in the EU. Legally binding targets for all member states to restore wildlife on land, rivers and the sea were announced today, alongside a crackdown on chemical pesticides.In a boost for UN negotiations on halting and reversing biodiversity loss, targets released by the European Commission include reversing the decline of pollinator populations and restoring 20% of land and sea by 2030, with all ecosystems to be under restoration by 2050. The commission also proposed a target to cut the use of chemical pesticides in half by 2030 and eradicate their use near schools, hospitals and playgrounds. Continue reading...

Brewer says wood- and plant-based design retains same ‘taste and fizziness’ as glass bottlesCarlsberg is to conduct its biggest trial of recyclable fibre beer bottles across Europe.The bottles are made of a wood-based fibre shell and a plant-based polyethylene furanoate (PEF) polymer lining. Continue reading...