Graham Stuart’s remarks come amid reports No 10 has blocked public information campaignSenior Conservative MPs have urged Liz Truss to launch a public information campaign to encourage people to reduce their energy use after No 10 blocked the idea over fears it would seem like the actions of a “nanny state”.Iain Duncan Smith, a former cabinet minister and supporter of Truss was one of several MPs suggesting the government was wrong to rule out a campaign, from warnings from National Grid of potential blackouts this winter. Continue reading...

This year’s iteration of the popular Alaskan tournament pits 435 Holly against four-time winner 480 OtisThousands of people are tuning in this week to watch Fat Bear Week, the popular competition to vote for the largest bear at the Katmai national park in Alaska.The annual tournament evaluates a bear’s “success in preparation for winter hibernation”, according to the tournament’s website. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a swimming sea cucumber, flying flamingoes and magpies hitching a ride Continue reading...

We have green, cheap alternatives ready and waiting – but first we have to commit to keeping fossil fuels in the ground

‘Sustainability incentive’ aims to cut emissions on farms of its 8,900 European members, including in UKThe dairy co-operative Arla Foods has announced it will pay its farmers more money for the milk they produce if they meet new environmental sustainability targets.Arla is introducing the “sustainability incentive” with the aim of promoting and funding the reduction of emissions on the farms of its 8,900 members, based in the UK and six other European countries including Denmark, Sweden and Germany. Continue reading...

Demonstrations from Falmouth to Whitstable to demand water firms do more to reduce pollutionProtests against sewage discharges blighting English beaches will take place across the country this weekend to highlight what demonstrators say is the failure of water companies to reduce pollution.From Falmouth in Cornwall, where bathers, lifeguards and synchronised swimmers are demonstrating, to Whitstable in Kent, where protesters will turn a beach into a crime scene, activists say the problem of sewage discharges by water companies has not improved. Continue reading...

Proposed expansion would cover about 4,000 hectares and involve clearing of habitat for the koala, greater glider and other threatened species

Opposition leader tells Andrew Bolt Australia needs to consider nuclear reactors and calls on Tim Flannery to apologise

Local government body says mayors are ‘really struggling’ with effect of extreme weather and need help from federal and state governments

Ian is the second-deadliest storm to strike the US in the 21st centuryResidents of south-west Florida were on Thursday returning for a first look at damage wreaked on their homes by Hurricane Ian, as the storm’s death toll continued to rise and details emerged about the victims.Inhabitants of Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island were among the first to get a glimpse after authorities still searching for survivors from the 28 September storm gave the go-ahead for civilians to return.The Associated Press contributed to this report Continue reading...

Experts claim deadly spillovers of disease between livestock and wildlife are increasing with the growth in intensive methodsCatastrophic declines in the number of birds and other wildlife are likely if countries do not act urgently to change the way animals are farmed, wildlife health scientists have warned.The unprecedented die-off of seabirds from highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) being witnessed in breeding colonies across Europe, North America and Africa has been traced back to a commercial goose farm in southern China where a relatively mild bird disease mutated into a killer in 1996.

G15 group of big housing associations warn 5% cap would also hinder green ambitions and new-buildsEfforts to make social housing safer, greener and more livable will be significantly delayed if ministers cap rent rises at 5% next year, according to landlords who fear the move would cost them £3.5bn over the next decade.Projects to make housing blocks safe after the Grenfell Tower disaster are among those that will be slowed down, according to a coalition of housing associations based in London, if the proposed plan to protect millions of England’s poorest households from soaring rents is confirmed. Continue reading...

Exclusive: review finds consultants were directed to make changes so impacts on biodiversity ‘would be indirect’

Ministers rebuke ‘shameful’ failure to meet funding promises for poorer countries to cope with climate crisis ahead of Cop27 summit

In its role as president, China has sent invitations only to ministers and NGO heads, raising fears it is downplaying the crucial talksChina has not invited world leaders to a major nature summit being held this year, raising concerns Beijing is downplaying the crucial Cop15 meeting in order not to embarrass Xi Jinping.In December, governments will finalise a UN agreement to halt the destruction of the natural world at a summit organised by China but hosted in Canada. Because of Beijing’s zero-Covid policy and after several delays, Cop15 was moved to Montreal, the seat of the UN convention on biological diversity. It was meant to take place in Kunming, Yunnan province, in 2020. Continue reading...

Met police confirm arrest of 25 climate campaigners for blocking road in central LondonTwenty-five supporters of Just Stop Oil have been arrested after blocking traffic in central London, on the sixth consecutive day of protest by the group.At about midday on Thursday, two groups of protesters with the climate activist campaign walked into the road and stopped traffic at the roundabout by Trafalgar Square. Continue reading...

Campaigners say marine protected area set up to save UK’s only fan mussels exists merely as a ‘paper park’New underwater footage taken by environmental campaigners in Scotland has revealed severe damage to marine life and habitats wreaked by scallop dredgers in “marine protected areas” (MPAs).The Scottish government designated the seabed around the islands of Canna and Rum, on Scotland’s west coast, as the Small Isles MPA in 2014, to conserve Britain’s only colony of rare fan mussels and other features. The islands host a large breeding colony of black guillemots. Continue reading...

From solar farms to floating arrays, from Australia to Bedfordshire, Lightsource BP is ramping up its renewable energy push“He’s scaring me now,” laughs Mark Davis, as a menacing-looking ram takes a step towards him from underneath an angled solar panel. The burly operations manager is touring Manor Farm near Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, where sheep are using the solar arrays for shade and a remote-controlled cleaning robot with the appearance of a mini tank steadily sloshes water down the panels.A persistent hairdryer-like hum comes from the huge boxy green inverter, which converts the direct current electricity that the panels generate to the alternating current used by the electrical grid. This is one of about 270 solar farms that have been developed by Lightsource BP in the UK. Continue reading...

Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels and investors must stop funding it, say campaignersHundreds of coal companies around the world are developing new mines and power stations, according to a study. The researchers said the plans were “reckless and irresponsible” in the midst of the climate emergency.Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels and its use must be quickly phased out to end the climate crisis. However, almost half the 1,000 companies assessed are still developing new coal assets, and just 27 companies have announced coal exit dates consistent with international climate targets. Continue reading...

Good Car Company plans to run a batch-buy program that would source cars from Japan and the UK

The Australian conference supposedly devoted to ‘bold action’ from the right spent much of its time pouring scorn on any form of climate action

Shehbaz Sharif says he wants ‘climate justice’ from rich polluting countries after monsoons put a third of his country under waterShehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, has said Pakistan should not be forced to go out with a “begging bowl” to rich polluting nations after the floods that have devastated the country and said he would be seeking “climate justice” from the international community.Speaking from his home in Lahore, Sharif warned that Pakistan is facing an unprecedented crisis of health, food security and internal displacement after the “apocalyptic” monsoons which put a third of Pakistan’s regions under water. Some areas were hit by 1.7m of rainfall, the highest on record. Continue reading...

A group of 50 NGOs found that bank and subsidiaries had funded oil refinery and gas processingThe World Bank has provided nearly $15bn of finance directly to fossil fuel projects since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015, and is likely to have spurred far greater investment indirectly, new research has found.Funding for “upstream” oil and gas projects from the World Bank was meant to stop from 2019, but the Big Shift Global, a coalition of more than 50 NGOs, has found the bank and its subsidiaries funding oil refinery and gas processing since then. Continue reading...

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A lack of rain on the western coasts saw 65,000 dead salmon wash up on the creekTens of thousands of dead wild salmon scattered along a creek bed are the latest casualty of a drought that has gripped the province of British Columbia for more than a month and left communities bracing for more devastation.In a video clip posted to social media, the carcasses of pink and chum salmon are seen piled near the community of Bella Bella. Continue reading...

Caroline Lucas responds to the business secretary’s claim that only she and ‘the socialists’ do not support his plansIf Jacob Rees-Mogg really believes that the only people who don’t like fracking are “the socialists and Caroline Lucas”, he’s clearly not been paying attention (Rees-Mogg tells Tories he’d welcome fracking in his back garden, 3 October)This may come as no surprise since, until recently, his most memorable position on the green benches at Westminster has been horizontal. But if he couldn’t see the large numbers of his own party’s backbench MPs queueing up to voice their outrage at his proposal to restart fracking when he made his announcement a few weeks ago then he should certainly have been able to hear them. Continue reading...

‘It’s like putting in a transmission line over the Opera House,’ says National Parks Association of NSW

The RSPB, National Trust, green farmers and anti-frackers all got it in the neck at the Conservative conference

Hunting lobby, which has support of Emmanuel Macron, claims its members are being ‘stigmatised’French hunters have reacted angrily to suggestions they be stopped from drinking while out shooting to reduce accidental deaths and injuries.The proposal would make those taking part in hunts subject to the same rules on blood alcohol limits and subsequent penalties as motorists. It is one of 30 recommendations made by France’s upper house of parliament, the senate, to address issues with hunt safety and the threat to members of the public. Continue reading...

Herders lodge appeal against ruling in their case against the Tanzanian government, which they say is violently evicting them from ancestral landLawyers for Maasai herders who say the Tanzanian government is trying to violently evict them from their ancestral land to make way for a luxury game reserve have lodged an appeal against a court ruling that dismissed their case.Donald Deya, lead counsel for the herders and chief executive officer of the Pan-African Lawyers Union (Palu), said his team had, on Wednesday, appealed against the verdict of the east African court of justice, which campaigners branded “a shocking blow” to Indigenous land rights. Continue reading...

Activists taken away by security after holding up banner reading ‘Who voted for this?’

Andrew Liveris says his position at Saudi Aramco means he ‘knows the solutions’ as he presides over climate-positive games

Chiriquí harlequin frogs went extinct in 1996 due to a fungal disease that has driven the decline of 501 amphibian speciesIt was a remarkably elaborate mating ritual. When a male Chiriquí harlequin frog found its mate, it would climb on to the female’s back, grip its armpits with its forelimbs and hug it. Females of the species were often twice as large as the males, and they would remain in this mating clasp for days or even months – depending on when the female was ready to lay her eggs. During this time, the male might forgo eating and lose up to 30% of its body weight, but it was willing to wait.It has been almost 30 years since a scientist last witnessed this act. In 2019, with little fanfare, the species was declared extinct. Continue reading...

Out of 44 charities, only 4% said they had a consistently implemented action plan to increase ethnic diversityThe environment sector has failed to act on its ambitions to become more inclusive, suggests new research that finds just one in 20 organisations are enacting plans to increase ethnic diversity.According to a sector-wide survey, out of 44 environment charities, 84% had considered or were taking action over a lack of inclusion, but only 4% said they had a consistently implemented action plan. Continue reading...

Government deems controversial project critical state infrastructure in order to have it approved ‘as quickly as possible’

‘Bizarre’ weather patterns are deterring farmers from planting crops and forcing others to sell livestock earlier than usual, says NSW grazier

States have plans to ban gas-powered cars and the White House wants chargers along highways, but implementation is a challengeSpeaking in front of a line of the latest electric vehicles (EVs) at this month’s North American International Auto Show, President Joe Biden declared: “The great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.”Most vehicles on the road are still gas guzzlers, but Washington is betting big on change, hoping that major federal investment will help reach a target set by the White House for 50% of new cars to be electric by 2030. But there are roadblocks – specifically when it comes to charging them all. “Range anxiety,” or how far one can travel before needing to charge, is still cited as a major deterrent for potential EV buyers. Continue reading...

Few in Somerset MP’s constituency share his enthusiasm but some do agree with need for ‘unpopular measures’The sun was shining and the wind blowing steadily across Jacob Rees-Mogg’s manicured garden and the Somerset hills beyond.“It’s obvious on a day like this, isn’t it?” said Gary Marsh, a stonemason and a neighbour of the business secretary and Conservative MP for North East Somerset. “We should be putting more money into solar and wind energy. Plus tidal power on the coast at places like Burnham-on-Sea and Weston-super-Mare. Not fracking, messing with the earth and water.” Continue reading...

Exclusive: Note setting out business secretary’s views looks for ways to accelerate schemes, including streamlining HSE requirementsMinisters are actively examining ways to evade legal, environmental and public scrutiny of new oil and gas projects including fracking, the Guardian has learned, sparking a furious reaction from green groups and opposition parties.Senior staff working on energy projects in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have been instructed to look into ideas raised by Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, to escape potential judicial review of policies or public consultation. Continue reading...

Australian Conservation Foundation report finds modular reactors are expensive and introduce unnecessary challenges in managing radioactive waste

Report commissioned by Wave Swell Energy says the machines would make a future clean electricity grid more stable and more reliable

Advocates deride $224.5m funding pledge given one study suggests $2bn a year needed to recover 2,000 threatened plants, animals and ecological communities

Plastics campaigners call it ‘astounding’ that multinational they say is world’s top polluter has sponsored key UN climate meetingA sponsorship deal between this year’s UN climate conference and Coca-Cola, which has been described as the “world’s top polluter” by an environmental group, has been branded “greenwash” by campaigners.Cop27, to be held in the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from 6-18 November, is the world’s primary forum for governments, businesses and environmental organisations to tackle the climate emergency. Continue reading...

Our cooks say you can use up that residual heat for baking, roasting, drying out bread and herbs, toasting nuts – or just to warm plates• Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.comI don’t want to waste the residual heat from my cooling oven. What can I cook or bake in there?

British women beat 6,000 applicants to spend five months working on Goudier IslandIt was one of the strangest of job alerts: a call to run the world’s most remote, coldest post office – on an island with no permanent residents – and count penguins in almost continuous daylight.But bizarre or not, it struck a chord: 6,000 people applied for the four jobs on Goudier Island in Port Lockroy, and now the winners have been announced: a newlywed, who will leave her husband behind for what she is calling a “solo honeymoon” and three other British women, who are equally thrilled by the adventure ahead. Continue reading...

Several African leaders at last month’s UN general assembly left dismayed after their calls for action on the climate crisis were overshadowed by the Ukraine war. One was Kenya’s new president, who writes here about why priorities must changeThere is almost no facet of society that will be left untouched by the ravages of the climate crisis and how we respond to it. The crisis poses fundamental questions for the economy; it affects public health and jobs, and its threats range from food security to national security. That is why it will be among the central concerns of my government and why I believe any responsible world leader must make it a priority.Climate change drives the droughts that affect the provision of water; destroys lives and livelihoods; cripples food production, and destroys our homes and infrastructure. Extreme temperatures affect migration patterns and exacerbate conflicts as hundreds of thousands flee to seek alternative livelihoods for survival. Continue reading...

Renewables, decarbonisation, activism, cooperation … The challenge is immense, but the situation is far from hopeless

Study finds minority ethnic people make up nearly half of populations in areas with very high NO or PM2.5 levelsPeople of colour in England are more than three times more likely to live in neighbourhoods with very high air pollution, putting them at disproportionate risk of heart attacks, cancer and strokes, according to research.Minority ethnic people make up nearly half the populations living in areas where average levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO) or small particulate matter (PM2.5) were double World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, research based on official statistics showed. Continue reading...

‘Very significant’ weather systems to move across state this week, with warnings also for northern Victoria and southern Queensland, bureau says

Group will also develop more rental and resale options as it aims to be more sustainableJohn Lewis has pledged to have “buy back or take back” schemes operating in every product category by 2025 and to develop more rental and resale options as it steps up efforts to be a more sustainable business.The group, which runs Waitrose supermarkets as well as a string of department stores, will also invest £2m over the next five years to restore and protect nature in Norfolk, a key source of meat, cereal and vegetable products, and in India’s Noyyal and Bhavani river basins, where it sources cotton, under a partnership with the wildlife charity WWF. Continue reading...