Environment | The Guardian

Blaze, estimated to have damaged 14,000 hectares, started after spark escaped from soil excavatorAn international reforestation company has said it is “devastated” after one of its contractors accidentally caused a massive fire in Spain, where dozens of calamitous wildfires have raged this week.Land Life, a Netherlands-based company with offices in Spain and the US, said the fire broke out on Monday at one of its reforestation projects in Ateca in the north-eastern region of Aragón. Continue reading...

Rightwing outlets are increasingly covering complaints about extreme heat as a culture war issueReaders of the Daily Mail were in no doubt as to what the newspaper thought about Monday’s hot weather: it was little more than a “sunny day” where “snowflake Britain had a meltdown”. There was criticism that public services had pre-emptively closed down – and praise for Prince Charles continuing to wear a suit and tie in the heat.Inside the newspaper, the columnist Stephen Robinson bemoaned how weather maps had dispensed with jolly symbols and instead used deep red colours to show high temperatures. He claimed the Met Office – in cahoots with the BBC – has become an “all-singing, all-dancing amen choir for the climate alarmist ‘Blob’”. Continue reading...

Green Tory hits out at critics of Boris Johnson’s environmental land management policyThe next prime minister must press ahead with changes to farm subsidies that prioritise protecting nature and the environment, despite attacks on the policies from within the Conservative party, the prominent green Tory Ben Goldsmith has urged.“Environmental land management contracts should be defended at all costs,” he told the Guardian. “They would tie agriculture subsidies to stewardship and the restoration of soils and nature. They incentivise the transition to more regenerative agriculture. They are about making space for nature. They are a huge win for the natural environment in this country.” Continue reading...

Record heat reaffirms urgency to decarbonise, but technical challenge is far greater for aviation than for most other parts of economyThe temperature of the runway hit 50C at the Farnborough airshow this week. Officials checked for melting asphalt between the aerospace industry showing off its wares, with flights by passenger jets including the Boeing 777X and Airbus A350, assorted military aircraft and flypasts by the Red Arrows display team.The heat on Monday was yet another reminder, if one were needed, of the urgency of decarbonising aviation, responsible for about 3% of global emissions. The threat of climate crisis has taken the shine off an industry that was once the height of glamour, and zero-emissions flight presents a technical challenge far greater than decarbonising most other parts of the economy. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including hot cows, a lost walrus and a pelican in a traffic jam Continue reading...

UK temperatures exceed 40C while France and Portugal hit new highs, with some extreme consequencesRecord-breaking heat continued to affect parts of western Europe during the past week, with UK temperatures exceeding 40C (104F) for the first time since records began.On Tuesday, several weather stations across London, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire broke the 40C barrier, with a top temperature of 40.3C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire. A further 39 stations across central and southern England also broke the previous highest temperature of 38.7C, which was set in July 2019. Continue reading...

The party has largely abandoned its past climate denialism, but experts and activists say the ideas Republicans have proposed are insufficient or misguidedWhen Joe Manchin announced an abrupt end to Senate negotiations over major climate legislation last week, activists and even fellow Democrats expressed outrage against the West Virginia lawmaker. Manchin was attacked as a “modern-day villain” who had delivered “nothing short of a death sentence” to a rapidly heating planet.Some Democratic leaders, however, including Joe Biden, have since attempted to redirect that anger toward congressional Republicans instead. Continue reading...

Improved monitoring has shown nearly 6,000 tigers, says International Union for Conservation of Nature, with population ‘stable or increasing’There are 40% more tigers in the wild than previously thought, with as many as 5,578 around, though they remain an endangered species, according to a leading conservationist group.The jump in numbers was due to improved monitoring, with the population thought to be stable or increasing, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Habitat protection projects showed that “recovery is possible”. Continue reading...

Electric vehicle advocates and auto industry say Australia needs nationally mandated fuel efficiency standards

Climate change minister Chris Bowen says Arena will have mandate to accelerate electrification and focus on renewable technology

Targeting scarce public resources at ailing nuclear initiatives flies in the face of all known data, says Prof Andy StirlingThe UK is sadly becoming habituated to an officially sponsored attrition of truth about nuclear power. Despite intensifying propaganda, even government data shows this military-backed technology to be, in reality, an expensive, slow, unreliable, risky and unpopular way to deliver affordable, secure, zero-carbon energy.The gap in efficacy and competitiveness between nuclear and other options is continually growing. Supporting nuclear, rather than energy efficiency, wind and solar, slows down climate action, bleeds taxpayers, forgoes jobs and forces unnecessarily large and regressive burdens on consumers. Continue reading...

100 million Americans are enduring searing temperatures as Biden declines to announce a climate emergencyThe National Weather Service has warned that extreme heat will affect more than 100 million people in the US this week, with triple-digit temperatures in some states and broken temperature records in many areas across the country.“Above-normal temperatures will continue to prevail across much of the US through the end of the week, with a significant portion of the population remaining under heat-related advisories and warnings,” the agency said. Continue reading...

‘Nature’s engineers’ who create wetlands with their dams are recognised as native wildlifeBeavers are to be given legal protection in England, meaning it will be illegal to kill or harm them as they are formally recognised as native wildlife.This is a step forward for the charismatic rodents, which were hunted to extinction in the country 400 years ago but have reappeared owing to illegal releases around the country. Continue reading...

Officials announce eight cats will be brought from Namibia in effort to reintroduce animal to its former habitatCheetahs are to return to India’s forests this August for the first time in more than 70 years, officials have announced.Eight wild cats from Namibia will roam freely at Kuno-Palpur national park in the state of Madhya Pradesh in efforts to reintroduce the animal to their natural habitat.

Thousands send condolences after zoo staff euthanise panda, who was in poor health and had stopped eatingThe world’s oldest male giant panda in captivity has died in a Hong Kong zoo on Thursday.The panda, named An An, was euthanised at the age of 35, the equivalent of 105 years for humans. He was born in the wild in the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan in 1986. Continue reading...

They couldn’t agree on the climate crisis – nor whether sending troops to Ukraine would start world war three• Fancy dining across the divide? Find out how to take partJasper, 26, LondonOccupation Architect Continue reading...

Vast sums provide power to ‘buy every politician’ and delay action on climate crisis, says expertThe oil and gas industry has delivered $2.8bn (£2.3bn) a day in pure profit for the last 50 years, a new analysis has revealed.The vast total captured by petrostates and fossil fuel companies since 1970 is $52tn, providing the power to “buy every politician, every system” and delay action on the climate crisis, says Prof Aviel Verbruggen, the author of the analysis. The huge profits were inflated by cartels of countries artificially restricting supply. Continue reading...

Kylie Jenner is far from the only celebrity to make short hops using private jets despite mounting concerns over the climate crisisKylie Jenner has faced a torrent of criticism for her decision to take her private jet on a flight that lasted just 17 minutes. But the practice of taking brief journeys on luxury aircraft appears to be common among the rich and famous despite mounting concerns over the climate crisis.Jenner, the 24-year-old socialite and businesswoman, has faced online opprobrium after she posted an Instagram picture of herself and her partner, rapper Travis Scott, on the runway of an airport between two private jets with the caption “you wanna take mine or yours?” Continue reading...

As the Nord Stream pipeline reopens at lower capacity, pressure remains to reduce consumption and dependency on Moscow• Russia-Ukraine war – liveRussia has resumed critical gas supplies to Europe through Germany, reopening the Nord Stream gas pipeline after 10 days, albeit at a lower capacity. But will this be enough to resolve the pressing energy worries of Germany and the wider continent? Continue reading...

Agriculture minister Murray Watt says federal government confident new biosecurity measures enough to protect livestock industry

Report says global south has been ‘used as place to dump waste’ and that people of colour are suffering disproportionatelyThe climate and ecological crises are a legacy of systemic racism and people of colour suffer disproportionately from their harms, a Greenpeace UK report says. Globally, the report says, it is people of colour who, despite having contributed the least to the climate emergency, are now “disproportionately losing their lives and livelihoods” by the millions because of it.“The environmental emergency is the legacy of colonialism,” the report says. This was because colonialism had “established a model through which the air and lands of the global south have been … used as places to dump waste the global north does not want”, the report says. Continue reading...

This three-part documentary gathers evidence to challenge how ‘big oil fuelled the world’. Plus, Who Stole Tamara Ecclestone’s Diamonds? Here’s what to watch this eveningOver 40 years ago, oil industry experts predicted that burning fossil fuels would cause a climate crisis but little was done about it. This three-part documentary gathers all the evidence it needs to challenge those involved to prove how “big oil fuelled the world”. Episode one begins in the 70s and 80s, with some exasperating findings. “I’m not a ‘denier’, I’m a lukewarmer,” says Prof Patrick Michaels. “Climate change is real ... but it’s not the end of the world.” Hollie Richardson Continue reading...

Influential committee says UK must join dots between policies to plug gap between ambition and deliveryThe next prime minister needs to grab Britain’s net zero plans “by the scruff of the neck” to boost investor confidence, an influential House of Lords committee has said.The economic affairs committee, which counts former Bank of England governor Lord King among its members, has warned Britain is at risk of a “disorderly transition” away from fossil fuels and has urged the government to set out a detailed plan including deadlines for investment decisions. Continue reading...

One of UK’s biggest funders of scientific research will no longer profit from businesses such as BP and ShellOne of the UK’s biggest philanthropic investors has quietly sold its stakes in large oil and mining companies such BP and Shell.The Wellcome Trust is one of the biggest funders of scientific research in the UK with a £38bn investment fund. For almost a decade it has resisted pressure from organisations, including the Guardian, who argued that profiting from fossil fuel companies was incompatible with the Trust’s objective of improving public health and wellbeing. Continue reading...

UK birders may be delighted but rising temperatures have shifted the brightly coloured bird’s range north by 1,000kmNews that a flock of European bee-eaters has turned up in Norfolk – and appear to be settling down to breed – is guaranteed to delight Britain’s birders. Yet the arrival of these multicoloured birds has also caused concern. Why? Because it is a sure sign that the climate crisis is really starting to affect wildlife.For us older birders, the bee-eater was a bird we saw only on holidays around the Mediterranean. But during the past few decades, their breeding range has shifted north by roughly 1,000 km (620 miles), because of rising temperatures. They now nest in France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland. Continue reading...

Royal Horticultural Society launches survey to examine damage from this week’s heatwaveThe traditional British garden is under threat from extreme heat, the Royal Horticultural Society has said, as it launches a survey to examine the damage from this week’s heatwave.It is likely that in the future delicate flowers including roses and poppies will have to be swapped for plants such as salvias and dahlias, which are more resistant to heat. Continue reading...

Toxic metal present in both blood and eggshell samples, but the New Zealand birds appear to have formed a tolerance for itLead has been detected in nesting native kākā chicks in Wellington, but unusually, the birds look to have developed a tolerance to the toxin, a study has found.Kākā are a noisy, smart parrot, with bright green plumage and blood red patches under their wings and chest. They are particularly animated at dawn and dusk, and some Wellingtonians are known to curse their raucous squawking, while others delight in their cheekiness. Continue reading...

Gas supplies at the Iona storage facility have fallen due to high demand amid the state’s price cap

Australian Conservation Foundation says legislation needs to ensure 43% emissions reduction target can be increased over time

Initiatives are aimed at helping salvage the president’s tattered climate agenda after Joe Manchin delivered a major blow last weekFacing the disintegration of his climate agenda as ferocious heatwaves hit large parts of the world, Joe Biden has unveiled a new plan to push billions of dollars to US cities and states to help them cope better with extreme heat.The president stopped short, however, of declaring a climate emergency. Continue reading...

Kit Malthouse, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, says ‘impacts of climate change are with us now’The UK must learn to live with extreme weather, a minister has said, as the government was accused of going missing “while Britain burns”.

The company’s new campaign trumpets that it is ‘laying the foundations for a low carbon future’ – without mentioning the nearly $1bn it spent on coal production in 2020 and 2021

Study found nine years of culling has failed to reduce bTB levels in UK cattle herdsScientists, vets and naturalists are calling for a moratorium on the badger cull in the light of evidence that they say shows nine years of killing badgers has failed to reduce bovine TB in cattle.The culling of legally protected badgers to reduce cattle TB enters its 10th season this summer, despite the publication of a scientific paper in the journal Veterinary Record earlier this year which concluded that culling had no significant impact on bTB in cattle herds. The paper sparked a row over its methodology, which the government says was flawed, but its supporters say it shows the practice should be ended. Continue reading...

Decision goes against advice of Planning Inspectorate, which rejected project owing to impactThe UK government has given planning consent to the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk.The decision by the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, which had been repeatedly delayed, was finally announced on Wednesday and went against the advice of the independent Planning Inspectorate. Continue reading...

Call for voluntary cut until March 2023 with binding reduction targets possible when Moscow ‘likely’ halts suppliesThe European Union’s executive body has urged member states to slash their gas consumption by 15%, as it warned that a complete shutdown of Russian supplies was “likely”.The EU has been scrambling to wean itself off Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine, but is alarmed about a potential energy crisis this winter. Continue reading...

Network Rail announces ‘resilience taskforce’ to plan for future extreme weatherSevere disruption on Britain’s railway continued on Wednesday while engineers worked to repair the effects of an unprecedented heatwave, as Network Rail announced a new “resilience taskforce” to plan for future extreme weather.Services were expected to return towards normal later in the day, after two days of blanket speed restrictions and mainline closures, but damage including broken overhead wires and fires that spread on to tracks was still halting many services on Wednesday morning. Continue reading...

Adam Bandt says state of environment report and pressure from Pacific Islands leaders should be enough for Labor to negotiate on emissions

Tory leadership candidate’s ‘energy sovereignty strategy’ also attacked for lack of focus on climate crisis

Claimants say they are experiencing serious negative impacts and demand Swiss-based Holcim pay compensationResidents of an Indonesian island threatened by rising sea levels have begun legal action against the cement producer Holcim.The claim for compensation, filed in Switzerland by three men and one woman, is understood to be the first major climate damages lawsuit against a cement company. Continue reading...

Experts say it would take years to begin shale gas production and it is far less accessible than once thoughtThe political earthquake in Downing Street has delayed publication of a review into the scientific evidence around fracking for shale gas, which had been expected earlier this month.In the face of an urgent and intensifying energy crisis, that delay can only be bad news – or so the vocal media and political supporters of shale gas development would have you believe. (The Sun has published at least 14 editorials this year calling for UK fracking – one every fortnight.) Continue reading...

Fashion council reveals more than a billion items arrive in Australia each year and calls for levy on clothing imports to reduce textile waste

A Guardian investigation finds pipes are only replaced at homeowners’ cost, and removal work risked causing increase of lead in waterElena Bautista didn’t pay much attention to the work crews that rolled down her street last year. They planned to remove water pipes made of lead, a toxin that can permanently damage children’s brains.But they skipped the tenement building where Bautista and her two kids lived. Continue reading...

Mayor Sadiq Khan warns ‘the grass is like hay’ as temperatures fall and UK travel disruption continuesThe fire service in London faced its busiest day since the second world war on Tuesday as fires raged throughout the UK amid brutal temperatures.Temperatures dropped dramatically on Wednesday, but further travel disruption was expected as repairs were carried out on road and rail networks and at airports. Heavy showers and thunderstorms were predicted to hit parts of the country, potentially causing localised flooding. Continue reading...

Dozens of coastal sites in the UK closed to the public as H5N1 continues to sweep through wild bird populations across the worldA quarter of Europe’s breeding seabirds spend spring in the UK, turning our coastline into a giant maternity unit. These noisy outcrops usually stink of bird poo. However, this year has been different. “Instead of the smell of guano, it’s the smell of death,” says Gwen Potter, a National Trust countryside manager working on the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland. “It’s completely horrendous.”This annual congregation of life has turned into a super-spreader event, as a highly pathogenic avian influenza, H5N1 – also known as bird flu – sweeps through populations of breeding birds, causing devastating losses. More than 300 outbreaks have been reported in UK seabird colonies, and dozens of coastal sites have closed to the public. Continue reading...

Low-emission zones, now in 320 cities, are increasing as EU battles pollution health emergencyThe number of clean air zones across Europe has risen 40% since 2019, forcing older and more polluting vehicles off the road, according to new research based on EU data.Low-emission zones (LEZs) have now been introduced in 320 European city regions, and that figure is expected to rise by more than half again, to 507, by 2025. Continue reading...

Study found that the most at-risk neighbourhoods were also among the most ethnically diverse and have lower carbon footprints than averagePeople of colour are four times more likely to live in areas at high risk from heatwaves in the UK as the climate heats up, according to experts.Researchers at the University of Manchester and Friends of the Earth found one in three people from minority ethnic groups lived in areas most exposed to extreme heat, compared with just one in 12 white people. Continue reading...

Homeowners can boost property value by average of £10,000, shows research by WWF and ScottishPowerBritons could cut their annual energy bills while slashing their carbon emissions and boosting the price of their home, research has shown.A study by WWF and ScottishPower has found that installing green technologies could reduce energy bills by up to £1,878 a year and cut home carbon emissions by more than 95% over the lifetime of their installation. Continue reading...