Environment | The Guardian

London Heathrow records hottest ever temperature; London mayor Sadiq Khan says major incident has been declared

President could bypass the political gridlock as nearly 20% population faces 100F and above temperaturesJoe Biden is under pressure to declare a national climate emergency as temperatures soar across the US and Europe.Facing political gridlock in Washington, the president could make such an announcement – which would unlock federal resources to address the crisis – as soon as this week, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. Continue reading...

A true picture of how bad things have become emerges from the report, but with 2,000 pages of convincing evidence, change is possibleThe state of the environment report paints a detailed and brutal picture of destruction and loss, and almost none of it is new.Virtually everything in this five-yearly government report card – that another 202 animal and plant species have been identified as threatened with extinction or worse, that at least 19 ecosystems show signs of collapse, that hundreds of thousands of hectares of native forest have been bulldozed, that vast southern kelp forests have disappeared – was already known and publicly documented. Continue reading...

‘We were in this place in 2007 and we watched it all go wrong,’ Labor and former Wilderness Society campaigner Felicity Wade says

Experts worried that extreme heatwaves in Europe happening quicker than expected, suggesting climate crisis worse than feared

Agreement with autocratic ruler to double supplies within five years comes as EU seeks to reduce reliance on Russian energyHuman rights groups have criticised an EU deal to ramp up gas supplies from Azerbaijan, as Europe scrambles to secure non-Russian sources of energy.The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Monday hailed Azerbaijan as a “crucial” and “reliable” energy supplier, as she announced an agreement with Baku to expand the southern gas corridor, the 3,500km pipeline bringing Caspian Sea gas to Europe. Continue reading...

Households told to save water after hottest night and temperatures rising rapidly during the day

Activists target London HQ of Rupert Murdoch’s media company after UK weather treated as upbeat storyExtinction Rebellion protesters have smashed windows at the London headquarters of Rupert Murdoch’s media company, in protest at his outlets’ coverage of the climate crisis.Activists targeted the News UK building next to London Bridge station early on Tuesday morning, destroying glass panels and putting up posters reading “tell the truth” and “40 degrees = death” next to the entrance used by journalists at the Sun and the Times. Continue reading...

Tory leadership hopeful says she could set target back, despite backing the 2019 pledge on MondayKemi Badenoch has U-turned a second time on her support for the government target of net zero emissions by 2050.After telling a room of MPs at the Tory leadership climate hustings on Monday that she supported the 2019 manifesto pledge, later that evening she declared on TalkTV that she would delay it. Continue reading...

Minister says legislation will go before parliament next year and confirms bid to protect 30% of land by 2030 as she launches State of the Environment report

Photographer Alexander Turner captured the moment the first bison to be released into the wild in the UK took their initial steps in Blean Woods, Kent Continue reading...

Traps set and residents warned to keep windows shut after infant grabbed in most serious incidentPolice in Japan are searching for a wild monkey that has attacked 10 people in the space of a fortnight.The attacks began on 8 July in the Ogori district of Yamaguchi prefecture in the country’s south-west. In the most serious incident, it badly scratched an infant after invading a family home. Continue reading...

Across the state, 264 individual fires are burning and it is on track to break its 2004 record of 6.5m acres destroyedAlaska has seen more than 500 forest fires since the beginning of April, which have forced the evacuation of mining camps, villages and remote cabins.By 15 June, more than 1m acres (405,000 hectares) in the state had already gone up in flames, about the amount of acres that would normally burn in an entire fire season. By mid-July, more than 3m acres of land had been torched, putting the state at risk of breaking its 2004 record of 6.5m acres (2.6m hectares) burned. Continue reading...

Campaigners warn of ‘disturbing trend’ of proposed mines falling just below the threshold requiring environmental impact statement

A Buckingham Palace guard suffering in the sun gets the picture editors’ attention, along with the prospect of more such heatwaves in the futureA picture of a Queen’s Guard sentry being given a sip of water outside Buckingham Palace is the defining image on Tuesday’s front pages, as the heatwave put the climate crisis in fresh focus.All but a couple of the front pages feature the picture of the guardsman in his bearskin hat taking much-needed relief from the heat which on Monday topped 37.4 degrees in west London and a nationwide high of 38.1C in Santon Downham in Suffolk. Continue reading...

Green activists brought challenge, arguing climate change strategy did not spell out how carbon emissions cuts would be achievedThe high court has ordered the government to outline exactly how its net zero policies will achieve emissions targets, after a legal challenge from environmental groups.Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and the Good Law Project had all taken legal action over the government’s flagship climate change strategy, arguing it had illegally failed to include the policies it needed to deliver the promised emissions cuts. Continue reading...

List of threatened species grows as ecosystems show signs of collapse due to climate crisis and habitat loss

Nearly 25,000 escape blaze sparked by southern European heatwave that has already killed hundreds of people

Government’s climate advisers have warned for years about the fast-rising risk but little action has been taken

MP joins the four other candidates in saying they would not unpick UK’s environmental commitments

Divisive ideas such as keeping nuclear plants open and regulating autobahn are now gaining tractionGermany’s energy crisis has led the coalition government to toy with ideas that have long been seen as politically taboo, such as extending the life of unpopular nuclear power plants and – perhaps even more divisive – imposing a speed limit on the autobahn in the hope it will reduce fuel usage.As the country braces for a winter of uncertainty amid fears that Russian gas could be cut off completely and electricity may be in short supply, the three-way coalition of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP are looking for ways to ease the situation. Continue reading...

Activists file formal complaint alleging government has breached international law in signing dealEnvironmental campaigners have launched a last-ditch legal bid to prevent or delay the UK’s trade deal with Australia, owing to concerns over its impacts on the climate and the natural world.A group of seven environmental and farming organisations has filed a formal complaint alleging that the UK government breached international law in signing the deal, which they fear is about to pass into law without any further in-depth parliamentary scrutiny. Continue reading...

Government criticised over ‘indefensible’ proposal that could undermine climate efforts while yielding benefit of only £1.38mThe UK government may be undermining its commitments to end deforestation overseas because of conflicts over trade policy, the Guardian has learned.A war of words is raging within the government over deforestation and trade, with green campaigners warning that a proposed policy could have dire consequences for efforts to stop illegal logging. Continue reading...

Internal documents explain why oil and gas interests would benefit from a key Indigenous declaration being ‘defeated’A US-based libertarian coalition has spent years pressuring the Canadian government to limit how much Indigenous communities can push back on energy development on their own land, newly reviewed strategy documents reveal.The Atlas Network partnered with an Ottawa-based thinktank – the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI) – which enlisted pro-industry Indigenous representatives in its campaign to provide “a shield against opponents”. Continue reading...

Experts call on UK officials to prepare for periods of extreme heat or risk thousands of excess deaths

António Guterres tells governments ‘half of humanity is in danger zone’, as countries battle extreme heat

Curbing federal authority over carbon emissions reductions and increasing heat waves will have a cascading effect on the most vulnerable communities, says the activist of environmental justiceAs temperatures hit record highs in Houston, Texas, recently, Robert Bullard, considered the father of the environmental justice movement, saw a pattern. Hospitalizations from heat stroke and health outcomes such as asthma from living next to noxious facilities in the city’s Black neighborhoods have the same root cause.“It’s brutal. What you’re looking at is another example of the climate and health impacts that will all fall disproportionately on our most vulnerable communities,” Bullard says. “We’re talking about the same environmental justice communities that historically have borne tremendous equity impacts from power plants, refineries, oil and gas facilities.” Continue reading...

Each candidate to be asked to prove climate credentials at green hustings on Monday, as UK heatwave hits

Chief meteorologist says extreme temperatures ‘entirely consistent’ with human-induced climate crisis

The seven independents want a mechanism to protect emissions target from ‘future governments’ as they signal desire to negotiate

The IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress offers a chance to find a way to balance economic growth with conserving wildernessAfrica’s more than 8,500 protected areas of land and sea cover more than 30% of the continent – an expanse almost the size of Australia and 28 times the size of the UK. These ecosystems play a critical role in climate mitigation and adaptation, as global heating wreaks havoc on all fronts.Today, Africa is embarking on an ambitious trajectory, with significant technological advancements, radical agricultural techniques, groundbreaking approaches to alleviating poverty and unprecedented rates of economic growth. Our natural resources, especially those in protected areas, play a critical role in development models we pursue. However, only about 1,000 of these protected areas have sound management strategies. Continue reading...

The gentle giants released in Kent should transform a commercial pine forest into a vibrant natural woodlandEarly on Monday morning, three gentle giants wandered out of a corral in the Kent countryside to become the first wild bison to roam in Britain for thousands of years.The aim is for the animals’ natural behaviour to transform a dense commercial pine forest into a vibrant natural woodland. Their taste for bark will kill some trees and their bulk will open up trails, letting light spill on to the forest floor, while their love of rolling around in dust baths will create more open ground. All this should allow new plants, insects, lizards, birds and bats to thrive. Continue reading...

Manufacturers to emphasise their efforts to reduce environmental impact of planesLow-emission air travel and a potential deal for Japan to help build the UK’s next-generation Tempest fighter jet are set to take centre stage at the annual Farnborough airshow this week.Executives from global aerospace manufacturers and airlines will gather at the airport in Hampshire after a four-year gap. The show, which begins on Monday, normally happens every two years but was cancelled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, as the aviation industry faced potential collapse. Continue reading...

Another 12 missing in flash floods in Sichuan and Gansu, as some areas receive double their monthly rain in less than two daysFlash floods in south-west and north-west China have left at least a dozen dead and put thousands of others in harm’s way, state media has reported.In the south-western province of Sichuan, at least six people have died and another 12 are missing after torrential rain triggered flash floods, state-owned news outlet CGTN reported on Sunday. Continue reading...

Staff should be given flexible working options and more breaks as heat approaches 40C, say union leadersUnions are calling for people to get legal protection against high temperatures in UK workplaces, as a heatwave arrives that could cause temperatures to approach 40C on Monday and Tuesday.The GMB union said the government should set a maximum temperature for workplaces of 25C, meaning employers should offer flexible working and travel arrangements, give staff extra breaks and relax dress codes to allow staff to wear cooler clothes. Continue reading...

Prof Ian Chubb, who is leading a review of the controversial scheme, says there are also credible voices defending it• Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcastThe former Australian chief scientist charged with investigating the country’s divisive carbon credit system says academics who have described it as a fraud and a sham are “serious people”.In an interview with Guardian Australia, Prof Ian Chubb said there were also credible voices defending the scheme and he would need to carefully weigh the evidence. Continue reading...

Just two gigalitres of a promised 450GL have been delivered so far ahead of the overdue Water for the Environment Special Account review

First continent-wide meeting aims to set out plans to halt and reverse habitat and species loss in protected areas on land and seaAfrican leaders will gather in the Rwandan capital this week for the first continent-wide meeting to set out plans for the conservation of nature across Africa.The IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (Apac) in Kigali will attract close to 3,000 delegates, including protected area directors from the continent’s 54 countries, youth leaders and Indigenous and community representatives, to discuss the role of protected areas in conserving nature, promoting sustainable development, and safeguarding the continent’s wildlife. Continue reading...

Construction of thousands of new homes has sucked away groundwater, killed trees and emptied pondsClive Hayden’s family has owned farmland at Larksfield Nursery in Cambridgeshire for about 70 years.In recent years, the farm in Longstanton was growing tens of thousands of flowers and plants for sale at the New Covent Garden flower market, the colourful and historical wholesaler in the heart of London. Continue reading...

Campaigners say need for monarch’s consent to investigate accusations amounts to power to cover upWildlife campaigners have said it is “ludicrous” that police have to ask the Queen’s permission before they can enter her private estates to investigate alleged wrongdoing.The campaigners were speaking after the Guardian revealed that dozens of UK laws stipulate that police are barred from entering any of the Queen’s private estates without her consent to investigate crimes ranging from wildlife offences to environmental pollution. Continue reading...

Civil defence authorities battle blazes that have forced evacuation of thousands of people across continentFirefighters in Portugal, Spain, France, Greece and Morocco are battling forest fires raging across tens of thousands of hectares as this week’s heatwave continues to bring extreme temperatures and cause hundreds of deaths across south-western Europe.The second heatwave of the summer – with temperatures hitting 47C (116F) in Portugal and 45C in Spain – has triggered wildfires that have forced the evacuation of thousands of people. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Conservative leadership candidate sets out her views on climate change and the environment

The journalist’s thorough investigation finds that corporations are unearthing alternatives to fossil fuels. Who will benefit?Henry Sanderson has written a remarkably hopeful and useful book. My guess is that was not his original plan. The longtime commodities and mining reporter for the Financial Times, Sanderson may well have sold this book on the idea that “going green” was actually taking us in dark directions. And indeed his in-depth reporting – stronger on corporate histories than on-the-ground interviewing – shows the corruption that underlies many of the mining schemes for the minerals used in batteries, the human rights abuses and environmental troubles that can come from that mining and the geopolitical complications that emerge when countries such as China and Russia control crucial parts of the trade.These defects are fairly well known at this point: the underside of, say, “artisanal” Congolese cobalt mining has been widely reported and the Ukraine war, which happened too recently to be reflected in Sanderson’s account, has underlined Moscow’s control of some critical materials, such as nickel. Indeed, understanding of these kinds of threats has penetrated deeply enough that it’s become a favourite trope of the fossil-fuel industry; I was debating recently with a former Republican congressman who was indignant about African child labour in the mineral supply chain. Continue reading...

Adam Bandt says his party willing to negotiate but concerned the legislation ‘would create a ceiling on emissions reduction’• Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcastThe Greens leader, Adam Bandt, has signalled his party is open to backing the government’s 43% emissions reduction target, but says there are “problems” with the bill as he digs in on his demand that new coal and gas projects be banned.The Liberal party appeared set to vote against Labor’s emissions target, with the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, raising concerns about enshrining the reduction in legislation. This would mean the Greens are now crucial to the success of the bill. Continue reading...

Officials raised concerns water level targets would not ensure river health or meet needs of downstream communities, documents show

The cabinet minister and Cop26 president could resign if the new Tory leader fails to commit to a strong green agendaThe cabinet minister who led last year’s landmark Cop26 UN climate summit has made a dramatic intervention in the Tory leadership race, suggesting he could resign if the incoming prime minister fails to commit to a strong agenda on the climate crisis.In an interview with the Observer, Alok Sharma said a total commitment to the net zero agenda from whoever is to lead the country would be essential to avoid “incredible damage” to Britain’s global standing, as well as irreversible harm to the UK and international economies. Continue reading...

Fast-growing breeds are dying before they reach ‘slaughter age’, new research revealsMore than a million meat chickens are dying every week in the UK before reaching slaughter weight, according to a new report.An analysis of government figures by the animal welfare charity Open Cages reveals about 64 million chickens die prematurely each year in the UK. The dead birds can be incinerated or rendered into usable materials such as protein meal. Continue reading...

For British botanist Leif Bersweden, finding an orchid is ‘pure joy’ and one that he is happy to share with fellow enthusiasts as they scour a nature reserve in HampshireIt’s a Friday, and half a dozen retirees are scouring the ground for flowers. We’re on chalk grassland in Noar Hill nature reserve in Hampshire. Medieval chalk extraction has created small artificial valleys in this scrubby 20-hectare (50-acre) landscape perched above farmland. It is home to a jungle of flowers, including an abundance of oxeye daisies and clovers. But today we’re hunting for a rarer inhabitant: the orchid.Leif Bersweden, a 28-year-old botanist who has been obsessed with orchids since the age of 12, immediately spots a frog orchid, a little greenish plant about 10cm tall. Its flowers would only look like frogs to someone on hallucinogens. Continue reading...