PM tells Conservative conference that removing gas as power source will help protect against price surgesThe prime minister has confirmed plans to eliminate fossil fuels from UK electricity generation by 2035.Speaking during the Conservative party conference, Boris Johnson said the proposed shift would help the UK decarbonise, while softening the impact of the kind of gas price fluctuations that have prompted fears of a winter energy crisis in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Council plans to divert car traffic from city via a ring road while providing more buses and cycle linesBirmingham has announced what it calls a “transformative” transport plan that will see the car-centric city becoming a super-sized low-traffic neighbourhood.City officials hope that closing roads to through motor traffic, introducing a fleet of zero-emission cross-city buses and building additional protected cycleways will create a more liveable city. Continue reading...

Protesters stop traffic at Hanger Lane, the Blackwall tunnel and Wandsworth BridgeInsulate Britain activists have staged three morning roadblocks in central London, leading to dozens of arrests and confrontations with drivers stuck in heavy traffic at the height of rush-hour.The climate activist group said 54 supporters had blocked Hanger Lane in north London, the Blackwall tunnel in south-east London, and Wandsworth Bridge in south-west London, as they began a fourth week of their campaign for government action on home insulation. Continue reading...

As the Morrison government invests $250m in the technology, the Fortescue metals chief says ‘it’s a good soundbite but it doesn’t work’

Growing fears of energy security are leading a rethink on Chinese involvement in atomic plans. But what alternative are there?Among the subjects preoccupying delegates at the Conservative party conference in Manchester on Monday, energy will be near the top of the list.Soaring global gas prices, a lack of windpower and surging household bills have focused minds on Britain’s energy needs – and the role of nuclear power in particular. Continue reading...

Crews scramble to contain 126,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled in waters off Orange county before it spread further into wetlandsOne of the largest oil spills in recent southern California history fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled on Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.At least 126,000 gallons (572,807 liters) of oil spilled into the waters off Orange county, according to a statement from the city of Huntington Beach. Continue reading...

Government will introduce tougher powers to deal with climate change activists who block major roadsProtesters disrupting motorways will face up to six months in prison or unlimited fines under plans to stop climate campaigners bringing traffic to a halt, Priti Patel will say this week.The home secretary said she would amend new legislation to bring in tougher sentences and give police powers to seize equipment that protesters could use to lock themselves on to fixed objects. Continue reading...

Human activity disturbs nesting of puffins and rare roseate terns at Coquet Island in NorthumberlandA bird sanctuary island in Northumberland, home to Britain’s rarest nesting seabird, is being threatened by an influx of “rogue” paddleboarders and kayakers who are causing major disturbances.Dr Paul Morrison, the site manager of Coquet Island, said in his 37 years in the job he had seen a lot of changes, but “this is one of the most serious ones”. Continue reading...

BBC One natural history series relied on local film-makers to be in the right place at the right timeAfrican bullfrogs converging on pools in South Africa and fighting like bar room brawlers; a school of ghostly-looking manta rays assembling off the Australian coast; vivid images of amphibious snot otters working co-operatively in a cold north American river.These are all scenes from the new BBC One David Attenborough blockbuster series The Mating Game, filmed during the Covid crisis using a markedly different approach to the 50-year-old tried-and-tested way of doing things. Continue reading...

A water industry group is calling for legislation and planning controls to protect waterways from climate change and pollutionEngland’s rivers are facing a crisis from climate change, agricultural pollution and lack of effective planning controls. That is the key warning of Water UK, the industry group that represents the nation’s water suppliers.In a report to be published this week, the authority will call for the government to set up a national rivers plan and enact a rivers act to ensure the health of the country’s waterways. “We are calling for a new deal for rivers in England,” it states. Continue reading...

A majority of voters in the Conservative party’s key 41 constituencies believe the UK should be a world leader on climateVoters in Tory heartlands want the government to do more to tackle the climate crisis, and support measures that many backbench Conservative MPs have balked at, from ditching gas boilers to taxing flights, new polling shows.The government has delayed or dialled back key measures in recent weeks. There is no sign of the long-awaited heat and building strategy,the net zero strategy has been postponed to later this month, while the environment bill is stuck in parliament as ministers rejected strengthening amendments from the Lords. Continue reading...

Miner says group is ‘trespassing’ but police have acknowledged their cultural rights under human rights actQueensland police have told a group of First Nations people occupying the site of Adani’s Carmichael coalmine for the past five weeks that they have no intention of removing them from the area “at this time”.The group of Wangan and Jagalingou traditional owners opposed to the coalmine project began an ongoing cultural ceremony within the boundary of Adani’s mining lease in late August. Continue reading...

Monarch urges MSPs to build ‘fairer and greener future’ as she opens parliament ahead of Cop26The Queen has urged Scotland’s MSPs to tackle climate change and “help create a better, healthier future” in a speech ahead of the Cop26 climate conference.The Queen also reflected on the “deep and abiding affection” and happy memories she and the late Duke of Edinburgh shared of Scotland as she formally opened the new session of the Scottish parliament. Continue reading...

Homes in America are changing, inevitably and irreversibly. We want to hear from you what this looks and feels likeFor many in America, 2021 has been the year that the climate crisis matured from a worrying abstraction into a very present catastrophe, with much of the country ensnared in a vicious cycle of heatwaves, drought, wildfires and flooding.As ever, the effects have not been evenly distributed. Poorer people are the worst hit – more likely to work outside, with less access to air conditioning and public services, and fewer resources to relocate to safer ground. But the emergency has never felt so close for so many people. Continue reading...

Project has trained more than 21,000 staff and pupils, aiming for changes on whole-organisation levelThe cobbled streets of Coronation Street may not be the most obvious platform for conversations about the climate crisis, but the UK’s longest-running soap opera has increasingly turned its attention to the environment in recent years.From smaller plot points such as Sally Metcalfe discussing climate change with her partner over dinner, to 10-year-old Liam Connor collapsing on the street from an asthma attack caused by air pollution, environmental issues frequently crop up on the show. Continue reading...

Early sales are surging across a range of goods, from toys to frozen turkeys and festive decorations“Be prepared” is the motto for Christmas this year as British shoppers order favourite foods, trees and lights earlier than ever to ensure they get what they need for the big day. Potential shortages of workers to process and pack meat and vegetables and to deliver presents and decorations have prompted surge in early orders in the following areas: Continue reading...

A Cop26 insider from a developing nation on why the richer world needs to meet its funding targetsOne of the biggest issues at Cop26 is climate finance, the funding that is supposed to be provided by the rich world to developing countries to help us cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impact of the climate crisis.Back at the Copenhagen Cop in 2009, we were promised at least $100bn (£74bn) a year in climate finance by 2020 and every year after that to at least 2025. But that target has been missed. Recently, we saw an OECD report which found that in 2019 only about $80bn was provided.Every week we’ll hear from negotiators from a developing country that is involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations and will be attending the Cop26 climate conference. Continue reading...

Matt Kean says Matt Canavan and George Christensen ‘never worry about rocking the boat, so why should progressive, economically rational Liberals not do likewise?’

Decision follows lobbying by oil and gas company Santos, who have said they would not start a CCS project without access to carbon credit revenueThe Morrison government has increased support for controversial fossil fuel projects that promise to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions by approving a plan to award them carbon credits.It followed the oil and gas company Santos saying a proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its Moomba gas well in South Australia hinged on whether it had access to carbon credit revenue. Continue reading...

Climate activists stage 10th day of protests as they call on PM to ‘get on with job’ of insulating homesThirty nine activists from Insulate Britain have been arrested after the climate campaign group staged its 10th day of protest in three weeks, as it called on the prime minister to “get on with the job” of insulating homes.Shortly after 8am on Friday, activists glued themselves to the ground and to each other at junction 3 of the M4 near Heathrow airport, west London, and at junction 1 of the M1, near Brent Cross in north London. At about 11am, a third group blocked junction 25 of the M25, near Enfield. Continue reading...

UK ‘would be seen as worst hypocrite imaginable’ if plans for deep mine are approved, say environmentalistsApproving a new deep coalmine in Cumbria would stifle international efforts to decarbonise industry and could produce a chain-reaction effect boosting prospective overseas mining projects, the public inquiry into the UK scheme has heard.Boris Johnson’s aspirations to cast his government as an international climate leader at the upcoming Cop26 summit would be fatally undermined, the inquiry’s closing session also heard, if the mine were given the green light by the Planning Inspectorate. Continue reading...

National Pig Association fears ‘acute welfare disaster’ within weeks if farmers cannot get stock processedFarmers have warned that up to 120,000 pigs face being culled because of a lack of abattoir workers, as acute labour shortages across supply chains continue to wreak havoc on the UK economy.Rob Mutimer, the chair of the National Pig Association (NPA), said Britain was facing an “acute welfare disaster” within a matter of weeks, with farmers forced to kill their livestock because of an acute shortage of butchers and slaughterers. Continue reading...

Colour-coded labels will show buyers the percentage of renewables and fossil raw materials, and fuel’s originFuel retailers in Sweden are now required to display eco-labels at pumps in what is thought to be the first initiative of its kind in the world.From today, it will be compulsory for dispensers of fluid and gas transportation fuels to be labelled with its climate intensity, renewable share and origin. Continue reading...

Around the world, architects, activists and communities are finding ways to bring wildlife into urban areasMany readers have noticed wildflowers thriving in urban areas as city councils decide to let grass grow wild. These colourful little patches may seem like window dressing in the face of vast decline, but across the world people are welcoming wildlife into cities, where more than half of us live. Here is a look at 10 of the most exciting and innovative urban biodiversity projects popping up. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including Siberian wolves, a long-tailed hummingbird and a hungry polar bear Continue reading...

Party must not back away from ensuring rapid transition to low-carbon economy, say campaignersClimate experts and campaigners have given a cautious welcome to Labour’s proposals to tackle the escalating ecological crisis but urged the party not to back away from a broader “green new deal” agenda to ensure a rapid and fair transition to a low-carbon economy.During its party conference in Brighton, Labour set out measures including an annual £28bn green investment fund, a mass retrofitting programme, a pledge to decarbonise steel and a “net zero and nature test” for every policy. Continue reading...

Experts hope he is resting and building up blubber reserves before returning to Arctic to look for mateWhen Wally the walrus disappeared after more than five months of appearances around the UK and Ireland, interspersed with visits to France and Spain, observers feared the worst.But after about three weeks at sea he re-emerged in Iceland, looking skinnier but much closer to his Arctic home. Continue reading...

Scientists have searching for the bird ever since a kayaker apparently spied one in 2004 – can we be sure it’s really gone?This week the US government declared the ivory-billed woodpecker and 22 species extinct. They were officially removed from the endangered species list because they hadn’t been documented in the wild for many years.The loss of the species was hailed by many as a consequence of human population growth and the attendant loss of natural habitats and growth in pollution, as well as the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Conservationists warn long-awaited draft locks in damage by allowing thousands of feral horses to roam in more than a third of the national park

Campaigners hail ruling preventing TTR dredging 50m tonnes of iron-sands from South Taranaki coast, though mining firm says it will try again

National Trust says people are turning into ‘leaf peepers’ with more noticing trees than at start of pandemicThe nights are drawing in and there is a chill in the air but research commissioned by a conservation charity suggests British people are increasingly finding solace at what can be a tricky time of year in the joy of autumn colour.About a third of people questioned said enjoying the burst of gold, red, purples russet and orange that accompanies autumn was their favourite thing about the season, ahead of looking forward to Bonfire Night, the television schedule or even Christmas. Continue reading...

Gabriela Hearst showcased artisan pieces handmade from leftover fabric, with Gillian Anderson and Demi Moore in the front rowGabriela Hearst, the creative director of Chloé, is bringing the values of the climate emergency era to Paris fashion week’s top table. The Chloé woman, once all carefree insouciance, now cares very much.For almost 70 years, under stellar designer alumni from Karl Lagerfeld to Phoebe Philo, Chloé’s USP was that it consistently made the prettiest clothes in Paris. Since Hearst’s arrival last year, Chloé has been trying to make the most sustainable clothes instead. Continue reading...

Simon Clarke, chief secretary to the Treasury, tells BBC: ‘The idea that this is somehow just a British problem is fundamentally wrong’

Bookings for autumn getaways higher than usual in UK, Europe and beyond as Covid travel rules easePrivate jet providers are experiencing “unprecedented demand” from wealthy customers seeking to avoid the “mosh pit” of commercial flights on autumn getaways as coronavirus travel restrictions ease.Flexjet and PrivateFly, which supply private jets to rich families and business executives, said they were “experiencing exceptionally strong demand” for September and October travel at a time of year when bookings normally fall away. Continue reading...

A Guardian investigation reveals exploitation is rife in the meat industry, while also being a major source of greenhouse gases. Yet we still subsidise itThe case for cutting meat consumption is so compelling that you would think politicians would be less shy about making it. Yet while campaigners warn with increasing urgency that global livestock production is accelerating climate breakdown and causing devastating damage to nature and human health, governments remain reluctant to tackle meat-eating.Industrial livestock systems designed to extract ever greater commercial value from farmed animals have repeatedly been shown to depend on cruelty to animals and the armies of workers processing them. Continue reading...

A Senate inquiry shot down the senator’s bid to avert what he calls a ‘slow-motion disaster’, finding the states were better attuned to local needs

The pivotal Democratic senator owns millions of dollars in coal stocks. Shouldn’t he recuse himself from US climate talks?Joe Manchin has never been this famous. People around the world now know that the West Virginia Democrat is the essential 50th vote in the US Senate that president Joe Biden needs to pass his agenda into law. That includes Biden’s climate agenda. Which doesn’t bode well for defusing the climate emergency, given Manchin’s longstanding opposition to ambitious climate action.It turns out that the Senator wielding this awesome power – America’s climate decider-in-chief, one might call him – has a massive climate conflict of interest. Joe Manchin, investigative journalism has revealed, is a modern-day coal baron. Continue reading...

Global coffee prices forecast to hit $4.44 a kilogram due to Brazilian cold snap following a string of droughts and pandemic supply chain issues

Where once they roamed in vast flocks, today there are fewer than 350 in the wild. Now when it sings for a mate across a vast canyon, its lovelorn call is met by silence

Waratah Coal’s Galilee plant cannot compete with new renewables, according to a Queensland Conservation Council analysis

Increased earthquake activity and ground swelling detected at Kilauea, which destroyed 700 homes when it erupted in 2018One of the most active volcanoes on Earth, Hawaii’s Kilauea, has begun erupting, the US Geological Survey has confirmed.Webcam footage of the volcano’s Halemaumau crater showed lava fountains covering the floor of the crater and billowing clouds of volcanic gas were rising into the air. The same area has been home to a large lava lake at various times throughout the volcano’s eruptive past. Continue reading...

Oil and gas producers could reduce emissions at low cost or even at a profit by staunching leaks, says thinktankSharp cuts in methane from leaking gas drilling platforms and production sites could play a major role in the greenhouse gas emissions reductions necessary to fulfil the Paris climate agreement, and should be a key aim for the Cop26 UN climate talks, new research suggests.Cutting global emissions of methane by 40% by 2030 is achievable, with most cuts possible at low cost or even at a profit for companies such as oil and gas producers. It would make up for much of the shortfall in emissions reductions plans from national governments, according to the Energy Transitions Commission thinktank. Continue reading...

Fish and Wildlife Service proposes removing species from endangered list because they have not been spotted in the wildThe US Fish and Wildlife Service officially proposed taking 23 plants and animals off the endangered species list Wednesday, because they have not been spotted in the wild and are believed to be completely gone from an earth experiencing human population growth and a climate crisis.Only 11 species previously have been removed due to extinction in the almost half-century since the Endangered Species Act was signed into law. Continue reading...

Police arrest 11 after climate crisis protesters defy court injunction and glue themselves to roadPolice have claimed it is “very difficult” to bring charges against environmental activists after 27 members of Insulate Britain were arrested for blocking a roundabout at a junction with the M25.

Experts say state and territory commitments put net zero within reach whereas the federal target is nowhere near it

This is the first of a weekly column examining claims about climate change made by governments, politicians, business and in the mediaA little over a month before the start of a major climate conference in Glasgow, the Morrison government is struggling to agree on emissions reduction targets, and a promised long-term strategy to cut climate pollution has still not materialised.But at least it has an advertising campaign. Continue reading...

Judge blocks Teal Cedar Products’ extension request and says police conduct on Vancouver Island has put court at riskA provincial court in Canada has refused to extend an injunction against protesters demonstrating against old-growth logging, ruling that police conduct has been so troubling that to extend the order would place the court’s own reputation at risk.Related: Rescue of trapped Ontario miners involved gruelling climb to surface Continue reading...

French experts say the mountain has lost an average of 13 centimetres in height every year since 2001French experts say they have measured Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in western Europe, at almost a metre lower than its previous official height.Geographical experts said that after an expedition in mid-September the mighty mountain in the heart of the French Alps was 4,807.81 metres (15,773.65ft) high, lower than their last published estimate of 4,808.72 metres (15,776.64ft ) in 2017. Continue reading...

A landmark legal case is laying the groundwork for communities to sue parent companies for the damages of their subsidiariesChief Patricia Ogbonnaya walks through her Nigerian farm on a July afternoon, a light drizzle coating her umbrella while she examines what should have been ripe fruit trees and thriving fish ponds. She points to dark stains on tree trunks that stop abruptly at the same level across her land. “That’s how high the oil reached during the flood,” she says touching the bark, her hand coming away with sticky residue. Continue reading...

Long-awaited environmental impact statement has ‘massively underestimated’ effects on wildlife, advocates say