Environment | The Guardian

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including cherry head tortoises, basking hippos and a cheeky squirrel Continue reading...

RSPB scientists say small increase in sightings points to first signs of recovery of beleaguered speciesGreenfinch populations, which were previously in steep decline in the UK, are showing the first signs of recovery, according to the latest annual RSPB big garden birdwatch results.The citizen science survey gives a good idea of how bird populations are faring in Britain. This year almost 700,000 people took part, counting more than 11 million birds. Continue reading...

Climate scientists say plugging methane leaks and phasing out fossil fuels are necessary to avert catastrophic global heatingAtmospheric levels of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, increased by a record amount for the second year in a row in 2021, according to US government data.The concentration of methane in the Earth’s atmosphere jumped by 17 parts per billion (ppb) in 2021, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) monitoring found, the largest annual increase recorded since modern measurements began in 1983. The previous record increase, of 15.3ppb, was set in 2020. Continue reading...

Wet weather and flooding continues, with schools closed and residents ordered to evacuate as torrential rain falls on Sydney and already saturated catchments

Court hearing will determine if Santos can progress coal seam gas development without consent of native title claimants

The government has failed to seize the moment and build on public enthusiasm for renewable energyA few weeks after the November Cop26 summit concluded in Glasgow, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published a striking snapshot of public attitudes towards the climate emergency. It showed that popular support for renewable energy, including onshore wind farms, had reached record levels. Given a cost-of-living crunch caused by the rocketing price of fossil fuels, and the new priority of energy independence following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an imaginative and proactive government would move to harness this enthusiasm and seize the moment. Sadly, Britain is not blessed with such a government.The future energy strategy unveiled by Boris Johnson on Thursday instead carries some of the hallmarks of his flawed government: a prime ministerial penchant for grands projets that may or may not be deliverable; a tendency to be unduly influenced by vocal lobby groups on the right of the Conservative party; and a propensity to set targets without doing the necessary work to enable them to be met. The aspiration that 95% of the UK’s electricity should come from renewable sources by 2030 is admirable, and the commitment to hugely increase offshore wind and solar capacity is significant. But inexplicable lacunae and wrong priorities make this a tale of missed opportunities. Continue reading...

Several endangered frog species have been sighted as flooding and non-stop rain create perfect conditions for them to breed and feed

Prime minister claims he has delivered ‘clean, affordable, secure power for generations to come’Boris Johnson claimed on Thursday that his energy security strategy had delivered “clean, affordable, secure power to the people for generations to come”.In comments issued as he launched the policy at Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset and put atomic energy front and centre of his plan, the prime minister said his government was the first for years that had not “dodged the big decisions on energy”. Continue reading...

The female fox tested positive for rabies and health authorities are considering the fate of her kitsHealth officials in Washington DC have euthanized a red fox that was responsible for biting at least nine people on Capitol Hill, including a congressman, and which tested positive for rabies.The female fox was captured on Tuesday and by Wednesday, officials from the DC health department confirmed that she had been “humanely euthanized” so she could be tested for rabies. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can find our latest UK political coverage hereBoris Johnson said energy bills had been going up around the world and “absolutely soared” after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.“We just can’t carry on like this,” the prime minister said in a social media video promoting his new energy strategy.I think there are strong views on lots of sides here but I’ll give you my perspective on this. I think that trans people face incredible barriers and stigma in our society.I was talking to a trans person the other day about this. I think the way this debate has been conducted – these anatomical debates – I think it is really awful for so many trans people in our country.I think that is a decision for the sporting bodies though ... I think it’s different in different sports. I think the principle here is that we need fairness in sport. Continue reading...

This plan could have ended dependence on Russian gas and tackled the cost of living crisis. Thanks to Tory backbenchers, it did neitherAt last, the energy security strategy has been published, after weeks of hedging, briefing and delays. The original aims of the strategy, which was initially promised on 7 March, were worthy: to confront rocketing energy bills and transition away from Russian fossil fuels after the invasion of Ukraine.There was also hope in the climate world that the strategy would go further and faster in the transition to a zero-carbon economy. The cost of renewables has tumbled, and the UK’s leaky housing stock is crying out for retrofitting. This was an opportunity for an urgent response both to the climate and cost of living crises.Eleanor Salter writes about climate, culture and politics Continue reading...

Boris Johnson is to put nuclear energy at the heart of the UK’s new energy strategy, which could mean eight more nuclear reactors being approved on existing sites. The government’s plans are in defiance of its own net zero targets, but Johnson insists they will ‘reduce our dependence on power sources exposed to volatile international prices we cannot control, so we can enjoy greater energy self-sufficiency with cheaper bills’

Conservationists say the farms are a danger to sea lions and other marine mammals, who can become entangled in their netsDozens of thieving sea lions in western Canada have spent the last few weeks gorging on fish after brazenly slipping into an industrial salmon farm – and ignoring all attempts to make them move on.Cermaq, the aquaculture giant with operations in Norway, Chile and Canada, says the wily predators were able to evade netting and electric fences in late March as part of a “breach event” at the Rant Point farm near Tofino in British Columbia. Continue reading...

Flood warnings and evacuation orders in place across NSW; Marise Payne announces fresh sanctions on 67 individuals over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; Melbourne’s Park Hotel empty of asylum seekers after release from detention granted; environment minister adopts long-awaited koala recovery plan; nation records 33 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Minister’s proposal comes after some plants said they would close earlier than scheduled as they struggled to compete with renewables

The Morrison government touts their climate credentials but analysts say following Australia’s path would see 3C or more of global heating

Backflip comes a day after PM rejected the request, prompting the Insurance Council of Australia to accuse the federal government of shirking responsibility

Plan will not please environmental campaigners, who say it fails to meet government’s net-zero targets

Analysis: betting big on nuclear, hydrogen, oil and gas while passing over energy saving measures, Johnson’s plan is a huge missed opportunity

On Wednesday, I risked arrest by locking myself onto an entrance to the JP Morgan Chase building in downtown LA. I can’t stand by – and nor should you“Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals, but the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels.” – United Nations Secretary General Antonio GuterresI’m a climate scientist and a desperate father. How can I plead any harder? What will it take? What can my colleagues and I do to stop this catastrophe unfolding now all around us with such excruciating clarity?Peter Kalmus is a climate scientist and author based in Los Angeles Continue reading...

Joe Biden links new measures directly to accounts of atrocities committed by Russian forces in Bucha

Using windfarms would be an easy, quick, cheap and actually popular way to solve the energy bill crisisAfter Friday’s huge jump in energy costs, millions of people across the UK face a frightening future. Urgent measures are needed but, instead of taking action, the cabinet is absorbed in a pointless argument that wrongly pits the energy bill crisis against our climate commitments. In reality, the best way of bringing down bills is to get off gas for good.We can take immediate steps to stop using gas because the UK has clean energy sources that can get going quickly, and are cheap and popular – wind and solar in particular. But at a time when they should be powering up the UK with renewables, ministers have other ideas: suggesting deepening our reliance on fossils fuels by opening up more drilling in the UK; or labouring under the misapprehension that people would rather live near a nuclear power plant than a wind turbine.Alethea Warrington is campaigns manager for the climate crisis charity Possible Continue reading...

‘I stayed in a tent nearby, waking up at 4am to begin the hour-long walk towards the pits. By the time we arrived, the miners had already been working for hours’I took this photograph last year in northern Malawi. It’s part of a project for Norwegian Church Aid, an NGO that documents modern slavery in the mining industry. It’s very hard to believe your own eyes when you see what this actually looks like. These miners work in dangerous conditions with very little protective gear. Their salaries are awful and their contracts are unstable, not to mention the terrible health and environmental impacts of such polluting work. But mining is the only option available to the local people: they have no other choice.I stayed in a tent nearby, waking up at 4am to begin the hour-long walk towards the pits. By the time we arrived, the miners had already been working for hours. Continue reading...

Pressured by Tory right, minister to announce gas-heavy energy strategy with little emphasis on insulationThe UK government is set to order more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea in defiance of its own net zero targets, while neglecting alternative measures that experts say would provide much quicker relief from high energy bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions instead of raising them.The energy security strategy to be unveiled on Thursday will acknowledge the need to move away from fossil fuels, the Guardian understands, but still allow for licences to explore new oil and gas fields to be expedited and more production from existing North Sea fields.A review of the scientific advice on the safety of fracking. The Guardian understands that Kwarteng thinks fracking in the UK is unrealistic and uneconomic, but under pressure from the right will keep the option open.Doubling the target on the use of hydrogen, from 5GW to 10GW, of which half will come from “blue” hydrogen created from fossil fuels, despite evidence that it emits more carbon than coal. Ministers are expected to present blue hydrogen as a necessary bridge to future “green” hydrogen from renewable energy, but campaigners say it will lock in high emissions.A boost to offshore wind, with the expansion of existing coastal offshore windfarms and potential new floating platforms in deeper waters, but solar energy risks being missed.Investment in new nuclear reactors being made easier.Few new measures on ramping up heat pumps and no comprehensive national programme to insulate housing on the scale experts say is feasible and would make a real difference to the cost of living. Continue reading...

Just Stop Oil campaigners have blockaded the Navigator oil terminal in Essex in the aim of cutting off region’s fuel supplyActivists who aim to choke off the supply of petrol to south-east England have occupied the region’s busiest oil terminal.Supporters of the Just Stop Oil campaign used telescopic ladders to climb over the fence at Navigator oil terminal in Thurrock, Essex, at 3am on Wednesday morning after trekking along the banks of the Thames to reach the rear of the site. Continue reading...

Rise leads to suspicion that those who wish to kill birds of prey have cottoned on to impact of brodifacoumA highly toxic rat poison is killing increasing numbers of birds of prey, figures show, as wildlife campaigners call for its use to be banned outdoors.Most recently, a white-tailed eagle was found poisoned by the anticoagulant brodifacoum on an estate in Dorset. Police closed the investigation into the eagle death last week with no charges issued. Continue reading...

More products may need to be imported as Covid-19 and Brexit led to 500,000 vacancies in August 2021Chronic worker shortages in the food and farming sector as a result of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic could push food prices even higher and lead to more food having to be imported, MPs have warned.Parliamentarians on the environment, food and rural affairs committee reported that the sector had half a million vacancies in August, representing an eighth of all roles. Continue reading...

I know this seems like a terrible time to argue that anything should be more expensive. But for the sake of farmers, cows and the planet, this is one price that needs to riseHere is just a small list of things I think should be prohibitively expensive: imported flowers, leaf blowers, portable speakers, Frank Sinatra albums and bleach. Here is a list of things I think should be free: childcare, access to woodland, water in pubs, healthcare, ketchup at chip shops and lateral flow tests. And somewhere between the two sits milk.Michael Oakes, chair of the national dairy board of the National Farmers’ Union, told the Today programme this week that rising costs in fuel, fertilisers and animal feed have made dairy farming unsustainable for many people in the UK. Farmers are leaving the sector, getting into terrible debt and worse. As a result of these rising costs, we are likely to see an increase in the price of milk, as well as butter, cheese, yoghurt and everything else that would make up about 85% of my four-year-old son’s diet if he had his way. While this is obviously going to be a huge issue for people on low incomes – especially parents and older people with mid-century appetites – it is also perhaps time. I don’t want to walk into a bear fight covered in honey here but, like many people, I believe that farmers should be paid fairly, supermarkets shouldn’t be able to squeeze every drop of profit out of food producers and more of us should start to see milk – all dairy – as a luxury.Nell Frizzell is the author of The Panic Years, out now through Bantam Press. Arwa Mahdawi is away Continue reading...

Sussan Ley approves reburial of 108 ancient Aboriginal remains in NSW in accordance with wishes of traditional owners

You are now “officially” allowed to take action

Rating given over threat to whales, with worrying declines for other fish, warns Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish GuideCrab and lobster have been classed as “fish to avoid” by the Marine Conservation Society in its new UK guide to sustainable seafood, due to concern over whales getting entangled in Scottish fishing gear.Monkfish from the North Sea and the west of Scotland, where populations have declined to their lowest since 2013, have also joined the guide’s list of “fish to avoid”, alongside most skates and rays. Skates and rays are in decline globally, with a third of species facing extinction due to overfishing. Continue reading...

On top of targeting net zero and high energy bills, UK aims to reduce exposure to Russian oil and gasThe way in which Britain is powered and heated could be dramatically reshaped by the government’s energy strategy, set to be published this week.Against the backdrop of Russia’s brutality in Ukraine, the landmark policy proposals have been rendered all the more poignant. Continue reading...

Dominic Perrottet says negotiations with federal counterparts have been ‘frustrating’

The party hopes to win over Tory voters at the local elections disgusted with inaction over sewage dumping in riversSewage has become a major battleground in the local elections in so-called “blue wall” seats, where the Liberal Democrats are challenging the Conservatives, from Guildford to Cambridgeshire.The Lib Dems have put eliminating sewage dumps at the heart of their campaign, with the party leader, Ed Davey, planning to launch their fight at the River Wandle in Wimbledon on Wednesday. He is calling for a tax on sewage companies to fund the clean up of local rivers, which can see waste pumped out into the environment when there is heavy rainfall. Continue reading...

Conservatives seek to examine latest techniques, citing rising energy costsMinisters have paved the way for a reconsideration of the moratorium on fracking in England by commissioning a new study to examine safety concerns about the controversial practice.In an effort to decrease Britain’s reliance on imported energy given spiralling costs, the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said it was “absolutely right that we explore all possible domestic energy sources”. Continue reading...

Calls for report to be released before election so voters know ‘official state’ of environment under Morrison government

Money pledged without explanation for cost blowout as some investors withdraw, believing Emu Swamp Dam project now unviable

Researchers say slaughter of wild dogs comes down to misinformation as some graziers consider how to co-exist with native dingoes

If you think wind turbines are ugly, try living near a power station, writes Dr Michael Symonds, while Terry Leary wonders why tidal power is being overlookedSince when has something being an “eyesore” been a good reason for not constructing more wind turbines (Boris Johnson blows cold on onshore wind faced with 100-plus rebel MPs, 5 April)? Living close to the second largest emitter of CO in the country – the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station – I can testify to what an eyesore it is. Not to mention the knowledge that every time plumes of vapour are emitted from its vast cooling towers, yet more carbon is being released from burning coal. The regular flooding of local properties due to the frequent torrential rain that we now experience is another eyesore.

Experts say criticism of oil and gas’s ‘climate-blocking activities’ cut from final draft, reflective of industry’s power and influenceThe fossil fuel industry and its influence over policy was the major elephant in the room looming over the release of the third and final report, out this week, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading climate authority. The major source of contention: how do you talk about mitigating climate change without confronting the fossil fuel industry? “It’s like Star Wars without Darth Vader,” says environmental sociologist Robert Brulle, of Brown University.The first two reports, both released over the last year, highlighted the physical science on climate effects and countries’ vulnerability to further warming. But this third report deals more with the potential solutions, which have been a focal point of controversy in recent years for both the fossil fuel industry and the governments of oil-rich nations.This story is published as part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of news outlets strengthening coverage of the climate story Continue reading...

Scientists’ concerns come after Jacob Rees-Mogg declared ‘every last drop of oil from the North Sea’ should be exploitedThe UK government is moving too slowly to tackle the climate emergency, leading scientists have said in the wake of the latest IPCC report.This comes after Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit minister, declared that he supported “exploiting every last cubic inch of gas from the North Sea” the day the report was released. Continue reading...

Analysis: Renewable Energy Foundation says it does not see renewables as a large part of net zero strategy

Do you go for the efficiency, cleanliness and response of induction, or the char-ability of gas – or both? We ask some of our favourite cooks what they prefer

Lincolnshire county council’s Colin Davie has vowed to ‘restart old fights’ and oppose new onshore wind

Overall new car sales fall slump as petrol and diesel prices soar in Ukraine crisisBritish drivers bought more electric cars in March alone than in the whole of 2019 even as the broader market slumped, according to figures that underline the accelerating pace of the UK’s transition away from internal combustion engines.There were 39,315 new battery electric vehicle registrations during the month, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. In 2019 there were 37,850 electric sales. Continue reading...

A Norwegian oil company wants to drill 73m barrels a year off the coast of Newfoundland – the equivalent of adding 7m gas cars to the roadCoal and other fossil fuels are “choking humanity”. Those were the words of António Guterres, the secretary general of the United Nations, in response to the sobering recent International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which warned that the world has a small window remaining to act before irreversible and catastrophic impacts are locked in.People around the world are already paying the price with their lives and livelihoods. In 2021, the 10 biggest extreme weather events cost $170bn in damages.Conor Curtis is a digital communications coordinator for the Sierra Club Canada Foundation and a researcher on climate change impacts and policy that affect his home province of Newfoundland and LabradorTzeporah Berman is the international program director at Stand.earth and the chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative Continue reading...

Narrower definition excludes chemicals in pharmaceuticals and pesticides that are generally defined as PFASThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) department responsible for protecting the public from toxic substances is working under a new definition of PFAS “forever chemicals” that excludes some of their widely used compounds.The new “working definition”, established by the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, is not only at odds with much of the scientific world, but is narrower than that used by other EPA departments. Continue reading...

In one of the largest claims in English legal history, 200,000 people affected by the 2015 incident will have their case heard this weekMore than 200,000 victims of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster are seeking compensation in a UK court this week, in one of the largest group claims in English legal history.The claimants, including representatives of Krenak indigenous communities, are fighting to get compensation for the devastation caused by the Mariana dam disaster in November 2015. The £5bn lawsuit is against the Anglo-Australian mining company BHP. Continue reading...

Opposition in cabinet as well as on backbenches to expansion of turbines in England widely seen as an eyesorePro-green cabinet ministers are frustrated by Boris Johnson’s decision to back away from ambitious onshore windfarm plans for England, as it emerged more than 100 Tory MPs are lobbying against the policy behind the scenes.The prime minister, who is to announce his energy strategy later in the week, will announce big targets for increasing nuclear power and offshore wind, as well as exploiting more North Sea oil and gas. Continue reading...