Campaigners warn crucial legislation must not be abandoned while the UK government is distractedCrucial environment legislation must not be allowed to be sidelined or abandoned amid the distraction of a Tory leadership race, campaigners have warned.Ministers openly admit they do not know what is going on with much of the legislation, but those who remain in government are working with skeleton teams to get bills in shape to be passed. Continue reading...

Parliament approves measures to use mothballed sites to produce electricity and preserve gas suppliesGermany’s two houses of parliament have passed emergency legislation to reactivate mothballed coal-fired power plants in order to support electricity generation amid fears of gas shortages as Russia curbs capacity.The move has been described as “painful but necessary” by the government’s environmentalist economics minister, Robert Habeck. It has the backing of leading Greens in the coalition government, who argue it is needed as a short-term crisis management tool. Continue reading...

Much needed decisions on energy to retail taxes look likely to stall amid political chaosBoris Johnson is still prime minister, for now, and has appointed a cabinet, so technically the business of government should be able to continue. With the nation gripped by a cost of living crisis, and action needed on everything from education to energy, the ministerial in-trays are overflowing. But the chances of a “lame-duck” administration getting much done look decidedly thin. Here are some of the major policies that could stall amid the chaos. Continue reading...

Washburn fire is burning near southern portion of the park, Mariposa Grove, home to over 500 mature giant sequoiasYosemite national park has been partially closed as firefighters try to contain a wildfire that has now stretched across more than 60 acres.The Washburn fire is burning near the southern portion of the park, Mariposa Grove, which is home to more than 500 mature giant sequoias in the park, officials said. Continue reading...

Court of appeal judgment allows £5bn lawsuit against mining giant BHP by more than 200,000 victims of 2015 Mariana dam disasterMore than 200,000 victims of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster will have their case heard in a UK court, making it the largest group claim in English legal history.The lawsuit is against the Anglo-Australian mining company BHP – one of the biggest companies in the world – for their involvement in the collapse of the Mariana dam in 2015, which released toxic mining waste down 400 miles (640km) of waterways along the Doce River. Claimants are seeking at least £5bn ($6bn) in compensation. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including baby lemurs, a fulmar and a sulphur-crested cockatoo Continue reading...

Addressing the twin challenges of carbon emissions and biodiversity loss requires political will and leadership. Ambitious commitments must be made

Exclusive: Frans Timmermans says short-term return to fossil fuels needed to head off threat of civil unrestEurope is in danger of highly damaging “very, very strong conflict and strife” this winter over high energy prices, and should make a short-term return to fossil fuels to head off the threat of civil unrest, the vice-president of the European Commission has warned.Frans Timmermans, the second most senior official in the EU, said the threat of unrest this winter, a deliberate outcome of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, must take precedence over the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Conservation manager Jake Fiennes says Norfolk’s Holkham estate shows how fragile ecosystems can support huge visitor numbersThe government should factor in access to nature in its new payments strategy for farmers and other landowners in England, a leading land manager has said.Jake Fiennes, who sits on the board for Natural England’s national nature reserves, has advised the government to incentivise farmers to put better paths in place and educate the public about what they grow, and what nature lives on their land. Continue reading...

Large tortoiseshells breeding at Knepp, Sussex, after being officially extinct in Britain for half a centuryAn elusive butterfly that has been officially extinct in Britain for more than half a century has been discovered breeding on the rewilded estate of Knepp in West Sussex.The large tortoiseshell mysteriously vanished more than 50 years ago but this week male and female butterflies – much larger than the small tortoiseshell and without its white patterning – have been spotted at Knepp for the first time. Continue reading...

Contract price is nearly 6% lower than previous auction in 2019, which could ease pressure on energy billsThe price of offshore wind power in the UK has fallen to an all-time low, which could ease the pressure on future household energy bills.Following the biggest ever UK renewables auction, the government said on Thursday the contract price for windfarms was nearly 6% lower than the previous auction, despite the rising cost of materials to build windfarms. Continue reading...

International Energy Agency report finds China controls the bulk of world’s PV manufacturingAustralia could start a solar manufacturing “renaissance” and have a rare opportunity to accelerate its transition to renewable energy if it heeds a call by the International Energy Agency to diversify the world’s solar cell supply chain.A special report by the agency released on Friday found China controls over 80% of parts of the global photovoltaic (PV) solar supply chain, with one out of every seven panels produced worldwide being manufactured by a single factory.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...

Particles found in supermarket products and on Dutch farms, but human health impacts unknownMicroplastic contamination has been reported in beef and pork for the first time, as well as in the blood of cows and pigs on farms.Scientists at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA) in the Netherlands found the particles in three-quarters of meat and milk products tested and every blood sample in their pilot study. Continue reading...

Successor may be less sympathetic to environmental concerns, some supporters say

Experts urge more ‘humane’ methods of shark containment after third humpback freed from netting this week

Scientists say numbers of world’s second-largest animal have slowly improved since 1970s whaling ban but sightings in Antarctic feeding grounds are rareFor the first time since whaling was banned, up to 150 southern fin whales have been filmed feeding together in a “thrilling” Antarctic spectacle, hailed by scientists as a sign of hope for the world’s second-biggest animal.The ocean giants are second only to blue whales in length, with slender bodies that help them glide through the water at high speed. Continue reading...

Pacific Elders Voice also called for Australia to end gas and coal developments ahead of Pacific Islands Forum

Regional residents at risk of being ‘last people in the world’ driving petrol cars due to misconception electric vehicle batteries lack range, study suggests

Solar farms | Voting Labour | Coruscating v excoriating | Tips for standing on one leg | Renaming Murray MoundGeorge Monbiot says that we should be growing food rather than using the land to produce biofuels (Why are we feeding crops to our cars when people are starving?, 30 June). Surely, then, it makes even less sense to put solar panels on land that could be used to grow food, when there are lots of roofs that can be used for them.

Three pipeline projects are in early stages of planning in Iowa. An alliance of farmers, Indigenous groups and environmentalists wants to stop themIn August 2021, Sherri Webb found a letter in her mailbox about a new pipeline project. It would be a climate solution, the letter from Summit Carbon Solutions read, capturing planet-warming carbon dioxide and pumping it out of the state to be stored deep underground.The letter included an aerial map of Webb’s property and a word that immediately alarmed her: “easement”. To install the pipeline, planned to run underneath close to 2,000 miles of Iowa land, Summit wanted permission to dig underneath her farm, an 80-acre property near Shelby that has been in Webb’s family for over 100 years. Continue reading...

Ty Kayden put ‘tiny little three-foot seal’ in his ute and drove it to a beach where he released it back into the sea

Alan Lovell says he sees no conflict of interest in Environment Agency role and having shares in Progressive EnergyThe prospective new chair of the Environment Agency is refusing to divest his shareholding in a hydrogen and carbon capture company chosen for a major government project.Alan Lovell stood down as a director of Progressive Energy last month, according to Companies House records, two days after being announced as the preferred candidate for the role running England’s environmental watchdog. Continue reading...

Treasurer Cameron Dick says the state’s ties with Japan are based on ‘more than coal’

A range of factors is behind the rise in electricity prices, but net zero isn’t one of them

Experts warn of ‘permanent demand destruction’ for gas but say conditions are ideal for a structural shift to renewable energy

Hives along state’s central and mid-north coasts and in north-west destroyed as bee lockdown continues

Thursday: Covid-19 led Australia to record 3,105 more deaths than expected in January and February. Plus: UK prime minister told to step down by his own ministers

Homes, roads, bridges and power stations also badly hit with Balochistan province faring worstAt least 77 people have died in rain-related incidents across Pakistan in the past three weeks, the country’s minister for climate change said on Wednesday.The monsoon rains have also damaged homes, roads, bridges and power stations, Sherry Rehman told a news conference in the capital, Islamabad, as storms continued to lash the country. Continue reading...

Operator of Yorkshire plant reaches deal as part of government’s push to shore up UK’s energy suppliesDrax has agreed to extend the life of its coal-fired electricity generation units through this winter as the government scrambles to shore up Britain’s energy supplies.The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said the operator of the Yorkshire power station had agreed to push its planned closure back by six months until March. Continue reading...

University of Cambridge researchers find amphibians dwelling as high as 3 metres above groundScientists hunting for dormice have been surprised to find toads sleeping in their nest boxes, high up in the trees.A study has for the first time revealed the frequency with which the common toad nests and breeds in the trees. Continue reading...

Analysts caution changes in the manner of reports need to be considered when examining the data

Resilience is a byword in this NSW region where the second-worst flood in history has claimed new ground

Water over-extraction can have ‘huge consequences’ as seen in the Menindee Lakes fish kills, says academic

Victims not yet identified; death toll from Marmolada collapse now stands at nineTwo bodies have been found as rescuers searched for people missing since Sunday’s fatal avalanche on the Marmolada, the largest glacier in the Italian Dolomites.The victims have not yet been identified, but are believed to be part of the same group of climbers, according to Italian media reports. Continue reading...

UK regulator gave oil firm clearance to drop thousands of tonnes of pipes and cables after drilling finishedBP has been accused of dumping industrial waste at sea after starting to drop thousands of tonnes of oil pipes in a legally protected marine wildlife zone in the Atlantic.Confidential documents seen by the Guardian show the oil company sought approval to dump 14 pipes and control cables 120 miles west of Shetland after finishing drilling at the site. Continue reading...

Parliament backs plan to classify some projects as clean power investmentsThe European parliament has backed plans to label gas and nuclear energy as “green”, rejecting appeals from prominent Ukrainians and climate activists that the proposals are a gift to Vladimir Putin.One senior MEP said the vote was a “dark day for the climate”, while experts said the EU had set a dangerous precedent for countries to follow. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis of water samples taken in nine US locations shows test agency uses is likely missing significant levels of PFAS pollutantsA Guardian analysis of water samples from around the United States shows that the type of water testing relied on by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is so limited in scope that it is probably missing significant levels of PFAS pollutants.The undercount leaves regulators with an incomplete picture of the extent of PFAS contamination and reveals how millions of people may be facing an unknown health risk in their drinking water. Continue reading...

Biden’s election was billed as heralding a ‘climate presidency’ but congressional and judicial roadblocks mean he has little to showJoe Biden’s election triggered a global surge in optimism that the climate crisis would, finally, be decisively confronted. But the US supreme court’s decision last week to curtail America’s ability to cut planet-heating emissions has proved the latest blow to a faltering effort by Biden on climate that is now in danger of becoming largely moribund.The supreme court’s ruling that the US government could not use its existing powers to phase out coal-fired power generation without “clear congressional authorization” quickly ricocheted around the world among those now accustomed to looking on in dismay at America’s seemingly endless stumbles in addressing global heating. Continue reading...

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The Portland Bay had sparked fears of an environmental catastrophe after experiencing engine failure in rough weather

Vast body of water sets second record low water level in less than a year putting birds and $1.3bn lake-based economy at riskThe Great Salt Lake has hit a new historic low for the second time in less than a year, a dire milestone as the US west continues to weather a historic mega-drought.The Utah department of natural resources said in a news release on Monday that the Great Salt Lake dipped over the weekend to 4,190.1ft (1,277.1 meters). Continue reading...

Conditions set to ease from Thursday as scientists predict ‘increasingly common’ intense weather events as a result of global heating

Protesters from the coalition have staged disruptions at major British museums five times in the past weekFive supporters of the Just Stop Oil coalition have glued themselves to a 500-year-old depiction of The Last Supper in London’s Royal Academy, the fifth time in a week that it has disrupted a major British art institution.The activists struck just before noon, supergluing their hands to the frame of the 3-metre-long painting – a reproduction of the Leonardo da Vinci original attributed to his pupil, Giampietrino. Continue reading...

Peak at Sonnblick in Austrian Alps has melted more than a month before previous record timeThe snow at the highest observatory in the world to be operated all-year-round is expected to completely melt in the next few days, the earliest time on record.Scientists at the Sonnblick observatory in the Austrian Central Alps, which is 3,106 metres (10,190ft) above sea level, have been shocked and dismayed to see the snow depleting so quickly. Continue reading...

Parts of New South Wales have had more than 700mm of rain since the floods hit, with record July rainfall in a matter of days

We may be approaching a legal tipping point for fossil fuel companies and the spin masters that work for themIn 2005, I was the lead counsel on behalf of the US in one of the biggest corporate accountability legal actions ever filed. That trial proved that the tobacco industry knew it was selling and marketing a harmful product, that it had funded denial of public health science, and had used deceptive advertising and PR to protect assets instead of protecting consumers.Today, the fossil fuel industry finds itself in the same precarious legal position as the tobacco industry did in the late 1990s. The behaviour and goals of the tobacco and petroleum industries are pretty similar – and there are many similarities in their liabilities.Sharon Y Eubanks served as lead council in the federal tobacco litigation United States v Philip Morris USA, et al. She is the co-author of Bad Acts: The Racketeering Case Against the Tobacco Industry Continue reading...

In the glare of history, failure on climate will overshadow any other fact about their tenure. Let’s hope they feel the heat as much as we doOn Thursday, the supreme court of the United States struck down the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, sharply limiting the federal government’s ability to fight climate change.With Earth’s temperature rising steadily, with the scientific community shouting at the top of its lungs for more aggressive action, with fires and hurricanes pushing entire regions beyond the bounds of human habitability, the court’s Republican-appointed supermajority has chosen to actively inhibit our ability to respond to the crisis. The decision was in keeping with the Republican party’s deepening climate nihilism: as the train careens off the rails, they strangle the conductor, destroy the brakes.Daniel Sherrell is the author of Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World (Penguin Books) and a climate activist Continue reading...

Unpublished government records show rise in poultry products testing positive for salmonella infantis

How one couple helped save vast areas of wilderness in the 1940s – and provided a map for protecting them today“This is your land we are talking about,” the controversial, firebrand historian and conservationist Bernard DeVoto wrote in 1947, paraphrasing Woody Guthrie’s fresh folk classic.Bernard and his stylish, sharp-witted wife, Avis DeVoto, had returned from an epic road trip across the Lewis and Clark trail, crossing the states of the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. On their way, they researched America’s wild, public lands and philosophized about the spiritual connection between the freedom of movement they allowed and the freedom of thought they inspired. Continue reading...