Subterranean fires are almost impossible to extinguish and add to global emissions from fossil fuelsThe longest-lasting fire known in the world, thought to date back at least 5,500 years, is burning beneath Mount Wingen in New South Wales. The blaze burns in a coal seam that may once have been exposed on the ground and set alight by lightning.Since then the fire has been smouldering, eating into the coal seam at a rate of about 3ft (1 metre) each year, but because it is about 100ft deep underground the fire is almost impossible to extinguish and will probably continue to burn long into the future.

The Morrison government has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for new gas projects, while Labor moves in lockstep with them on coal

‘Operation thermostat’ initiative aimed at helping country avert shortages and ministers sign gas deal with AngolaSchools and other public buildings in Italy will be forbidden from setting their air conditioning to any setting lower than 25C from next month, under a scheme intended to help the country dodge an energy crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.The energy rationing initiative, called “operation thermostat”, comes as Italy on Wednesday penned a deal with Angola to ramp up gas supplies from the southern African country. Continue reading...

Danger looms for larger species such as bumblebees, which have lower heat tolerance, leading to ‘cascading effects’ on ecosystemsThe climate crisis could lead to more small-bodied bees but fewer bumblebees, according to research warning of potential “cascading” effects on plant pollination and across whole ecosystems.Scientists in the US trapped and studied more than 20,000 bees over eight years in an area of the Rocky Mountains to find out how different types reacted to changing climatic conditions. Continue reading...

Experts say not enough is being done to reduce petrol consumption and encourage uptake of electric vehicles

Study finds Chinese consumption will fall within two to three years as Australian coalmining communities warned to reduce dependence on industryAustralia’s coal export boom will come to an abrupt end because of an “imminent and substantial” drop in purchases by China, and local coalmining communities should brace for the change, the lead author of a new study says.The peer-reviewed paper, published on Thursday in the journal Joule, forecasts China’s thermal coal imports will contract at least a quarter from 2019 levels of 210m tonnes by 2025, mostly as improved transport links will give local suppliers an edge. Continue reading...

Study of wetland birds in national parks and other reserves shows that species-specific management is crucial to successNational parks and other protected areas have had mixed success in conserving wildlife, according to the largest ever global study of their effects.Using wetland bird data from 1,506 protected areas around the world, scientists analysed the trends of more than 27,000 populations, and found that increased provision for the birds had not necessarily helped. Continue reading...

Campaigners had hoped access to nature would be extended in England, where 92% of land is privately ownedThe government has quashed a review into the right to roam in England’s countryside, amid anger from campaigners that the law of trespass stops people from walking freely around the country.It was revealed last year that the Treasury had commissioned Lord Agnew to lead a review into access to nature, asking respondents for “radical, joined up thinking” to achieve a “quantum shift in how our society supports people to access and engage with the outdoors”. Continue reading...

Campaigners say utility firm’s investment plan to remedy situation is ‘completely inadequate’Thames Water dumped untreated effluent for more than 68,000 hours into the river systems around Oxford last year, campaigners have revealed, arguing that the sum of money the company plans to spend to improve the situation is woefully inadequate.The company discharged raw sewage into the River Thames and its tributaries including the River Windrush, Thame, Evenlode and Ock 5,028 times in 2021, according to data analysed by the Oxford Rivers Improvement Campaign (ORIC). Continue reading...

Necropsy suggests marine mammal was ‘impaled in the head with a spear-like object’ while being illegally fedWildlife officials in Florida are investigating the mysterious death of a bottlenose dolphin that was recovered on a beach with an apparent stab wound to the head.The mammal, which was found on Fort Myers beach in the south-west of the state on 24 March, is believed to have been killed deliberately, probably while it was being fed illegally by humans. Continue reading...

Project by startup Granular will offer greater transparency over energy sources and could mean lower billsConsumers will soon be able to check where their energy is coming from hourly, and get a discount on bills if they use electricity when renewables are in surplus.Under plans by the startup Granular and energy giants including Elexon and National Grid, energy companies will allow UK consumers to track their power source. Continue reading...

Harvests have collapsed, and the way President Rajapaksa introduced the policy angered even organic farmersDriving through the verdant landscape of Rajanganaya, a rural district in north Sri Lanka where the hibiscus flowers pop out of rich green foliage and the mango trees are already weighed down by early fruit, it is hard to imagine this is a community in crisis. Yet for many of those who have farmed this land since the 1960s, mainly with rice and banana crops, the past year has been the toughest of their lives.“If things go on like this, in the future it will be hard to find a farmer left in Sri Lanka,” said Niluka Dilrukshi, 34, a rice paddy farmer. Continue reading...

Officials say nuclear energy remains vital as carbon-free source of power to help tackle the climate crisisThe Biden administration is launching a $6bn effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change.On Tuesday, a certification and bidding process opened for a civil nuclear credit program that is intended to bail out financially distressed owners or operators of nuclear power reactors, the US energy department told the Associated Press exclusively, shortly before the official announcement. It’s the largest federal investment in saving financially distressed nuclear reactors. Continue reading...

Footage shows five-year-old humpback in Canadian waters stalking and ambushing group more used to role of attackersAn aggressive humpback whale appeared to turn the tables on a pod of orcas off the Canadian coast, stalking then ambushing the group that more usually would have been attacking it.The rare occurrence took place on the Salish Sea between British Columbia and Washington state and was witnessed and recorded by enthralled tourists on a whale-watching trip. Continue reading...

Campaigners say they will revive campaign without pledge from Boris Johnson to end new fossil fuel projectsJust Stop Oil has said it will suspend its direct actions against fuel distribution for a week, but has told the prime minister its members will escalate their disruptive protests “if you do not fulfil your duty to the people”.For two and a half weeks, the climate activists have been targeting oil terminals and oil tankers in the Midlands and the south-east of England with blockades and mass trespass. Continue reading...

Boss says he hopes to be providing power to the national grid by 2029Rolls-Royce is to start building parts for its small modular nuclear reactors in anticipation of receiving regulatory approval from the British government by 2024, one of its directors has said.Paul Stein, the chairman of Rolls-Royce SMR, a subsidiary of the FTSE 100 engineering company, said he hoped to be providing power to the UK’s national grid by 2029. Continue reading...

Party seeking legislation as research reveals executives received £27m in bonuses in last two yearsBonuses should be banned for water company bosses until sewage spills into rivers stop, the Liberal Democrats are to demand.Executives were awarded £27m in bonuses over the past two years despite pumping out raw sewage into waterways 1,000 times a day, analysis by the party has found. Continue reading...

French energy firm plans to drill in national park and build 900-mile pipeline in sensitive environmentsThe French oil and gas company TotalEnergies has worked to cultivate a green reputation with climate goals and plans to ramp up renewable power, but a massive east African oil project is casting a shadow over that messaging campaign.Total plans to drill for oil in a richly biodiverse national park in Uganda and build a 900-mile pipeline, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which will flow through sensitive environments to a port in Tanzania for export. Continue reading...

Experts cite Scottish example, with turbines along roads and rail lines, as a way to make better use of ‘cheap, clean’ energy sourceOnshore windfarms need not blight the most beautiful parts of England because there is plenty of room for them next to rail lines and on brownfield land, leading scientists have said.The government decided to keep the curbs on onshore wind, introduced by David Cameron, in the recent energy strategy. This means that it will be difficult to expand onshore wind in England. Continue reading...

Revenue brought in by westerners hunting markhor, ibex and wild sheep is being used to conserve the elusive big cat and provide income for villages in the mountainous regionThere are few mammals that capture our imagination more than the rare and elusive snow leopard. Listed as vulnerable on the red list of threatened species, fewer than 7,000 Panthera uncia are thought to remain across the high mountains of Asia. Of these, an estimated 5% live in Tajikistan’s Pamir mountains, the third-highest ecosystem in the world after the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges. Here, against the odds, the leopards appear to be thriving.“In Tajikistan, the situation with snow leopards is optimistic because the population is visibly increasing,” says Khalil Karimov, a wildlife biologist and scientific adviser to the Association of Nature Conservation Organisations of Tajikistan (Ancot). “We have between 350 and 450 cats, although the exact number is impossible to say due to the nature of the leopards and the remote environment they inhabit.” Continue reading...

Culture Unstained put together submission stating oil company ‘falls short’ in response to climate crisisA group of climate scientists, archaeologists and those familiar with the museum industry have written to the British Museum’s board of trustees to urge them to sever a sponsorship deal with BP, arguing that it goes against the museum’s own policies and that a renewal would damage its reputation.The submission, put together by the group Culture Unstained, is part of an escalating campaign against the oil firm’s sponsorship of the museum, which is expected to make a decision about renewing the deal imminently. Continue reading...

Conservative governments have left the UK’s problem with leaky homes unresolved

Ed Miliband says move will ease energy price crisis and reduce dependence on Russian gas

Minister under pressure to release modelling he claims shows consumers would be $560 a year worse off under ALP’s electricity policy

Hispanic and Latino farmworkers at high risk from pesticide use in agriculture, while people in lower-income housing also affectedPeople of color and low-income communities are at disproportionate risk of pesticide exposure, a new study has found.Roughly 90% of pesticide use in the US is in agriculture, making farmworkers – 83% of whom identify as Hispanic – more vulnerable to the synthetic chemicals intended to kill, repel or control pests. Continue reading...

Pharmacy joins other retail chains in committing to end sales of plastic wipes by end of this yearThe high street chemist Boots is joining the ranks of retailers vowing to stop selling all wet wipes that contain plastic fibres, as part of efforts to cut non-biodegradable waste.The retailer said it was committing to stop selling all wet wipes containing plastic by the end of the year and would replace them with plant-based alternatives. Continue reading...

Senior official says US ‘determined that everyone raise ambition’ in tackling climate crisis and stresses need to keep heating below 1.5C

Spike in prices in part caused by coal-fired power plants cutting output, says analyst

Farmers in the Darling Downs say even minuscule changes to the flat black soil plains could disrupt soil drainage and farming methods

Critics say cash from UK, Norway, France and Germany could be wasted as damning report reveals illegalities, corruption and environmental crimesEnvironmental groups have raised concerns about a $500m (£380m) forest protection deal signed by Boris Johnson at Cop26, after a damning report into the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s “lawless” logging sector.Johnson signed the letter of intent on behalf of the Central African Forest Initiative (Cafi) for a 10-year agreement which includes objectives to protect high-value forests and peatlands. Of the £200m committed to protecting the Congo basin by the UK at Cop26, £32m was given to Cafi from the aid budget. Continue reading...

Progressive congressman from Maryland believes that no other crisis, even the existential threat of the changing climate, can be solved without first protecting the fabric of American democracyWhen it comes to fighting for democracy and climate change – two of Jamie Raskin’s top priorities – the whole thing feels a bit like a game of chicken and egg to the Democratic congressman.On the one hand there is the planet, heating up quickly past the limit that is safe and necessary for human survival, while Congress stalls on a $555bn climate package. On the other, a pernicious movement, spurred by Donald Trump and other rightwing conspiracy theorists, to upend voting rights protections and cast doubt on the current election system. Continue reading...

In north-western New Mexico, traditional Indigenous farming methods are being passed down to protect against the effects of climate crisisOn a windy winter day in Acoma Pueblo in north-western New Mexico, Aaron Lowden knelt beside a field near the San Jose River, the tribe’s primary irrigator for centuries.“The soil has been building up,” said Lowden, an Indigenous seed keeper and farmer, pushing his hand into the soft, dark dirt at the base of a stalk of dried Acoma blue corn. In the summer, this otherwise dry stretch of land turns into a “food forest”, said Lowden, pulling up a photo on his phone showing lush rows of corn, intercropped with Hopi yellow beans, and Acoma winter squash – the “three sisters” of Pueblo agriculture. Continue reading...

Successful breeding program brings optimism for a native species nearly eradicated by disease and bushfires

Divers find no leaks and government says ‘outlook is positive’ as navies try to limit environmental harm from sinking of vessel carrying 750-1,000 tonnesSome neighbouring countries have offered to help Tunisia prevent damage to the environment after a merchant ship carrying up to 1,000 tonnes of fuel sank off the country’s coast, the Tunisian defence ministry has said.The ship, which was travelling from Equatorial Guinea to Malta, requested entry to Tunisian waters on Friday evening due to bad weather. It sank near Gabes, and the Tunisian navy rescued all seven crew members. After being checked in hospital, all seven were taken to a hotel. Continue reading...

Nadhim Zahawi to announce course from 2o25 that will give pupils ‘deeper understanding’ of environmentA new natural history GCSE will be launched next week, focusing on how pupils can protect the planet.The qualification will be available from September 2025 and is expected to be announced by the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, on Thursday. Continue reading...

Police issue warning after first conviction since targeting of fuel terminal began on 1 AprilA 64-year-old woman has been convicted of aggravated trespass after taking part in a Just Stop Oil protest at a fuel site in Essex last week.Catherine Maclean, of Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex, became the first person to be convicted over involvement in the recent wave of fuel site blockades after admitting the offence at Chelmsford magistrates court on Saturday, Essex police said. Continue reading...

Park agency’s order to stop harvesting salts for commercial gain has angered Indigenous communityFor years, Melissa Daniels has been travelling to the vast wilds of northern Alberta to harvest naturally occurring salts on lands her ancestors once hunted and fished. She blends the salt with wildflowers from the woods and sells it in small batches.But Canada’s national park agency recently ordered her to stop, in a move that has angered her community and highlighted the park’s troubling history. Continue reading...

Anhydrous products are good for the planet and consumers – but will mainstream brands buy into the concept?The climate crisis is driving a new trend that will change the look of your bathroom cabinet for ever: waterless skincare.While wrapping-free, vegan toiletries have long had a place on British high streets, thanks to independent brands such as Lush, the new wave of waterless – or anhydrous – beauty products is driven by a combination of ethical concerns, innovations taken from Korean skincare and new developments in packaging. Continue reading...

Olympic gold medallist Etienne Stott among protesters calling for an end to investment in fossil fuelSix people were arrested after climate-change activists clambered on top of an oil tanker in central London on Saturday.Environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion said three people in Bayswater Road had climbed on top of the Shell tanker where they held up an “End fossil filth” banner while other demonstrators gathered around the vehicle. Among those taking part in the protest were Olympic gold medal-winning canoeist Etienne Stott and fellow British Olympian Laura Baldwin. “I am acting to try to disrupt the toxic fossil fuel industry that is destroying everything we hold dear,” Stott told reporters. Continue reading...

Plea by shadow justice secretary Steve Reed for nationwide bans on activists’ tactics angers many on left of partyLabour faces an escalating internal row over the treatment of climate crisis protesters after a shadow cabinet minister backed calls for nationwide injunctions to stop them blocking critical roads and fuel supplies.Steve Reed, the shadow justice secretary, called for immediate and wide-ranging bans on protesters’ tactics to be put in place last week. Reed said ministers should “get on with their jobs” and block further action from the Just Stop Oil group after about 40 arrests were made at Inter Terminals in Grays, Essex, last Monday. Others were arrested at Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak is merely the latest member of the government to display disdainful indifference to criticismIf, as your editorial suggests, we feel “we are governed by ministers who regard the rules as being for other people” (“Chancellor has damaged faith in democracy”, Comment), it is because they operate with the complacent condescension of Roman patricians, a group that governed by birthright and among whom Boris Johnson behaves like Caesar.It helps to explain what Andrew Rawnsley calls “The stench of entitlement now oozing from Rishi Sunak’s home as well as Mr Johnson’s” (Comment). Rawnsley wonders whether Sunak was “naive, idiotic, complacent, cavalier or arrogant” over his wife’s tax affairs, but once we recognise that Tory ministers think of themselves not as a class but a political caste all becomes clear. Continue reading...

Olympians Etienne Stott and Laura Baldwin among those who climbed on oil tanker, while others hung banner from Marble ArchSix people have been arrested after Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists, including two Olympians, scaled an oil tanker in west London. The Metropolitan police said that 40 people were arrested in total on Saturday in a number of protests across the capital.The gold medal-winning canoeist Etienne Stott, along with two others, climbed on to the Shell tanker on Bayswater Road with a banner reading “End fossil filth”. Continue reading...

Interior department raises royalty rates by 50% as administration juggles high oil prices and climate impactAs federal officials weigh efforts to fight the climate crisis against pressure to bring down high gasoline prices, the interior department is moving forward with the first onshore sales of public oil and natural gas drilling leases under Joe Biden.The move also calls for a sharp increase in royalty rates for companies, ostensibly to limit global emissions driving the climate crisis, though economists say the effect will be relatively small. Continue reading...

Break into male-dominated public-transport helps tackle city’s pollution crisis and safety concernsMonika Devi is thrilled to be driving her autorickshaw. The 35-year-old has two reasons to be particularly proud as she winds her way through New Delhi’s insanely congested streets.She is one of the first women to be driving one of the three-wheeled taxis that swarm the roads of the Indian capital. And she is driving one of Delhi’s first e-rickshaws – part of the city’s drive to tackle its notoriously filthy air. Continue reading...

Cost of living crisis could stall campaign to phase out the modern genetically selected fast-growing broilerThe Ross 308 is one of the most successful products in consumer history, with many tens of billions sold around the world over the last decade.With its own 15-page performance manual, low production costs and a bargain price for shoppers, it is marketed as the world’s most popular meat chicken. Continue reading...

The dressing-up trend is for throwaway chic – good news for sellers, sponsors and influencers, less so for the environmentFestival fashion, with its riot of colour, sequins, flower crowns and anything-goes outfits, is back. After a two-year, pandemic-induced hiatus, Coachella, the California-based music festival that attracts 250,000 fans, made its return this weekend, bringing with it vibrant new trends and a cash boost for the fashion industry.Coachella, the most fashionable event of the festival season, is known as much for its outfits as its performances. Trends for the rest of the year’s festival fashion are often dictated by the outfits worn by celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Katy Perry and Gigi Hadid. For streetwear brands and fast-fashion labels, Coachella is particularly important. The Boohoo-owned fast-fashion label, Pretty Little Thing, streetwear resale site StockX and US-based Gen Z retailer Revolve will sponsor areas at the festival, not just to advertise to attendees but also to those watching from home and on social media. Continue reading...

Ship carrying 750 tonnes of fuel from Egypt to Malta ran into difficulty in bad weather on Friday eveningA tanker carrying 750 tonnes of diesel fuel from Egypt to Malta sank in the Gulf of Gabes off Tunisia’s south-east coast, sparking a rush to avoid a spill.The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo was sailing from the Egyptian port of Damietta to Malta when it requested entry to Tunisian waters on Friday evening owing to bad weather. Continue reading...

The birds have not been seen in northern California for more than a century. Now they could help restore an ecosystemTucked among tall redwood trees in a remote part of northern California, four young California condors await their chance to take to the skies.The fluffy juveniles – housed in a facility where they playfully peck at each other and jump between perches – will help usher in a new era. Referred to as prey-go-neesh by the Yurok people who called this land home, the sacred scavengers are the first group to be reintroduced to their native range since they disappeared from the region more than a century ago. Continue reading...

After little sales growth over past five years, sector faces even bigger task to attract hard-pressed customersOrganic dairy, for so long the sector’s success story, is facing a crisis of confidence, with fears about whether people will keep buying organic milk, butter and cheese as food prices soar.Some UK organic farmers are being paid a milk price that is lower than the price some of their non-organic competitors get. Continue reading...

Residents of Lawrence Weston, a deprived housing estate, achieve £4m target without government aidA community group in one of the poorest parts of Bristol has met its funding target to build the tallest wind turbine in England, despite a lack of any central government funding for locally owned wind power generation.The group of residents from Lawrence Weston, a deprived housing estate on the edge of the West Country city, have secured £4m, and expect to begin groundworks for the turbine, which measures 150 metres from its base to the tip of its blade, in June. The wind turbine, which has a maximum capacity of 4.2MW, will sell energy to the grid. The group estimates it will bring in at least £100,000 a year. Continue reading...