Es Devlin, stage designer to Beyoncé, wants London Design Biennale to advance UN’s sustainability planOne of the most famous stone courtyards in Europe will be dramatically transformed this summer when it is taken over by a forest of 400 trees.The stage designer Es Devlin will channel ideas of enchanted woodland when she takes over Somerset House for the 2021 edition of London Design Biennale. Continue reading...

When is a meme worth $600,000? When technology has created a ‘unique’ version that can’t be owned by anyone else

The total number of butterflies west of the Rockies has fallen 1.6% a year since 1977, a study finds – ‘You extrapolate it and it’s crazy’The varied, and beautiful, butterfly species that dot the US west are being cut down by the climate crisis, new research has found, with rising temperatures helping cause a steep decline in butterfly numbers over the past 40 years.There has been a 1.6% reduction in the total number of butterflies observed west of the Rocky Mountain range each year since 1977, researchers calculated, which amounts to a staggering loss of butterflies over the timespan of the study period. Continue reading...

Senators posed misleading questions as they cited findings of a widely criticized research reportRepublican senators cited a study commissioned by the biggest oil and gas trade association in the US in their criticisms of Deb Haaland, Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of the Interior, during a confirmation hearing last week.Republicans on the Senate energy and natural resources committee referenced the study, which has been widely criticized by conservationists, as they grilled Haaland, a Democratic US representative from New Mexico, on her past statements about energy issues and the Biden administration’s climate plans. Continue reading...

Food discarded in homes is 74kg per person each year, with problem affecting rich and poor countriesPeople waste almost a billion tonnes of food a year, a UN report has revealed. It is the most comprehensive assessment to date and found waste was about double the previous best estimate.The food discarded in homes alone was 74kg per person each year on average around the world, the UN found. In the UK, which has some of the best data, the edible waste represents about eight meals per household each week. Continue reading...

Program previously disbursed billions in loan guarantees to companies such as Tesla and the failed solar company SolyndraAs part of its clean-energy agenda, the Biden administration is reviving an energy department program that disbursed billions of dollars in loan guarantees to companies such as electric car maker Tesla and the failed solar company Solyndra, the energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, says.The loan program helped launch the country’s first utility-scale wind and solar farms as part of the Obama administration’s efforts to create “green jobs” but largely went dormant under Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Imminent economic blueprint has implications for planet – and whether Paris agreement likely to be metChina is to publish a new blueprint for its economy on Friday, with vast implications for the future of the planet – including whether the goals of the Paris climate agreement are likely to be met.The five-year plan, of which this will be the 14th since 1953, forms the cornerstone of economic governance for the one-party state, and sets out social and environmental aspirations as well as GDP and industrial targets. Continue reading...

Environmental protection minister says suspect ship is now anchored in Iran but offers no evidence spill was intentionalIsrael’s environmental protection minister has said Iran was responsible for a recent oil spill that ravaged its shores and has claimed – without evidence – the incident was a form of “environmental terrorism”.Gila Gamliel said after a two-week investigation aimed at “getting our hands on the criminal ship” responsible for the tar slick, her ministry had identified a Panama-flagged tanker called Emerald, which was smuggling oil from Iran to Syria in breach of international sanctions. Continue reading...

Conservation groups welcome aspects of the largely voluntary packaging and recycling targets but warn regulation will be necessaryPolystyrene foam commonly used to package consumer goods will be phased out in Australia by mid-2022 as part of a national plan to combat mounting plastic waste.Conservation groups have welcomed many aspects of the plan, which also includes an end to polystyrene food and beverage containers by the end of 2022, but also criticised its largely voluntary approach to reaching ambitious goals, calling for those targets to be mandated. Continue reading...

In Jackson, where 80% of residents are Black, the cold led to breakages in the city’s ageing pipes, leaving thousands of its residents without running waterAs the sound of rainwater droplets crescendoed around him, Rodrick Readus stood by his front door and took a moment to reflect on the many indignities of the past fortnight.“It’s just the simple fact you can’t wash your hands,” he said. “You can’t take a bath. Every time I touch something I know I’m not clean.” Continue reading...

Scientists say restoring the lush habitats would boost wildlife, protect coasts and store carbonThe UK has lost more than 90% of the lush seagrass meadows that once surrounded the nation, research has found.Scientists described the decline as catastrophic, but the latest analysis also shows where the flowering plants could be restored. A resurgence of seagrass meadows would rapidly absorb the carbon dioxide that drives the climate crisis and provide habitats for hundreds of millions of fish, from seahorses to juvenile cod. Continue reading...

Water resources officials found that the snowpack, which supplies a third of the state’s water each year, had a water content of just 61% of averageCalifornia will face another critically dry year, and residents will need to adapt quickly to cope with water shortages and a warmer, drier climate that has helped fuel destructive wildfires.Officials with the state’s department of water resources announced on Tuesday they had found that the water content of the overall snowpack for 2 March amounted to 61% of the average. The state’s largest reservoirs were storing between 38% and 68% of their capacity, officials said, meaning that the state would have a lot less water to carry it through the rest of the year. Continue reading...

Cross-party environmental audit committee welcomes decision but urges Treasury to go further

Kills quickly exceeded statewide limit, forcing the state to end the hunting season earlyHunters and trappers in Wisconsin killed 216 gray wolves last week during the state’s 2021 wolf hunting season – more than 82% above the authorities’ stated quota, sparking uproar among animal-lovers and conservationists, according to reports.The kills all took place in less than 60 hours, quickly exceeding Wisconsin’s statewide stated limit of 119 animals. Continue reading...

Equivalent falls in emissions over a decade required to keep to safe limits of global heating, experts sayCarbon dioxide emissions must fall by the equivalent of a global lockdown roughly every two years for the next decade for the world to keep within safe limits of global heating, research has shown.Lockdowns around the world led to an unprecedented fall in emissions of about 7% in 2020, or about 2.6bn tonnes of CO, but reductions of between 1bn and 2bn tonnes are needed every year of the next decade to have a good chance of holding temperature rises to within 1.5C or 2C of pre-industrial levels, as required by the Paris agreement. Continue reading...

The energy industry is like a smoker who goes from one pack a day to two – but claims they’re quitting because they switched to filtered cigarettesThe United Nations campaign Race to Zero recently published a paper identifying 20 pathways to reach net zero carbon emissions. In December, the British Oil & Gas Authority published a requirement that oil and gas development be “consistent with net zero” (despite approval of new offshore permits). BP, Shell and other multinational companies have all now published their “net zero” pathways.Related: The climate crisis can't be solved by carbon accounting tricks | Simon Lewis Continue reading...

Disaster looms if big finance is allowed to game the carbon offsetting markets to achieve ‘net zero’ emissionsAn astonishing global shift is under way: 127 countries have now stated that by mid-century their overall emissions of carbon dioxide will be zero. That includes the EU, US, and UK by 2050 – and China by 2060. Companies are enthusiastically signing up to similar “net zero” goals. Finally the international community seems to have accepted the scientific fact that we need to stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere to stabilise our climate. Dare we hope that the climate crisis can be brought under control?Perhaps, but big problems remain. Long-term commitments have not resulted in sufficient near-term actions. The world is on track for emissions to be just 0.5% below 2010 levels by 2030, compared with the 45% needed on the road to net zero by 2050. The pivotal Glasgow Cop26 climate talks in November will need to tackle this. But a more insidious problem is emerging. Net zero increasingly involves highly questionable carbon accounting. As a result, the new politics swirling around net zero targets is rapidly becoming a confusing and dangerous mix of pragmatism, self-delusion and weapons-grade greenwash. Continue reading...

Ojok Okello is transforming his destroyed village into a green town where social enterprises responsibly harness the shea treeThe village of Okere Mom-Kok was in ruins by the end of more than a decade of war in northern Uganda.Now, just outside Ojok Okello’s living-room door, final-year pupils at the early childhood centre are noisily breaking for recess and a market is clattering into life, as is the local craft brewery, as what has become Okere City begins a new day. Continue reading...

The pygmy hog is still endangered but a reintroduction programme in Assam, India, has given it a greater chance of survivalThe greyish brown pygmy hog (Porcula salvania), with its sparse hair and a streamlined body that is about the size of a cat’s, is the smallest wild pig in the world, and also one of its rarest, appearing on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list as endangered.Named after the sal grasslands where they were first found, they once thrived in the lush plains of the sub Himalayas from Nepal to Uttar Pradesh. But today, there are thought to be less than 300 in the wild, in Assam, India. Continue reading...

Drivers of decline likely to be habitat loss, intensive farming, climate change and light pollutionMoths in Britain have declined in abundance by a third over the past 50 years, according to a new study.The declines of 39% in the abundance of larger moth species over southern Britain and a 22% fall across northern Britain add to the picture of calamitous declines in flying insects in the industrialised world. Continue reading...

Greenhouse gas stored in country’s marine world heritage sites about same as four years of national emissionsThree of Australia’s world heritage-listed marine sites have more than 2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide locked away in their vast seagrass meadows, coastal mangroves and tidal marshes, according to a new report from a UN agency.Unesco has for the first time calculated all the so-called “blue carbon” stored across its 50 world heritage marine sites and finds they contain about 5bn tonnes of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Continue reading...

UK campaigners seeking ban on lower-standard imports dismayed by agriculture and trade commission’s adviceMinisters have been advised to consider tariffs on imports of lower-standard food and farm produce from overseas, in order to protect the UK’s high standards of food safety and animal welfare.The recommendation, by an independent commission advising the government, was greeted with dismay by some farmers and food campaigners, who wanted an outright ban and regulations to prevent lower-standard imports in trade deals after Brexit. Continue reading...

Call comes at event hosted by UK government, which is under pressure over planned coalmine in CumbriaAll planned coal projects around the world must be cancelled to end the “deadly addiction” to the most polluting fossil fuel, the UN secretary-general António Guterres said on Tuesday.Phasing out coal from the electricity sector is the single most important step to tackle the climate crisis, he said. Guterres’s call came at the opening of a summit of the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), a group of governments and businesses committed to ending coal burning for power. Continue reading...

Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband says Conservatives are ‘allergic’ to required interventionPublic investment is desperately needed to kickstart a green economic recovery in the UK, but the government is stuck in the past and reluctant to make the interventions needed, Labour has warned.Ed Miliband, shadow business secretary, told the Guardian: “We need a proper green stimulus. Governments all around the world are recognising that if you want to do the transition [to net zero carbon emissions] governments need to step up. But this government is incredibly reluctant to do what is necessary.” Continue reading...

Parts of handover had been rushed in waning days of Trump to give Resolution Copper control over Arizona’s Oak Flat regionThe Biden administration has put the brakes on a controversial land exchange that would have given a sacred Native American site to a multinational mining company by 11 March.Parts of the handover had been rushed to completion in the waning days of the Trump administration, in an effort to give Resolution Copper control over Arizona’s Oak Flat region before or soon after Trump left office. Oak Flat sits atop one of the largest untapped copper deposits in the world, estimated to be worth more than $1bn. Continue reading...

Grant used to develop case to lobby federal government to weaken native grassland protection came as separate Taylor-family controlled company was facing investigations for illegal clearingAn agricultural group associated with Angus Taylor’s family thanked the New South Wales deputy premier, John Barilaro, for a $107,000 grant that was used to fund research to support lobbying efforts for the watering down of protections for endangered native grasslands.At the time, in late 2016, a separate Taylor family-controlled company, Jam Land, was under investigation for illegal clearing of native grasslands, in breach of the same grassland protections. It was facing potential fines of up to $1m. Continue reading...

Study finds five in 100,000 Australians taken to hospital for bee and wasp stings, twice the rate for spiders and snakesAustralia is home to the 11 most venomous snakes in the world, the deadliest spider in the world, and some of the most venomous marine life. And yet according to a study released on Wednesday, Australians are twice as likely end up in hospital because of a bee or wasp sting than an encounter with any other venomous creature.The study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare examined hospital records from 2017-2018 for reports of people being admitted to hospital – not just treated in the emergency department – after contact with a venomous creature. Continue reading...

UK researchers find link between regular meat intake and nine non-cancerous illnessesEating meat regularly increases someone’s risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, pneumonia and other serious illnesses, research has found.It is already known that intake of red and processed meat heightens the risk of being diagnosed with bowel cancer. But these findings are the first to assess whether meat consumption is linked to any of the 25 non-cancerous illnesses that most commonly lead to people being admitted to hospital in the UK. Continue reading...

The financial industry regulator says insurers may be able to pay future claims, but fewer people will be able to secure coverageMillions of Australians could be left uninsured as the effects of climate change put increasing pressure on the financial system, the industry’s regulatory body has warned.The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (Apra) executive director Dr Sean Carmody told a Senate hearing on Tuesday the nation’s insurers and banks were taking steps to prepare for worsening bushfire seasons and more extreme weather events. Continue reading...

Swedish carmaker also says it will sell its vehicles to consumers online onlyVolvo plans to sell only electric cars by 2030 in the latest move by a legacy carmaker to abandon fossil fuels that contribute to global heating.The Swedish carmaker also said it would sell its electric cars direct to consumers or via dealerships through the same simplified online portal, in a blow to the traditional model of selling vehicles via independent dealerships. Continue reading...

International Energy Agency data shows steady climb over second half of 2020

An ancestor of the sand monitor interbred with the world’s largest lizard, research revealsThe world’s largest living lizard – the Komodo dragon – reproduced with a species of lizard only found in Australia, a new study into its unusual breeding habits reveals.While fossil findings have previously shown the three-metre-long Komodo dragon, now only found on a handful of Indonesian islands, originated in Australia, researchers from the Australian National University have established a genetic link. Continue reading...

Representatives say regulators need to ensure there is no contamination from windblown seeds and pollen from genetically modified produceOrganic farming representatives say a decision by the New South Wales government to lift a ban on genetically modified crops will hurt its thriving industry.NSW agriculture minister Adam Marshall announced Tuesday the state’s 18-year moratorium on GM crops would be lifted on 1 July. Continue reading...

Danger of young people’s futures being blighted by climate and Covid crises, say campaigners

Research suggests pollution from the vehicles could be worse than advertisedPlug-in hybrid cars burn significantly more fuel than official tests record, according to research that suggests pollution from the vehicles could be much worse than advertised.Tests of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) by Which?, the UK consumer group, found that some popular cars achieved as little as a third of the fuel economy advertised in official tests. Continue reading...

Average weather temperature across the continent was slightly above averageThe summer just gone was Australia’s wettest in four years, with official data showing there was above average rainfall as a cooling La Niña imposed itself across much of the continent.The average temperature across the continent was slightly above average, representing a respite from the previous two summers that remain in the nation’s top two on record for heat. Continue reading...

A landmark class action against the Australian government, led by eight teenagers, begins in the federal court on Tuesday. The case could set a precedent that would stop the government from approving new fossil fuel projects because of their contribution to climate change. Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to 16-year-old Anj Sharma about the action.Read Adam Morton’s story about the landmark case and other legal challenges over government’s inaction on climate change here. Continue reading...

The condor, a vulture threatened by giant wind turbines, may be helped by energy company’s breeding projectAn energy company in California is teaming up with federal wildlife officials and the Oregon Zoo in an innovative project to ease the plight of the mighty, soaring condor, a critically endangered species of vulture threatened by giant wind turbines in the Tehachapi mountains north-east of Los Angeles.Avangrid Renewables, which operates 126 turbines as part of its Manzana wind power project, will finance the breeding of birds in captivity to replace any that might be killed by the 252ft diameter turbine blades. Continue reading...

Analysis shows emissions from 31 FTSE 100 companies are well above what’s needed to hit Paris targetsThree out of 10 of the UK’s biggest public companies emit carbon dioxide at a rate that would contribute significantly to the climate crisis, according to analysis that shows the scale of the challenge for corporate Britain to cut emissions to zero.Thirty-one members of the FTSE 100, the index of Britain’s largest listed companies, are emitting carbon dioxide at a rate consistent with global temperature increases of 2.7C or more by 2050, according to analysis by Arabesque, a company that provides climate data to investors. Continue reading...

Spanish officials say animals must be put down after two months at sea as owners struggled to find buyer because of disease fears

The fossil fuel industry is using the same playbook to fight city climate plans around the countryWhen the city of Austin drafted a plan to shift away from fossil fuels, the local gas company was fast on the scene to try to scale back the ambition of the effort.Like many cities across the US, the rapidly expanding and gentrifying Texas city is looking to shrink its climate footprint. So its initial plan was to virtually eliminate gas use in new buildings by 2030 and existing ones by 2040. Homes and businesses would have to run on electricity and stop using gas for heat, hot water and stoves. Continue reading...

Activists oppose metal shredder moving to East Side, a low-income Latino community reeling from the effects of industrial pollutionHunger strikers on Chicago’s Southeast Side have gone nearly four weeks without food to protest against environmental racism, and now the city is beginning to reconsider its stance on the controversial metal shredder that started it all.“I share your commitment to equity and fully understand that our frontline communities, particularly on the South and West Sides of Chicago, have been significantly impacted by environmental pollution and other compounding environmental issues, for multiple generations,” wrote Lori Lightfoot, the city’s mayor, in a letter from last Tuesday. Continue reading...

When flamingos migrate to the southern Iraqi marshes in the winter months, the poachers are waiting – and so are the customers who want them to decorate their gardensPhotographs by Chloe Sharrock. Words by Quentin Müller and Sylvain Mercadier“Is it flamingos you’re looking for? Come to my place after 1pm,” whispers Mustafa Ahmed Ali from inside his small shop, which is buzzing with bird sounds of all kinds. He has been selling birds – wild and bred – at the bird market in Amara, in Iraq’s Maysan province, for more than 30 years. Continue reading...

The 1,270sq km chunk separated from Brunt Ice Shelf near a British Antarctic Survey station on FridayAn iceberg almost the size of Greater London has split off from Antarctica, near a British Antarctic Survey station.Related: Researchers rethink life in a cold climate after Antarctic find Continue reading...

Texas freezes and the power goes off across much of the state. Whose fault was it? Donald Trump knows

Invasive bug that creates marks on fruit and vegetables probably hitched ride into Britain on packaging cratesIt is brown, stinky and will strike fear into the hearts of apple and other fruit growers.Scientists have now confirmed that the brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys), a small flying insect that emits an unpleasant almond-like odour, has arrived in Britain, after most probably hitching a ride on packaging crates. Continue reading...

Asset manager tells 30 biggest carbon dioxide emitters in its portfolio to set net zero goals

Report says country set to cut carbon emissions by 54% compared with 1990 levels, not 70% as plannedThe Danish government’s efforts towards meeting the country’s ambitious target of reducing emissions by 70% by 2030 have been judged “insufficient” by the body tasked with monitoring its progress, with measures so far announced only likely to take it a third of the way.In its first annual status report, the Danish Council on Climate Change said new laws, inter-party agreements and initiatives announced since the country’s climate law came into effect last June would reduce emissions by the equivalent of 7.2m tonnes of CO2 by 2030, which is only enough to reduce Denmark’s emissions by 54% compared with 1990 levels. Continue reading...

Predominantly Latino towns in California like East Orosi face huge obstacles getting clean drinking waterAn invisible line splits the rural road of Avenue 416 in California’s Tulare county, at the point where the nut trees stretch east toward the towering Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance.On one side of the line, residents have clean water. On the other side, they do not. Continue reading...

Joe Biden’s progressive nominee for interior secretary faced harsh questions from lawmakers with deep industry tiesPartway through the sometimes contentious confirmation hearing for Deb Haaland as US secretary of the interior last week came an acknowledgement of the two powerful forces, with very different attitudes to the climate crisis, that have squared off over the nomination.“I almost feel like your nomination is a proxy fight over the future of fossil fuels,” Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, told Haaland during the Senate hearing. Continue reading...