Environment | The Guardian

International Union for the Conservation of Nature says NSW government’s plan would inundate Indigenous sites and could create an in-danger listing for Blue Mountains

Formerly rare high temperatures now covering half of seas and devastating wildlife, study showsExtreme heat in the world’s oceans passed the “point of no return” in 2014 and has become the new normal, according to research.Scientists analysed sea surface temperatures over the last 150 years, which have risen because of global heating. They found that extreme temperatures occurring just 2% of the time a century ago have occurred at least 50% of the time across the global ocean since 2014. Continue reading...

Cop26 experts said no new fossil fuel plans would be compatible with climate targetsMinisters face a backlash from climate groups after giving the green light to a new North Sea oilfield just weeks after the Cop26 UN climate talks in Glasgow.The Abigail oil and gas field off the east coast of Scotland was quietly approved by the government’s Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) last month, defying climate experts who warned at the Glasgow conference in November that no new fossil fuel developments would be compatible with the world’s climate targets. Continue reading...

Former Labour MP Derek Wyatt points out three critical issues surrounding the government’s £100m investment in EDF’s nuclear power plantThree critical issues surrounding the future of the Sizewell C project were missing from the recent announcement (Ministers invest £100m in EDF’s £20bn Sizewell C nuclear power station, 27 January). The first is the appalling state of EDF’s finances. This is coupled with shutdowns at its French power stations, using similar technology to Sizewell C. Newer nuclear power stations are not working.The second is that China General Nuclear Power has a 20% stake in Sizewell C. How does the government intend to play its cards here? How much will it pay to ask CGNP to stand down? £100m? Continue reading...

Treasurer Matt Kean says $171m infrastructure spend is essential: ‘EVs will play a critical role in halving our emissions by 2030’

Woodside Energy is the largest donor among fossil fuel producers backing new oil and gas projects across Australia

Researchers say tackling the picnicking public’s instinctive ‘yuck factor’ will be part of their work

Product needed for food, hospitals and nuclear plants was under threat as main supplier faced supply crisisProduction of carbon dioxide for use in producing meat, beer and fizzy drinks has been secured for at least three months under a new industry deal.Meat processors, brewers, bakers and soft drink producers all use CO in making and packaging their goods. It is also required for the humane slaughter of animals including pigs and chickens, and is used by hospitals and nuclear power plants. Continue reading...

The islands no longer resemble what I knew as a child, as high tides and storms gnaw constantly at the road. Around here, change is non-negotiableA few months ago, I decided I wanted to drive the entirety of Highway 12 – a slim highway that snakes along North Carolina’s barrier islands – before the climate crisis alters it further.Though I spent much of my childhood on the southern part of North Carolina’s coast, these overdeveloped, humid islands have piqued my imagination for decades. I wanted to witness what remains, and what is likely to disappear. Continue reading...

Clever corvids become newest weapon in Södertälje’s war against street litterCrows are being recruited to pick up discarded cigarette butts from the streets and squares of a Swedish city as part of a cost-cutting drive.The wild birds carry out the task as they receive a little food for every butt that they deposit in a bespoke machine designed by a startup in Södertälje, near Stockholm. Continue reading...

Queenslanders urged to reduce energy consumption as high temperatures and high dew points leave state sweltering

Second world war codebreaking calculations used at Bletchley Park find 9,000 of those species are yet to be discoveredThere are an estimated 73,300 species of tree on Earth, 9,000 of which have yet to be discovered, according to a global count of tree species by thousands of researchers who used second world war codebreaking techniques created at Bletchley Park to evaluate the number of unknown species.Researchers working on the ground in 90 countries collected information on 38 million trees, sometimes walking for days and camping in remote places to reach them. The study found there are about 14% more tree species than previously reported and that a third of undiscovered tree species are rare, meaning they could be vulnerable to extinction by human-driven changes in land use and the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Northern outpost of ecological attraction could open in 2024 if government stumps up startup cashA northern English outpost of the Eden Project has moved a step closer to reality after councillors in Lancashire granted planning permission for the £125m eco-attraction.Eden Project North, which would be built in giant, transparent domes on Morecambe’s promenade, is being presented to government as a “shovel-ready” initiative that could help boost the deprived seaside town. Continue reading...

Government halts planned slaughter of animals in ‘wolf zone’, after campaigners secure injunctionNorway has halted a major hunt of wolves after campaigners secured a court injunction.Twenty-five animals, within four packs, are in the “wolf zone”, an area of nature set aside to protect the predators, and these have been given a stay of execution by the courts after campaigners argued wolves in a conservation area should not be shot. Continue reading...

Editorial calling for cycling licences and insurance is odd given paper’s previous campaigns for safer roadsEven in the context of the UK media’s famously curious coverage of everyday cycling, this was a surprise. Away from the more familiar tabloid cries of a “battle” over changes to the Highway Code, tucked away in the sober enclave of the Times’s editorial pages something odd was happening.It was near the bottom of a leader column on cycling that a paper which, less than a decade ago, launched the most concerted and effective media campaign for safe cycling seen in this country for years, decided in effect to declare war on those who opt for two-wheeled transport. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese will back controversial Snowy Hydro project that Morrison government has committed to fundingFederal Labor says Snowy Hydro could proceed with building a new power plant in the Hunter Valley if it wins the upcoming election – but insists the plant should be powered entirely by green hydrogen, instead of gas, by 2030.The opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, and the shadow climate change minister, Chris Bowen, are expected to make the announcement during a campaign visit to the electorate of Paterson on Tuesday. Continue reading...

US company’s Model 3 makes up almost two-thirds of electric cars sold in Australia in 2021, as EV market share grows to 2.39%

US giant agrees to hire auditors after calculation errors, poor record-keeping and inconsistent data collection discoveredUS coalmining giant Peabody Energy has repeatedly submitted incorrect greenhouse gas emissions reports to the Australian government, prompting questions about the reliability of national climate data based on company assessments.The Clean Energy Regulator found Peabody had a history of filing inaccurate reports required under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act due to calculation errors, poor record-keeping and inconsistent data collection and analysis. Continue reading...

Wind speeds of up to 100 miles an hour recorded in Scotland helped send power generation soaringThe UK’s windfarms generated a record amount of renewable electricity over the weekend as Storm Malik battered parts of Scotland and northern England.Wind speeds of up to 100 miles an hour recorded in Scotland helped wind power generation to rise to a provisional all-time high of more than 19,500 megawatts – or more than half the UK’s electricity – according to data from National Grid. Continue reading...

Auto show dedicates entire pavilion to electric vehicles but experts say more charging stations are needed for Biden’s goal to be realizedThe Washington DC Auto Show has been showcasing alternative fuel vehicles for 15 years, but this is the first year an entire pavilion was dedicated to electric vehicles, or EVs. In part, you can thank the current occupant of the nearby White House for that.If Joe Biden has his way with his ambitious $2.2tn Build Back Better plan there will be 50% zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2030. The Biden administration also has plans to convert an estimated 600,000 of its fleet to alternative fuels as part of a renewed commitment to combat climate change. Continue reading...

The Humboldt penguins, Elmer and Lima, expertly watched over an egg that hatched on New Year’s DayA pair of male Humboldt penguins at a New York zoo have become foster parents to a new hatchling.The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse says the same-sex foster couple, Elmer and Lima, are a first for the zoo, although several other institutions have seen success with same-sex penguins tending eggs together and caring for newborns. Continue reading...

Pay-monthly models are catching on across a wide range of businesses – including food and even home insulationHollie Wright spotted an opportunity. Working in property management, she came across a company that needed to furnish a home for an employee moving in for a few months. What if they could rent everything from one place and pay a subscription?Two decades later, her business, Instant Home, allows people to pay a monthly rent starting at £220 for the basics for a one-bed flat (or £500 for more premium versions). When the rental ends, her company takes everything back. Continue reading...

Hunting and trapping will end after 82 wolves killed but commissioners won’t reinstate quotas ended by RepublicansMontana wildlife commissioners on Friday moved to shut down gray wolf hunting around Yellowstone national park, amid mounting criticism over a record number of animals shot or trapped after roaming across the park boundary this winter.But commissioners rejected calls to revive quotas that would limit the number of wolves killed along Yellowstone’s northern border to just a few annually. Those longstanding quotas were lifted last year after Republicans passed laws intended to drive down the wolf population by making it easier to kill the animals. Continue reading...

Orderly pine plantations in the Cairngorms are being messed up as part of a plan to let nature thriveThe Scots pine plantations in Abernethy forest are the crème de la crème in forestry terms: tall, straight and dense. These plantations were created in the 1930s, and the wood had a variety of uses, from ships’ masts to trench timbers. Now, this woodland is being retrofitted for wildlife as part of the UK’s largest land restoration project because, although it is striking to wander in such a regimented landscape, nature prefers things to be less orderly.The gnarled older and bigger trees are better for woodland species, which is why conservationists working on Cairngorms Connect are intentionally making a mess and artificially ageing trees as part of their efforts to restore Scotland’s old Caledonian pine forest to its former, imperfect glory. Continue reading...

Exclusive: ‘Shocked and concerned’ US government scientists say heat stress over Australia’s ocean jewel is unprecedented

Federal judge rules that Biden administration did not properly consider the leases’ impact upon the climate crisisA US federal judge has blocked a highly controversial sale of oil and gas drilling leases across 80m acres of the Gulf of Mexico, ruling that Joe Biden’s administration did not properly consider the leases’ impact upon the climate crisis.The decision, handed down by the DC court late on Thursday, represents a landmark victory for environmental groups that had sued the government to prevent what was the largest ever auction of oil and gas leases in the gulf’s history. Continue reading...

The best of this week’s wildlife pictures, including a big-headed frog, a relocated rhino and a hungry swan Continue reading...

Savings come largely from efficient electrical appliances and boilers but insulation could halve future billsEnergy efficiency measures have already saved the average British household about £1,000 a year in energy bills, and further insulation and home improvements could halve future bills, analysis has shown.But the future savings are unlikely to be realised unless the government focuses swiftly on insulation, as the savings to date have come largely from efficiency improvements in electrical appliances and boilers, which will not be repeated. Continue reading...

North Yorkshire fishers found pots heavy not with brown crab but with prized invaderInvasive king crabs have made their way to British shores, sparking fears that local brown crab and scallop populations could be decimated.This week, fishers in North Yorkshire found their pots heavy not with brown crab, but with the bright-red invader with long, spindly legs prized for their sweet flesh. London restaurants have already snapped up the haul, ready for weekend menus. Continue reading...

Country’s ‘corrupt’ approach to conservation leaves protected forests facing ‘oblivion’, human rights watchdog warnsRampant illegal logging of protected forests is threatening the cultural survival and livelihoods of indigenous people in Cambodia, according to Amnesty International.Members of the Kuy people, one of the largest of Cambodia’s 24 indigenous groups, told Amnesty how deforestation in two protected forests, along with government restrictions on access have undermined their way of life and violated their human rights. Continue reading...

Average Briton produces more carbon in two days than Congolese person does in entire year, study findsIn the first two days of January, the average Briton was already responsible for more carbon dioxide emissions than someone from the Democratic Republic of the Congo would produce in an entire year, according to analysis by the Center for Global Development (CGD).The study, which highlights the “vast energy inequality” between rich and poor countries, found that each Briton produces 200 times the climate emissions of the average Congolese person, with people in the US producing 585 times as much. By the end of January, the carbon emitted by someone living in the UK will surpass the annual emissions of citizens of 30 low- and middle-income countries, it found. Continue reading...

Many teachers and pupils frustrated over climate education despite ministers’ pledge to prioritise itBritain’s children are being failed by schools when it comes to learning about the climate crisis, with the subject often wholly missing from the curriculum, sidelined, or mistaught, students and education experts have said.A private member’s bill that would require basic knowledge of climate issues to be taught in the national curriculum receives its second reading in parliament on Friday with cross-party support. But it is unlikely to make it to the statute books, despite promises at Cop26 last November that ministers would prioritise climate education in schools. Continue reading...

New restrictions on administering drugs to healthy animals come into force across EU to tackle critical overuse, but UK fails to follow suitThe reputation of British farming is at risk after its failure to follow the EU in curbing the overuse of antibiotics in healthy animals, say campaigners.

National Trust plan for England, Wales and Northern Ireland aims to help people reconnect with the countrysideA “green corridor” inspired by the 18th-century fashion of perambulating for both pleasure and therapy is to be created, linking the city of Bath with the rolling hills that surround it.The corridor is the first of 20 projects that the National Trust is planning to design to connect urban areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to green spaces on their fringes. Continue reading...

When the drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded in 2010, Stephen Stone escaped with his life. But in the years that followed, he came to feel deeply betrayed by the industry he had once trusted. By Eyal Press• Read the text version here Continue reading...

Barrier will stretch for almost half the length of the border and cost 10 times migration department’s budgetPoland has started building a wall along its frontier with Belarus aimed at preventing asylum seekers from entering the country, which cuts through a protected forest and Unesco world heritage site.The Polish border guard said the barrier would measure 186km (115 miles), almost half the length of the border shared by the two countries, reach up to 5.5 metres (18ft) and cost €353m (£293m). It will be equipped with motion detectors and thermal cameras. Continue reading...

Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique worst affected with 77 people reported dead and 80,000 more forced from their homesHumanitarian agencies have mounted an emergency response across southern Africa this week as the death toll from tropical Storm Ana reached 77.Officials reported that at least 41 people had been killed in Madagascar, 18 in Mozambique and 11 in Malawi. The EU’s aid agency Echo said on Thursday that at least 350,000 people have been affected across the three countries, including more than 80,000 displaced from their homes. Flooding has cut off roads and damaged power and water supplies. Continue reading...

Aemo report shows renewable energy accounted for record share of generation as NEM emissions fell to lowest quarterly total on record

Coalition investment includes funding for water quality projects, pest management and reef science

Tiny steps towards net zero are being undermined by new fossil fuel projects. An election year offers the chance to hold our politicians to accountEven during the summer holiday switch-off it was impossible to miss the takes about the Netflix satire Don’t Look Up.Climate scientists related to the helplessness and panic felt by the astronomers in the movie who discovered a “planet killing” comet about to hit Earth, only to have their warnings mocked and ignored. Continue reading...

Findings are result of first major study into link between premature death in older people and unconventional drillingElderly people living near or downwind from unconventional oil and gas wells such as fracking sites are more likely to die prematurely, according to a major new US study.Extracting oil and gas through newer or unconventional methods like fracking has expanded rapidly across America over the past two decades with at least 17.6 million people now living within one kilometer of an active well. Continue reading...

Research is first to document coordinated female-led pods ramming world’s largest animal and eating its tongue before it diesFrom snatching sea lions off beaches to stunning fish with a strike of their tails, orcas are renowned for their highly specialised hunting techniques passed down over generations. Now, for the first time, killer whales have been recorded hunting the planet’s largest animal – the blue whale – in coordinated and brutal attacks.Female-led pods of killer whales, also known as orcas, have been recorded killing and eating blue whales in three separate attacks off the coast of Australia since 2019, according to a paper published in Marine Mammal Science. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Climate Emergency UK’s analysis finds regional variations, with a Somerset council scoring bestMore than one in five of all councils in the UK have no climate action plan, research shows.In 2019, Theresa May’s government committed the UK to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Since then, hundreds of local authorities have published plans to show how they intend to become carbon neutral. Continue reading...

In Puerto Viejo, scuba diving was once just for tourists, but a centre is training young people with few opportunities to care for the ocean on their doorstep“I put fresh almond leaves in your underwater masks as anti-fogging – a way to avoid using chemicals. You can remove them once in the water, just before diving,” says Salim Vasquez, 14, pushing her dreadlocks away from her mask.She distributes the equipment to her fellow divers, who are aged between 14 and 24, and Ana María Arenas, a group coordinator. It is 8am on a cloudy Sunday morning in Puerto Viejo, a Jamaican-inspired city in the south of Costa Rica. The young conservationists are preparing to dive into the Caribbean water for their weekly reef monitoring. Continue reading...

Speaking on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Peterson claimed the climate was too complex to be modelled accurately, which was quickly shot down by scientists

Species that disappeared from Northants woods in 1977 is thriving four years after its reintroductionNature lovers will be able to enjoy the high-speed flight of the chequered skipper butterfly in an English woodland for the first time in more than 45 years this summer.Such is the success of a four-year reintroduction programme to return the rare insect to the woods of Northamptonshire, where it fell extinct in 1977, that its secret site can be revealed to the public. Continue reading...

A primitive Australian fish living in a San Francisco museum is believed to be the oldest living aquarium fish in the world. Methuselah is a four-foot-long (1.2-meter) Australian lungfish, weighing around 40lb (18.1kg). The species has both lungs and gills and is believed to be the evolutionary link between fish and amphibians. The lungfish was brought to the San Francisco museum in 1938 from Australia and now lives at the California Academy of Sciences. The species is threatened and can no longer be exported from Australian waters so biologists at the academy say it's unlikely they'll get a replacement once Methuselah passes away

Government’s cash injection is designed to ‘maximise investor confidence’ while the company courts private investorsMinisters have thrown further support behind EDF Energy’s £20bn Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk with a £100m investment to help develop the project while the company courts private investors.The government’s cash injection is designed to “maximise investor confidence” in the project while French state-owned EDF works towards setting out a funding plan which satisfies investors and UK ministers. Continue reading...

Development money for nuclear power station is an attempt to draw in investors that could replace China’s CGNA sum of £100m is peanuts in the expensive world of nuclear power stations, so regard the business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s funding for a round of development work on Sizewell C as a form of advertising. The cash is intended to send a message that the government is serious about getting the plant built in Suffolk. And it is an appeal for outside investors to volunteer to sit alongside developer EDF, the French state-backed group.There was also a definition of a desirable investor: “British pension funds, insurers and other institutional investors from like-minded countries”. Note the nationality test. It is the closest we have come to official confirmation that China General Nuclear (CGN), originally slated for a 20% stake in Sizewell, will be kicked off the project. It remains to be seen how, legally, the government will rip up the 2015 deal with CGN signed by David Cameron’s government, but the intention is clear. Continue reading...

Soaring oil and gas prices may tempt investors to plough more funds into long-term projects, warns thinktankGlobal oil prices have climbed to $90 a barrel, which could tempt investors to pile more cash into long-term fossil fuel projects, dashing the world’s hopes to limit carbon emissions in line with climate targets and wasting billions in investment, according to a report.Recent price rises could mean more potential projects appear to be lucrative investments in the short-term, the report by the financial thinktank Carbon Tracker says. But the analysis suggests demand for fossil fuels could begin to dwindle by the time these projects begin, creating “a nightmare scenario” for investors and climate campaigners. Continue reading...