Humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish and end to puppy farming also in new package of animal welfare lawsCaged hens will be a thing of the past in England, the government has announced, as it launches a package of new animal welfare laws.Pig farrowing crates, which campaigners have said are cruel, will also be banned under the welfare changes. These cramped crates are used to stop pigs from rolling over and crushing their young, but once in them sows cannot turn over or move around at all. Continue reading...

Magpie on a mince pie anyone? Continue reading...

The first ever mass deployment of mother reef bricks aims to rebuild habitats - and could reshape the North SeaAllie Wharf's career unfolded amid conflict. As a senior foreign producer for Newsnight, she reported on Iraq and Afghanistan. Just two years ago, she was filming mass graves in Ukraine.But burnt out by wars, and after a detour farming ducks in Tanzania, Wharf has now settled on the quiet north Norfolk coast. Here, alongside her life and business partner, Willie Athill, she has embarked on a different kind of mission: the creation of Europe's largest natural oyster reef. Continue reading...

Asda, Lidl and Morrisons understood to be stocking imported branded turkeys to meet Christmas demandSeveral of the UK's big supermarkets have been forced to source turkeys from elsewhere in Europe to keep shelves stocked this Christmas, after avian flu curtailed UK production.Asda, Lidl and Morrisons are understood to be stocking branded turkey imported from mainland Europe - a move industry sources described as unprecedented" - to protect availability" and ensure sufficient supply for festive meals. Continue reading...

The Golden State's clean energy use hit new highs in 2025. As the Trump administration abandons US climate initiatives, can California fill the void?As officials from around the world met in Brazil for the Cop30 climate summit last month, the US president was nowhere to be found, nor were any members of his cabinet. Instead, the most prominent American voice in Belem was that of the California governor, Gavin Newsom.During the five days he spent in Brazil, Newsom described Donald Trump as an invasive species" and condemned his rollback of policies aimed at reducing emissions and expanding renewable energy. Newsom, long considered a presidential hopeful, argued that, as the US retreated, California would step up in its place as a stable, reliable" climate leader and partner. Continue reading...

Heating means pests breeding and spreading faster, warn scientists, with simplified current food system already vulnerable

System operator Neso predicts lowest carbon intensity ever on Christmas Day after new wind and solar power come onlineBritain's energy system operator has predicted that this year's Christmas Day could be the greenest yet.If the weather remains mild and windy for the rest of December, the National Energy System Operator (Neso) has said it could record the lowest carbon intensity - the measure of how much carbon dioxide is released to produce electricity - recorded on the network for 25 December. Continue reading...

European legislators may ban plant-based products from using the name to prevent confusion'. Just don't mention beef tomatoes or buffalo wingsMost of what you eat is sausages. I mean, if we're going to get literal about it. Sausage derives from the Latin salsicus, which means seasoned with salt". You might think of a sausage as a simple thing, but on this reading it is everything and nothing, a Borgesian meta-concept that retreats as you approach it.From another perspective, a sausage is an offal-filled intestine, or the macerated parts of an electrocuted or asphyxiated pig or other animal - generally parts that you wouldn't knowingly eat - mixed with other ingredients that, in isolation, you might consider inedible. For some reason, it is seldom marketed as such. Continue reading...

EPA proposed undoing Biden-era policy on exposure to carcinogenic toxin in latest push to weaken toxin standardsDonald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to increase the levels of exposure to highly carcinogenic formaldehyde it considers safe. If successful, people would continue to be exposed to concerning amounts of the toxin in thousands of everyday products used across the economy, experts and advocates say.Formaldehyde, a pungent colorless gas at room temperature, is found in a range of cosmetics, personal care products, home cleaners, craft supplies, leather goods, furniture, clothing, plastic, building materials and other everyday goods. During Joe Biden's term, EPA scientists took a major step toward reining in the broad societal risk by issuing a finding that any level of exposure to formaldehyde can cause cancer, and very low levels cause non-cancer health harms. Continue reading...

Games such as Dragon Quest used to mobilize workers to back corporate goals including relaxing environmental rulesToyota, the world's biggest carmaker, is using retro-style video games to rally its US workforce behind its corporate goals, including lobbying to relax environmental rules, the Guardian can reveal.Through an internal platform called Toyota Policy Drivers, employees can play games with names such as Star Quest, Adventure Quest and Dragon Quest, earning prizes by engaging with company messaging about policy and by contacting federal lawmakers using company-provided talking points. Continue reading...

Researchers noticed dramatic' changes in nutrients in crops, including drop in zinc and rise in leadMore carbon dioxide in the environment is making food more calorific but less nutritious - and also potentially more toxic, a study has found.Sterre ter Haar, a lecturer at Leiden University in the Netherlands, and other researchers at the institution created a method to compare multiple studies on plants' responses to increased COlevels. The results, she said, were a shock: although crop yields increase, they become less nutrient-dense. While zinc levels in particular drop, lead levels increase. Continue reading...

Long Island receives 21cm of snow, while a tornado tears down decorations near MalagaHeavy snow fell in parts of New England this week. New York's Central Park received a few centimetres of snow, while 21cm (8.5in) was dumped in parts of Long Island. This is the earliest New York has experienced snowfall since 2018.New York narrowly missed out on widespread snowfall a few weeks ago. The low-pressure system tracked ever so slightly to the north of New York, enabling the warmer air to edge in. Meanwhile, upstate New York and other parts of New England were on the colder side of the system and received significant snow accumulations. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ancient forests and turquoise rivers of the Cochamo Valley protected from logging, damming and developmentA wild valley in Chilean Patagonia has been preserved for future generations and protected from logging, damming and unbridled development after a remarkable fundraising effort by local groups, the Guardian can reveal.The 133,000 hectares (328,000 acres) of pristine wilderness in the Cochamo Valley was bought for $63m (47m) after a grassroots campaign led by the NGO Puelo Patagonia, and the title to the wildlands was officially handed over to the Chilean nonprofit Fundacion Conserva Pucheguin on 9 December. Continue reading...

This week's best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Analysis suggests consumption at Northumberland site could be 50 times higher than US operator QTS estimatesThe UK's largest proposed datacentre is understating the scale of its planned water use, according to an analysis.The first phase of construction for the hyperscale campus in Cambois in Northumberland has been given the go-ahead by the local council. The US operator QTS, which is developing the site, has promoted its water-free" cooling system as proof of its sustainability. Continue reading...

In the Peloponnese mountains, the usually hardy trees are turning brown even where fires haven't reached. Experts are raising the alarm on a complex crisisIn the southern Peloponnese, the Greek fir is a towering presence. The deep green, slow-growing conifers have long defined the region's high-altitude forests, thriving in the mountains and rocky soils. For generations they have been one of the country's hardier species, unusually capable of withstanding drought, insects and the wildfires that periodically sweep through Mediterranean ecosystems. These Greek forests have lived with fire for as long as anyone can remember.So when Dimitrios Avtzis, a senior researcher at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) of Elgo-Dimitra, was dispatched to document the aftermath of a spring blaze in the region, nothing about the assignment seemed exceptional. He had walked into countless burnt landscapes, tracking the expected pockets of mortality, as well as the trees that survived their scorching. Continue reading...

Digital facilities that track wastage down to the gram have brought about behavioural change among usersMin Geum-nan walks towards a metal bin beneath her apartment block in Gangdong district, eastern Seoul carrying a small bag of vegetable peelings. She taps her resident card on the reader, the lid swings open, she empties the contents and scans again and a digital screen flashes: 0.5kg.You have no choice but to pay attention because you can see exactly what you're wasting," says Min, who has lived in the complex for 15 years and watched the system arrive in 2020. Continue reading...

Scientists say government must prepare for unlikely but plausible' 4C rise in temperature and a 2-metre rise in sea levelsThe worst-case impacts of the climate crisis for the UK have been laid bare by scientists, ranging from a scorching 4C rise in temperatures to a 2-metre rise in sea level. Another scenario sees a plunge of 6C in temperature after the collapse of key Atlantic Ocean currents, massively disrupting farming and energy needs.The impacts, some of which are linked to climate tipping points, are seen as low probability but plausible. The researchers said the scenarios filled a gap in forecasting that had left the UK unprepared for extreme outcomes. Continue reading...

Streams of soil turn sand and surrounding water red, creating sharp contrast with blue waters of Persian GulfRainfall on Iran's Hormuz Island briefly transformed the coastline of its Red Beach into a striking natural scene this week, as red soil flowed into the sea and turned the water shades of deep red.The beach is known for its vivid red sand and cliffs, created by high concentrations of iron oxide. Continue reading...

Rainfall on Hormuz Island briefly transformed the coastline of its famed Red Beach into a striking natural scene this week, as soil flowed into the sea and turned the water shades of deep red. The beach is known for its vivid red sand and cliffs, created by high concentrations of iron oxide Continue reading...

Campaigners celebrate defeat of proposal to extend Bilbao institution into areas including nature reserveEnvironmental groups and local campaigners in the Basque Country have welcomed the scrapping of a project to build an outpost of Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum on a Unesco biosphere reserve that is a vital habitat for local wildlife and migrating birds.The scheme's backers, which include the Guggenheim Foundation, the Basque government and local and regional authorities, had claimed the museum's twin sites - one in the Basque town of Guernica and one in the nearby Urdaibai reserve - would help revitalise the area, attract investment and create jobs. Continue reading...

The molluscs are decimating food chains in Switzerland, have devastated the Great Lakes in North America, and this week were spotted in Northern Ireland for the first timeLike cholesterol clogging up an artery, it took just a couple of years for the quagga mussels to infiltrate the 5km (3-mile) highway of pipes under the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne (EPFL). By the time anyone realised what was going on, it was too late. The power of some heat exchangers had dropped by a third, blocked with ground-up shells.The air conditioning faltered, and buildings that should have been less than 24C in the summer heat couldn't get below 26 to 27C. The invasive mollusc had infiltrated pipes that suck cold water from a depth of 75 metres (250ft) in Lake Geneva to cool buildings. It's an open invasion," says Mathurin Dupanier, utilities operations manager at EPFL.Mathurin Dupanier indicates the water cooling systems that were blocked by the invasive quagga mussels. Photographs: Phoebe Weston/the Guardian; Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne Continue reading...

Forecast is slightly cooler than the record 1.55C reached in 2024, but 2026 set to be among four hottest years since 1850Next year will bring heat more than 1.4C above preindustrial levels, meteorologists project, as fossil fuel pollution continues to bake the Earth and fuel extreme weather.The UK Met Office's central forecast is slightly cooler than the 1.55C reached in 2024, the warmest year on record, but 2026 is set to be among the four hottest years dating back to 1850. Continue reading...

Record rains have forced hundreds of rescues, swamped communities and left rivers high, with more storms forecastThe extent of the damage in Washington state is profound but unclear after more than a week of heavy rains and record flooding, according to the state's governor, Bob Ferguson.A barrage of storms from weather systems stretching across the Pacific has dumped close to 2ft (0.6 metres) of rain in parts of the state, swelling rivers far beyond their banks and prompting more than 600 rescues across 10 counties. Continue reading...

Residents of Gloster, Mississippi, are suing plant that exports wood pellets to UK and Europe. Company says it is reducing emissionsWhen Helen Reed first learned about the bioenergy mill opening in her hometown of Gloster, Mississippi, the word was it would bring jobs and economic opportunities. It was only later that she learned that activity came with a cost: the Amite Bioenergy mill, opened in 2014 by British energy giant Drax, emits large - and sometimes illegal - quantities of air pollutants, including methanol, acrolein and formaldehyde, which are linked to cancers and other serious illnesses.When I go out, I can't hardly catch my breath," Reed said. Everything is worse since Drax came here." Continue reading...

Legal temporary farm workers also worry about the H-2A visa program and Trump's anti-immigration regimeThis article is a collaboration between the Guardian and Enlace Latino NC, an independent bilingual publication. Read this article in Spanish.On a cold December afternoon, about 10 workers load the season's final Christmas trees onto a truck at Wolf Creek Tree Farm and Nursery in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Nearby, another group takes a break, warming up around a barrel fire. More workers are out in the fields, a half-hour's drive up further into the mountains. Continue reading...

Greece is hoping that protected areas will help keep daytrippers away and allow vulnerable monk seals to return to their island habitatsDeep in a sea cave in Greece's northern Sporades, a bulky shape moves in the gloom. Someone on the boat bobbing at a distance offshore passes round a pair of binoculars and yes! - there it is. It's a huge Mediterranean monk seal, one of the world's rarest marine mammals , which at up to 2.8 metres and over 300kg (660lbs), is also one of the world's largest types of seal.Piperi, where the seal has come ashore, is a strictly guarded island in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and Northern Sporades, Greece's largest marine protected area (MPA) and a critical breeding habitat for the seals. Only researchers are allowed within three miles of its shores, with permission from the government's Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency. Continue reading...

Researcher in Kerala rainforest sounds alarm after being told frogs had died after being handled by humansA group of endangered galaxy frogs" are missing, presumed dead, after trespassing photographers reportedly destroyed their microhabitats for photos.Melanobatrachus indicus, each the size of a fingertip, is the only species in its family, and lives under logs in the lush rainforest in Kerala, India. Their miraculous spots do not indicate poison, as people sometimes assume, but are thought to be used as a mode of communication, according to Rajkumar K P, a Zoological Society of London fellow and researcher. Continue reading...

Environmentalists say proposed temporary suspension of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides doesn't go far enough'

Swimmers find driver, believed to be 33-year-old man, and vehicle in about 6ft of water in ditch in Snohomish areaA man who drove past warning signs was found dead in a car submerged in flood waters near Seattle, Washington, on Tuesday, in the first reported death following a week of heavy rain and flooding in the region.Governor Bob Ferguson said on Tuesday the extent of the damage in Washington state is profound but unclear as more high water, mudslides and power outages were in the forecast. Continue reading...

Housing minister announces exemption to 10% net gain rule in England for smaller developmentsThe government has broken its promise to protect nature by weakening planning rules for housing developers, groups have said.While developers once had to create biodiversity net gain" (BNG), meaning creating 10% more space for nature on site than there was before the building took place, the housing minister Matthew Pennycook announced exemptions to this rule on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Region known as world's refrigerator' is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts sayThe Arctic endured a year of record heat and shrunken sea ice as the world's northern latitudes continue a rapid shift to becoming rainier and less ice-bound due to the climate crisis, scientists have reported.From October 2024 to September 2025, temperatures across the entire Arctic region were the hottest in 125 years of modern record keeping, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said, with the last 10 years being the 10 warmest on record in the Arctic. Continue reading...

Modelling suggests main electricity market could run almost entirely on renewables without increase in generation cost by 2050

Launch of third generation of Leaf follows investment of more than 450m into model, including 300m direct to UKNissan has started the production of its latest electric car in Sunderland, a crucial step in the UK automotive industry's transition away from petrol and diesel.The Japanese manufacturer will launch the third generation of the Leaf on Tuesday, which was the first mass-market battery electric car to be built in the UK. Nissan has made 282,704 Leaf models at the north-east England plant so far. Continue reading...

Britain's fifth-biggest grocer postpones goal by 15 years to 2050, saying revised plan will now cover entire supply chainMorrisons has become the first UK supermarket chain to postpone its net zero carbon emission targets, delaying them by 15 years to 2050.Britain's fifth-biggest grocer said its new targets would cover the entire supply chain, as well as Morrisons stores, including emissions from agriculture and land-use sources. Continue reading...

Climate crisis forecast to wipe out thousands of glaciers a year globally, threatening water supplies and cultural heritage

I went from selling flats in Paris to being alone in a cabin in Guinea looking after primates. It changed my life, but one relationship marked me like no otherIn 2022, I had a job at an estate agents in Paris selling ridiculously expensive flats, and decided I needed to do something more meaningful with my life. I resigned, and six months later arrived in Guinea.In hindsight I was a young kid, full of anger, not happy with his life. That 26-year-old is definitely not me now - and it was living with primates that changed my life. Continue reading...

RHS predicts big shift in gardening habits as green-fingered Britons adapt to climate breakdownBouquets of cut flowers will be swapped for tabletop vegetable plants next year, the Royal Horticultural Society has said, as the UK charity announces its top plant trend predictions for 2026.Mini-planters of aubergines, chillies, peppers and tomatoes will be displayed in homes instead of flowers, as breeders develop dwarf varieties that are decorative and capable of supplementing the weekly shop, the RHS says. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Catherine Howard's exit comes amid disagreements at top of government about how far to push deregulation agendaRachel Reeves's attempts to overhaul Britain's planning laws have been dealt a blow after a senior lawyer whom she appointed as an adviser decided to leave the government after just four months.Catherine Howard will leave the Treasury when her contract ends on 1 January, despite having been asked informally to stay on indefinitely. Continue reading...

This week's weather system dumped 5tn gallons of rain on Washington state - and another one is threatening CanadaJust as record-level flood waters that triggered widespread evacuations begin to recede in western Washington state, residents of the Pacific north-west are bracing themselves for another strong weather system that is likely to swell rivers back to dangerous levels - again.An extraordinarily strong system known as an atmospheric river hit the region earlier this week, dropping more than a foot of rain and flooding rivers that stretch across the state toward Canada to dangerous levels. As a result of the nonstop rain, mudslides tore through communities, washing away homes and stranding families on rooftops as they waited for rescue. Continue reading...

Floods, fires, festivities and legal wins are all captured in the best images from the wire agencies in 2025

Regis Resources told a federal court hearing the partial protection order, which blocks construction of a planned tailings dam, would make its development unviable

Chris Bowen says first 50kWh of a system would still be eligible, but discounting would not be as generous per kWh for medium- and larger-sized batteries

Repeated fall storms led to the temporary lake, known as Lake Manly, appearing in basin 282ft beneath sea levelAfter record-breaking rains, an ancient lake in Death Valley national park that had vanished has returned to view.The temporary lake, known informally as Lake Manly, has appeared once more at the bottom of Badwater Basin, which sits 282ft beneath sea level, in California. The basin is the lowest point in North America, according to the National Park Service. Continue reading...

In many parts of the country, there are new work requirements to get food aid. But starving people doesn't motivate them - despite centuries of this rhetoricFor more than 200 years, common wisdom and policymakers have assumed that to get people to work, you had to make them hungry. New work requirements for Snap food benefits, which went into effect in most of the US on 1 December, are only the latest in a long line of policies based on this idea. The new rules cut off benefits for any non-disabled adult up to age 65 who cannot prove that they are working or seeking work at least 80 hours every month (that includes homeless people, veterans and former foster youth). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 2.7 million people will lose their benefits.You've heard this reasoning before: people are motivated to work because they and their families have to survive. If you give someone welfare - especially food aid - they become dependent and lazy. The Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative thinktank that has been campaigning for years to cut welfare, calls this the dependency trap". Starving people by taking away their food stamps is supposed to incentivize individuals to better themselves and transition from dependency to work and self-reliance". Continue reading...

Torrential rain has caused mudslides, washed out roads and submerged vehicles with more deluges expected on SundayThe Pacific north-west is reeling from catastrophic flooding that inundated communities across the region this week, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate and prompting a federal emergency declaration.Torrential rain rapidly filled rivers and triggered flooding on Thursday from Oregon north through Washington state and into British Columbia, causing mudslides and tearing homes from their foundations. Authorities have closed dozens of roads in response to the emergency and issued evacuation warnings for 100,000 people. Continue reading...

Gaza has been hit by heavy rains and low temperatures, deepening the misery of most of its 2.2 million population who are living in tents after two years of Israeli bombardment. Thousands of homeless people have been washed out of their makeshift shelters and forced to seek emergency refuge Continue reading...

Federal resources minister announces five new offshore exploration zones as part of future gas strategy

Environmental advocates welcome Net Zero Commission's report which found the fossil fuel was not consistent' with emissions reductions commitments

Conservationists fear up to 11% of Tapanuli orangutan population perished in disaster that also killed 1,000 peopleThe skull of a Tapanuli orangutan, caked in debris, stares out from a tomb of mud in North Sumatra, killed in catastrophic flooding that swept through Indonesia.The late November floods have been an extinction-level disturbance" for the world's rarest great ape, scientists have said, causing catastrophic damage to its habitat and survival prospects. Continue reading...