Government accused of making secret exchange deal' with fossil fuel companies to compensate for tax hikeThe chancellor, Rachel Reeves, told a fossil fuel company the industry would receive a quid pro quo" in return for higher taxes on its windfall profits, it can be revealed.In a meeting with the Norwegian state energy company Equinor on 27 August, Reeves suggested that the government's carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) subsidies were a payoff for oil firms being hit with a higher tax rate. Continue reading...

More than 120 years after billions of the trees were wiped out, blight-proof seeds are being plantedIt was in New York City that a mysterious fungus was first spotted on an American chestnut, a blight that was to rapidly sweep across the eastern US, wiping out billions of the cherished trees. Now, 120 years later, there is fresh hope of a comeback for chestnuts, spurred not only by scientists but also eager New Yorkers planting blight-proof seeds in their back yards and local parks.The American chestnut was once found in vast numbers from Maine to Mississippi and known as the redwood of the east due to its prodigious size. But 4bn trees were killed off in the first half of last century by a blight introduced from Asia to which it had little defense, spread by spores carried by the wind, rain and animals. Continue reading...

Royal College of Physicians also says poor air quality costs country more than 500m a weekAir pollution in the UK is costing more than 500m a week in ill health, NHS care and productivity losses, with 99% of the population breathing in toxic air", doctors have said.Dirty air is killing more than 500 people a week, with health harm to almost every organ of the body caused by air pollution, even at low concentrations, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) said. Continue reading...

Many in Kassel have embraced the animal but the EU classes it as an invasive species and ecologists are divided about what to do nextIn Kassel, everyone has a story about raccoons. Some struggle with a family of them that moved into their roof and simply will not leave. Others recount how a picnic in the park turned into an ambush as gangs of the black and white animals, known in Germany as Waschbaren, raided the food. Almost everyone seems to have a neighbour who feeds them, to the annoyance of the entire street.We are the raccoon city. They are everywhere," says Lars, a Kassel resident, as he tends his allotment by Karlsaue park in the fading light. Continue reading...

Michigan wildlife experts surprised by the bear's ability to eat and sleep despite the uncomfortable accessoryMichigan wildlife experts finally were able to trap a black bear and remove a large lid that was stuck around his neck - after two years.It's pretty incredible that the bear survived and was able to feed itself," Cody Norton, a state bear specialist, said on Wednesday. The neck was scarred and missing hair, but the bear was in much better condition than we expected it to be." Continue reading...

Breaching threshold would ramp up catastrophic weather events, further increasing human sufferingThe planet's remaining carbon budget to meet the international target of 1.5C has just two years left at the current rate of emissions, scientists have warned, showing how deep into the climate crisis the world has fallen.Breaching the target would ramp up the extreme weather already devastating communities around the world. It would also require carbon dioxide to be sucked from the atmosphere in future to restore the stable climate in which the whole of civilisation developed over the past 10,000 years. Continue reading...

With climate policies under siege by the Trump, young climate activists are intensifying their campaignThe youth activists who put the Green New Deal on the political map are launching a new campaign to villainize big oil" which will push for the industry to pay for climate action so the costs don't fall on ordinary people.Seven years ago, the Sunrise Movement captured headlines when its members stormed the office of the incoming House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, demanding the rapid phase-out of fossil fuels and creation of good jobs. Continue reading...

A new study investigates possible ties to pesticides, nitrates and other farm-related risksSix months ago, Alex Hammer was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 37. Dianne Chambers endured surgery, chemotherapy and dozens of rounds of radiation to fight aggressive breast cancer, and Janan Haugen spends most days helping care for her 16-year-old grandson, who is still being treated for brain cancer he developed at the age of seven.The three were among a group of about two dozen people who came together last week in a small town in central Iowa to share their experiences of cancer. They are part of a new research project investigating potential environmental causes for what the American Cancer Society's advocacy arm calls a cancer crisis". Continue reading...

We won a high court case against Shropshire council's plans for a new polluting poultry unit. Now a precedent has been set

An Unearthed and Greenpeace investigation found garments by UK brands on a rubbish dump in a protected wetland in Accra, Ghana. The reporters found items from Next, George at Asda and Marks & Spencer washed up near the dump, which is believed to have emerged in the past year. UK consumers discard about 1.5m tonnes of used textiles every year and Ghana received more discarded clothes than any other country. As the rubbish accumulates, new dump sites are springing up beyond urban areas, and in conservation areas that are vital for wildlife, the investigation found

British Antarctic Survey finds one breed of seal has declined by 54% since 1977Antarctic seal populations are drastically declining as the sea ice melts around them, new research has shown.Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have been monitoring the seal population in the sub-Antarctic since the 1970s, looking in particular at three different seal species in the sub-Antarctic on Signy Island: Weddell seals, Antarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals. Continue reading...

Experts say risk of 40C has almost trebled since 2000, with 50/50 chance of hitting that mark in next 12 yearsThe UK has a 50/50 chance of seeing temperatures soar to 40C again in the next 12 years as the risk of extreme heat rises with the climate emergency, the Met Office has said.The meteorological experts also warned that far higher temperatures of 45C (113F) or more may be possible" in today's climate, while heatwaves could go on for a month or more. Continue reading...

Activism comes in many forms. I hope, in some small way, my writing is part of itTime, it seems, is moving in strange ways for many of us. A colleague recently said, mourning, reckoning and activism all seem to require different speeds," and I'm grateful to her for that. I've often thought that the gear-shift" between my paid work and the unpaid beautiful work of mothering feels like a rusty old manual car that I don't quite understand how to drive. Lurch. Clunk. Add to that combination of work and parenting the imminent collapse of the world one was raised in, and there is a lot more grit than just clunky gears.The thing is, the world isn't changing: our illusions about the west" are finally being pulled down, and with it, our perceptions of time. Continue reading...

Gas companies can be sent multimillion pound fees to generate electricity when wind and solar power is in short supplyMore UK gas plants will be in line for windfall payments to help keep the lights on this winter after generators received multimillion-pound payouts last winter.Britain's energy system operator expects the UK's winter power supplies to reach their highest level in five years, in part due to a rising number of gas plants willing to generate electricity during the colder months. Continue reading...

Solar panels on defunct surface mines could put land to productive use for renewable generation, report saysTurning recently closed coalmines into solar energy plants could add almost 300GW of renewable energy by 2030, converting derelict wastelands to productive use, according to a new report.In a first of its kind analysis, researchers from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) identified 312 surface coalmines closed since 2020 around the world, and 134 likely to close by the end of the decade, together covering 5,820 sq km (2,250 sq miles) - a land area nearly the size of Palestine. Continue reading...

Half of foreign-born workers in green jobs would not have been allowed in under new rules, thinktank saysTough rules announced in the government's immigration white paper could jeopardise the UK's net zero mission by causing labour shortages, a report has warned.Labour's white paper released last month included plans to raise the minimum qualification for skilled worker visas from A-level equivalent to degree and to maintain the higher salary threshold of 38,700 introduced by the outgoing Conservative government last year. Continue reading...

The plant medicine hayakwaska (ayahuasca), marketed as a mystical shortcut to healing and enlightenment, is an example of what the Indigenous storyteller Nina Gualinga, sees as commodification and extractivism in the Amazon. Nina is from the Kichwa people of Sarayaku, Ecuador, and she speaks with the memory of her shaman grandfather about the ongoing cultural appropriation, environmental destruction and marginalisation of her people, questioning our very relationship to the Earth and the quest for healing Continue reading...

From turning out the lights to letting leaves rot, these small steps can create big changes at home or in the wild

Datacentres, which do not have to report amount of water used to cool servers, leave Environment Agency with no idea of shortfallsThe artificial intelligence boom means the Environment Agency has no idea how much water England will be short of in future decades, as datacentres do not have to report how much they are using to cool their servers.England's public water supply could be short by 5bn litres a day by 2055 without urgent action to future-proof resources, the government environment regulator has warned, with a shortfall of a further 1bn litres a day for farming, energy generation and powering emerging technologies. Continue reading...

Extreme events such as floods and droughts are becoming more frequent, longer-lasting and more severe, study saysNew data from Nasa has revealed a dramatic rise in the intensity of weather events such as droughts and floods over the past five years.The study shows that such extreme events are becoming more frequent, longer-lasting and more severe, with last year's figures reaching twice that of the 2003-2020 average. Continue reading...

Board expresses support for offer but deal depends on regulatory approvals and treasurer's tick-off

Exclusive: Wensum and Tone found to have high concentrations of chemicals that are toxic to aquatic lifeDangerous modern pesticides used in agriculture and pet flea treatment have been detected for the first time in English rivers, research has found.Scientists have called for stricter regulation around high-risk farming pesticides and flea treatments for pets because of the deadly effects they have on fish and other aquatic life when they make their way into rivers. Continue reading...

Bill that aims to reduce plastic packaging by 30% in 12 years faces staunch opposition by some business interestsThe oil and petrochemical lobby is attempting to fend off a New York state proposal to slash plastic waste by arguing that it will disproportionately burden people of color, advocates and assembly sources say, despite widespread evidence that the plastic supply chain poses serious health risks to Black and brown communities.In New York state, advocates are fighting to pass a wide-ranging bill to reduce plastic packaging by 30% in 12 years while dramatically boosting recycling rates and phasing certain toxic compounds out of packaging. The packaging reduction and recycling infrastructure bill would place a fee on large businesses that distribute plastic packaging, with revenue benefiting taxpayers - a scheme called extended producer responsibility. Continue reading...

Nearly 13 years after Hurricane Sandy flooded lower Manhattan, the first section of East River Park, designed to withstand storm surges, opens Continue reading...

Six-year-old among dead as officials say they have never seen anything like this' amid heavy rains in north of stateFlash flooding caused by torrential rains killed at least six people - including a six-year-old child - in northern West Virginia, and rescue crews were searching for missing people on Sunday, while authorities were assessing damage to roads, bridges, natural gas lines and other infrastructure.Officials said 2.5-4in (6-10cm) of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio county within about a half-hour on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Nature and farmers' groups cautiously welcome spending review as there were fears Treasury wanted bigger cutsLabour is cutting the farming budget in England by 100m a year, spending review figures show.Despite the decrease, the budget has been cautiously welcomed by nature and farming groups, as there were fears the Treasury had wanted to reduce the funding further. Continue reading...

The increase in Burmese pythons had resulted in loss of animals native to the EvergladesIt was a milestone moment in Florida's 25-year war on invasive Burmese pythons: an eye-popping announcement that biologists had removed 20 tons of the slithering invaders from waters in and around the Everglades in little more than a decade, as well as shattering their previous record for a single-season haul.The successes of the team at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida showcase the progress that has been made in efforts to reverse the snakes' takeover of the state's natural wilderness, even though experts concede they will probably never be completely eradicated. Continue reading...

Experts say Asian needle ant not especially dangerous' but warn some people have gone into anaphylaxisLast year, Dan Suiter, a professor of urban entomology at the University of Georgia, received at least three calls from people who had been stung by an Asian needle ant - or knew someone who had been - and went into anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that can be life-threatening.While there is no new evidence on the continued spread of the ants in the US - detected now in 20 US states - Suiter and his colleagues are determined to raise public awareness of the risks the species poses. Continue reading...

IADB's proposals involve lenders using public money to buy up renewable energy loans in poor countriesAn innovative plan to use public money to back renewable energy loans in the developing world could liberate cash from the private sector for urgently needed climate finance.Avinash Persaud, a special adviser on climate change to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), who developed the proposals, believes the plan could drive tens of billions of new investment in the fledgling green economy in poorer countries within a few years, and could provide the bulk of the $1.3tn in annual climate finance promised to the developing world by 2035. Continue reading...

The bureau has forecast cooler temperatures, gusty winds, showers and alpine snow for the south-east on Tuesday

Report says billpayer funds are being used irresponsibly, after news that Thames Water paid bonuses from 3bn loanBonuses and dividends for water company bosses and shareholders should be approved by the regulator before they are paid, as billpayer funds are being used irresponsibly, MPs have said.They also recommended that the government consider ending the profit-driven water company model and making English companies non-profit, similar to how the system works in Wales, in the report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) select committee. Continue reading...

Miccosukee Tribe partners with Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation to safeguard lands as part of moral obligation'Almost two centuries ago, Native American tribe members sought the protection of Florida's Everglades during the Seminole wars as they hid from government forces seeking to banish them to Indian territories that later became Oklahoma.Now, as the Trump administration continues its wholesale slashing of federal funding from conservation projects, the Miccosukee Tribe is stepping up to fulfill what it sees as a moral obligation" to return the favor. Continue reading...

Bord na Mona, which was once a peat extraction company, has now committed to one of the largest peatland restoration projects ever undertaken, targeting 33,000 hectares in over 80 bogs with the hope of reducing carbon emissions and increasing biodiversity. But many households still continue to cut turf, relying on it for heating as have previous generations Continue reading...

Richard Tice says voters will turn on government unless energy bills fall

Nonbinding vote at state conference sends strong signal to state and federal Nationals leaders

Among the dead in the internationally significant wetland are estuarine snails, shore crabs, baby flounder and a thick stew of polychaete worms'

Continue reading...

A slew of global leaders met in the south of France to discuss the future of the oceans. There was momentum' and enthusiasm', but there were critical voices tooThe sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope ... and we are all in the same boat." So said Jacques Cousteau, the French explorer, oceanographer and pioneering film-maker, who notably pivoted from merely sharing his underwater world to sounding the alarm over its destruction.Half a century later, David Attenborough, a year shy of his 100th birthday, followed Cousteau's trajectory. In the naturalist's acclaimed new film, Ocean, which highlights the destructive fishing practice of bottom trawling, he says he has come to the realisation that the most important place on Earth is not on land but at sea". Continue reading...

Kimberley Terrell's research into health and job disparities had triggered a backlash from state and Tulane leadersThis story is co-published with FloodlightEnvironmental advocates are questioning the actions of a private university in Louisiana after the resignation of a scientist who researches the health and job disparities in a heavily industrialized part of the state known as Cancer Alley.Kimberly Terrell served as a director of community engagement and a staff scientist with Tulane University's Environmental Law Clinic before resigning and accused university leaders of trying to censor the work she is doing to spotlight the harms to local communities plagued by industrial pollution. Continue reading...

Among other concerns, the US military parade will produce as much pollution as created to heat 300 homes for a yearDonald Trump's military parade this weekend will bring thousands of troops out to march, while dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers roll down the streets and fighter jets hum overhead.The event has prompted concern about rising autocracy in the US. It will also produce more than 2m kilograms of planet-heating pollution - equivalent to the amount created by producing of 67m plastic bags or by the energy used to power about 300 homes in one year, according to a review by the progressive thinktank Institute for Policy Studies and the Guardian. Continue reading...

Groups say president grievously wrong' after withdrawing from Biden-led deal to protect fish in Pacific north-westDonald Trump has pulled the US federal government from a historic agreement to recover the salmon population in the Pacific north-west, calling the plan radical environmentalism".A presidential memorandum issued by Trump on Thursday removes the US from a deal brokered by Joe Biden with Washington, Oregon and four Native American tribes to work to restore salmon populations and develop clean energy for tribes. Continue reading...

Environment minister Murray Watt is returning from oceans conference where he pledged to curb the scourge of plastics and ratify a treaty to protect the high seas Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton's free Clear Air newsletter hereThe federal environment minister, Murray Watt, is returning from a UN oceans conference where he pledged to curb the scourge of plastics and make good on Australia's promise to ratify a treaty to protect the high seas.The five-day meeting in Nice, France finished on Friday, and conservationists celebrated some key steps towards protecting wildlife in international waters. Continue reading...

Environment minister Murray Watt is restarting the process after the government shelved earlier proposed reforms Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton's free Clear Air newsletter hereA select group of environment and industry leaders will be brought together in a fresh attempt to build consensus on a long-awaited rewrite of federal nature laws, Guardian Australia can reveal.The environment minister, Murray Watt, will soon detail the next phase of consultation as he presses ahead with an ambition to enact sweeping changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) in the next 18 months. Continue reading...

Welfare of sows confined to farrowing crates was compromised and they displayed signs of extreme stress, experts sayThe use of restrictive pens to temporarily house pregnant pigs in the UK severely compromises their welfare, can traumatise them and should be banned, experts have said.Analysis by Animal Equality UK of footage collected from a farm in Devon showed that three pregnant sows in farrowing crates spent more than 90% of their time lying down, with one not standing up at all for a day. On average, between them they bit the bars (a sign of extreme stress) more than once an hour. Continue reading...

The Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division strives to provide full sensory experience' in country's national parksThe Trump administration appears poised to cut the US Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division (NSNSD), a little-known office that works to rein in noise and light pollution in national parks, a task that is seen as a vital environmental endeavor.Advocates say the division's work is quiet but important - many plants and animals rely on the darkness, and light pollution is contributing to firefly and other insect die-offs. The office led efforts to reduce light pollution at the Grand Canyon and snowmobile noise that drowned out sounds emanating from the Old Faithful geyser, among other initiatives. Continue reading...

The documentary shows the damage that fishing does to our planet. So why does the industry still hold governments to ransom?I have been saying this a lot recently: At last!" At last, a mainstream film bluntly revealing the plunder of our seas. At last, a proposed ban on bottom trawling in so-called marine protected areas" (MPAs). At last, some solid research on seabed carbon and the vast releases caused by the trawlers ploughing it up. But still I feel that almost everyone is missing the point.David Attenborough's Ocean film, made for National Geographic, is the one I've been waiting for all my working life. An epoch ago, when I worked in the BBC's Natural History Unit in the mid-1980s, some of us lobbied repeatedly for films like this, without success. Since then, even programmes that purport to discuss marine destruction have carefully avoided the principal cause: the fishing industry. The BBC's Blue Planet II and Blue Planet Live series exemplified the organisation's perennial failure of courage.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Sale covering 56,000 square miles set to go ahead despite opposition from Indigenous and environmental groupsThe Brazilian government is preparing to stage an oil exploration auction months before it hosts the Cop30 UN climate summit, despite opposition from environmental campaigners and Indigenous communities worried about the environmental and climate impacts of the plans.Brazil's oil sector regulator, ANP, will auction the exploration rights to 172 oil and gas blocks spanning 56,000 square miles (146,000 sq km), an area more than twice the size of Scotland, most of it offshore. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Climate change is real and Coalition's job is to determine how to cut emissions, shadow assistant minister to opposition leader Maria Kovacic says

Order aims to centralize efforts, which are now split among five agencies and two cabinet departmentsDonald Trump has ordered the US government to consolidate its wildland firefighting force into a single program, despite warnings from former federal officials that it could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes in the middle of peak wildfire season.The order aims to centralize firefighting efforts, which are now split among five agencies and two cabinet departments. Trump's proposed budget for next year calls for the creation of a new Federal Wildland Fire Service under the US interior department. Continue reading...