Environment | The Guardian

Vessels primarily from China switch off their tracking beacons to evade detection while they engage in possible illegal fishingGiant distant-water fishing fleets, primarily from China, are switching off their tracking beacons to evade detection while they engage in a possibly illegal hunt for squid and other lucrative species on the very edge of Argentina’s extensive fishing grounds, according to a new study by Oceana, an international NGO dedicated to ocean conservation.Related: Cat and mouse on the high seas: on the trail of China's vast squid fleet Continue reading...

The London election proves that measures to make streets safer are a vote-winner, says a former Labour leader of Ealing council

Parties that back schemes to improve air quality and boost active travel outperformed critics in mayoral election

Behind the scenes at the construction of Hinkley Point C. Plus, The Great British Sewing Bee reaches the quarter-finals. Here’s what to watch this eveningWith an estimated construction cost of between £21.5bn and £22.5bn, the nuclear power plant in question – Hinkley Point C – was one of eight announced by the government in 2010, but the only one on which work has since commenced, meaning it will become the first nuclear power station to have been built in the UK in more than 20 years. This series goes behind the scenes of the project, as workers struggle to keep to their deadlines while digging the reactor’s foundations. Ammar Kalia Continue reading...

Albanese will use speech to Minerals Council of Australia to reassure mining companies as well as warn that the Coalition are risking jobs by opposing renewablesAnthony Albanese will accuse the Morrison government of putting Australian jobs and exports at risk by its opposition to renewable energy and its bellicose rhetoric on China.The Labor leader will use a speech to the Minerals Council of Australia to reassure mining companies that the opposition supports the continuing export of fossil fuels. Continue reading...

New data comes amid warning that world’s growing awareness of coal exports’ impact risks further damaging Australia’s reputation on climateEmissions from coal mined in Australia but exported and burnt overseas were almost double the nation’s domestic greenhouse gas footprint in 2020, according to new data.Australia and Indonesia were the biggest exporters of coal for making steel and burning in power stations, together accounting for 59% of the world’s seaborne coal market. Continue reading...

Climate crisis makes mammoth task of recording all of Australia’s species over the next 25 years critical, academy saysAustralia needs to embark on an urgent mission to formally document more than half a million undiscovered plants and animals before they are lost to science and the planet.The Australian Academy of Science says some $824m will be needed over the next 25 years to complete a mammoth task becoming more urgent as the climate crisis puts more species at risk of extinction. Continue reading...

Projects to be developed across 12 states by Lightsource BP will be capable of powering 1.7m homesBP has bought a pipeline of US solar farms, capable of powering more than 1.7m homes, for more than $220m (£155m) as part of its plan to distance itself from the fossil fuel industry.The oil company has agreed to snap up a string of development projects, totalling 9GW, from the independent US solar developer 7X Energy in a “significant step” towards its goal of securing 20GW by 2025. Continue reading...

Study reveals toxicity of the world’s most venomous fish is potent enough to cause cardiac arrest and paralyse other musclesNew research into the venom in stonefish – the world’s most venomous fish – may lead to better treatments for beachgoers who are stung when they unwittingly step on them.Though reef stonefish don’t look like heartstoppers, their venom is potent enough to cause cardiac arrest and paralyse other muscles, scientists at the University of Queensland and Ghent University in Belgium have found. Continue reading...

The oil giants that have helped drive the climate crisis are finally being forced to take responsibility for their actionsOn a rainy afternoon in The Hague, the district court delivered a judgment against Royal Dutch Shell, the parent company of the Shell group. It refuted the excuses regularly relied on to continue extracting oil and gas and vindicated longstanding calls to keep fossil fuels in the ground. The court held that Shell’s current policy of merely reducing the “carbon intensity” of its products by 20% by 2030, and aiming to reach net zero by 2050, would contribute to climate impacts that endanger the human rights of the plaintiffs.The extraordinary events preceding the oil industry’s so-called Black Wednesday bring to mind the proverbial path to bankruptcy: it happens gradually, and then all at once. Hot on the heels of a landmark report by the global energy body the International Energy Agency warning against new fossil fuel production, Wednesday’s historic ruling has blown another hole in the defences of an industry that has overwhelmingly failed to accept responsibility for driving the climate emergency. Continue reading...

One of the world’s great natural spectacles is under way in the eastern US, stretching from the deep south to upstate New YorkAt first, the noise pulsing from the drooping elm tree boughs seemed to be coming from the power lines erected nearby. Like a surging electrical current, the sound fizzed to a crescendo on the ears before receding slightly, only to build up again to a loud, vibrating whirr.It was only on the approach to the tree, as desiccated bodies crunched underfoot and small but sturdy creatures sporting wings and orange eyes suddenly clung on to our calf muscles, that it became apparent what was causing such a huge racket: millions of cicadas had just erupted from the earth. Continue reading...

More than 80% of us live under light-polluted skies but it’s not too late to embrace the darkness

Exclusive: actor says individuals rather than government should lead way as he launches wetlands dramaSir Mark Rylance has called on the arts to help solve the climate crisis by telling stories that persuade people to “fall in love with nature again” and prompt government to back green policies.The Oscar-winning actor is starring with Sophie Okonedo in an innovative BBC Radio 4 drama set in a nature reserve that charts the challenges conservationists face in a time of rapid environmental change. Continue reading...

Clyde Climate Forest project hopes to plant 10 trees for every resident over next decadeCouncils in the Glasgow area have pledged to plant 18m trees – equivalent to 10 trees for every resident – as the city prepares to host a global climate summit later this year.The Clyde Climate Forest (CCF) project hopes to increase tree cover in urban areas of Glasgow to 20% and ensure that a fifth of the region’s rural landscape is forested or planted with native woodland over the next decade. Continue reading...

Intelligent and mischievous, New Zealand’s kea were once present in other parts of the country, research has found, and adaptability could help them survive habitat lossNew Zealand’s rare, highly endangered alpine parrots may have headed for the mountains to avoid people – and researchers say their adaptability could help them survive the climate crisis.The kea is considered the only alpine parrot in the world. But scientists analysing DNA sequencing and fossil records have found kea were once present in other parts of the country. Continue reading...

Civil society groups say UK agreements should tackle long-term unemployment and gender and racial equalityThe UK government should broaden its ambition for the G7 next week to include agreements that tackle long term unemployment, eradicate insecure jobs and close the gaps in gender and racial equality, according to civil society groups given official status at the summit in Cornwall.In a letter to Boris Johnson, groups representing unions, women, ethnic minorities, developing world nations and young people said he should focus on avoiding repeating the mistakes that followed the 2008 financial crash. Continue reading...

Between 1991 and 2018, human activity contributed to 37% of all heat-related deaths in locations studiedMore than a third of all heat-related deaths around the world between 1991 and 2018 can be attributed to human-induced global heating, research has found.Climate breakdown has a range of effects ranging from wildfires to extreme weather. As the temperatures rise, more intense and frequent heatwaves disproportionately affect elderly people and those with underlying chronic conditions such as asthma, making them more vulnerable to disease and premature death. Continue reading...

Debris has killed marine life and is being seen as country’s worst environmental catastropheSri Lanka is facing the worst environmental disaster in its history after a cargo ship carrying chemicals caught fire off its coast, spilling microplastics across the country’s pristine beaches and killing marine life.The fire on MV X-Press Pearl, a Singapore-registered ship, broke out on 20 May and has been burning ever since. The Sri Lankan navy and Indian coastguard have been trying to reduce the flames for more than 10 days. Continue reading...

Campaigners say internal papers reveal public could receive more heavily treated water through their tapsEnvironmental campaigners have raised concerns about potential contamination of the drinking water supply during the construction of the HS2 high-speed rail link, after the company was ordered to disclose internal documents that provide frank assessments of the risks.The documents were revealed following a battle lasting more than two years. A Green party member, Sarah Green, unsuccessfully tried freedom of information requests and the information commissioner to gain access to the internal analysis of risk to water supplies from the HS2 project before a tribunal ruled in her favour, ordering the rail company to disclose three unredacted water risk assessments to her. Continue reading...

Case is first in Caribbean to challenge fossil fuel production on climate and human rights groundsGuyana’s government is being taken to court by two citizens seeking an end to offshore drilling by ExxonMobil and other large oil firms that will exacerbate the climate crisis.The case has been filed by Quadad de Freitas, a 21-year old Indigenous tourist guide from the Rupununi region, and Dr Troy Thomas, a university lecturer and former president of the anti-corruption organisation Transparency Institute Guyana. Continue reading...

The elusive nocturnal creature is rarely seen in Tamil Nadu. One ecologist has made it his mission to spread the word through colourful adventuresThe brightly coloured panels of Brawin Kumar’s comic book tell the story of how two children rescue a hedgehog from an unlicensed medicine man. The mother hedgehog is delighted to be reunited with her little one, as she has lost most of her offspring to road traffic.Kumar, an Indian researcher and ecologist, came up with the idea of writing the book in Tamil to create awareness among children who live in and around the Madras hedgehog’s habitat. Many of those children will never have seen the nocturnal creature, which, unlike the British hedgehog, aestivates (lies in a state of torpor or dormancy) in the summer instead of hibernating in the winter. Continue reading...

Animals will be used to tread in seeds of small-flowered catchfly at Donkey Sanctuary rewilding projectThe donkey has performed many roles: carrying Jesus, giving seaside rides to children and being the butt of many jokes over thousands of years of domestication. Now an unfamiliar job can be added to the list: ecosystem engineer.The hard-working animals will help re-establish one of Britain’s rarest wild flowers by trampling over specially seeded plots. Continue reading...

Investment Association also called on most developed economies to help firms meet Paris Agreement climate goalsAn influential group of UK investors are urging G7 leaders to follow the UK’s lead by forcing firms to come clean about their exposure to climate risks.In a letter to ambassadors and high commissioners sent ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall, the Investment Association (IA) also called on the world’s largest developed economies to issue sector-by-sector guidance to help firms plan to meet Paris Agreement climate goals, which aim to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees celsius. Continue reading...

Pandemic put handbrake on transport emissions and slowed economic activity, while an uptake in renewables also helped drive down levelsAustralia’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped last year to levels not seen in more than 30 years due mostly to the coronavirus pandemic that put a handbrake on fossil fuel burning in the transport sector and slowed economic activity.New government data released Monday shows sectors where emissions fell sharply in 2020 due to factors beyond the government’s control – the global pandemic and the end of a sharp drought – were starting to rebound. Continue reading...

Water shortages and dry conditions are already affecting the state as the governor has declared an emergency in 41 of 58 countiesVerdant hillsides losing their hue, receding reservoirs with bathtub rings of newly exposed earth, crops withering in the fields.These are the visions of California’s parched landscape as the state braces for another potentially devastating drought. Water shortages and exceptionally dry conditions are already beginning to hit home. Continue reading...

Efforts to find origin of coronavirus ‘must look at what animals were in the market in late 2019’

£8 charge for private cars to enter city centre is hailed as turning point to tackle poor air quality but some worry it will hit Covid recoveryBirmingham is to launch England’s first clean air zone (CAZ) outside London to charge private cars, in a move hailed by campaigners as a major turning point for the former UK “motor city” that has been plagued by poor air quality for years.From 1 June drivers of older polluting cars, taxis and vans who travel into the centre of Birmingham will face a daily charge of £8, while buses, coaches and HGVs will be charged £50 a day. It is anticipated a quarter of cars in the city will be affected but there are temporary exemptions for commercial and community vehicles, and some workers and residents. Continue reading...

Met Office warning over impact of global heating prompts calls for action to protect elderly and vulnerableBritain is failing to protect its vulnerable citizens from the threat of intensifying heatwaves, health experts warned last week. Thousands of preventable deaths could be triggered every year because simple measures to keep houses and care homes cool have not been implemented.As global heating worsens and heatwaves become more frequent, the problem is likely to worsen significantly – unless urgent action is taken, they say. Those most likely to suffer include the very young, the elderly and people suffering from chronic conditions such as asthma. Continue reading...

Contamination from an ethanol plant in Mead, Nebraska, came from some of the world’s largest agricultural companiesFor years, the people of Mead, Nebraska, have worried about the ethanol plant that moved into their small rural community a little over a decade ago. They feared the terrible smells and odd illnesses in the area might be connected to the plant and its use of pesticide-coated seed corn in its biofuel production process.Those concerns recently turned to outrage and anger after environmental regulators were forced to acknowledge that under their oversight the AltEn LLC ethanol plant has been contaminating the area with an array of pesticides at levels much higher than what is considered safe. Continue reading...

Rare flower reappears on Tean after disappearing in the absence of human inhabitantsThe tiny island of Tean was once home to a single resident, a modest chapel, diminutive grazed fields and a dwarf pansy smaller than the tip of a pencil.All these things vanished from the 0.16 sq km Scilly island in the years after it was abandoned by humans seeking larger things. Continue reading...

Government considers funding ‘have a go’ opportunities at holiday areas and events to increase uptakeThe government is considering funding an “opportunity to try” scheme for electric cycles at holiday and day trip destinations and events as a way to increase the uptake of electric cycles in England.E-bikes provide a boost from a motor while a rider pedals, and research suggests they can help replace car trips for short journeys, with added health benefits. While Bicycle Association data suggests e-bike sales grew 67% last year during the pandemic, the UK still lags far behind its European neighbours in uptake. Continue reading...

Hairdressers from UK and Ireland sign up to initiative to protect environment and power National GridHair cuttings from salons are being used to mop up oil spills and hair bleaches, and dyes are being burned to create energy as part of a scheme to make the hairdressing industry greener.Over the past 10 months, 550 salons across the UK and Ireland have signed up to the Green Salon Collective (GSC), an initiative that reduces salon waste through recycling and education programmes. Continue reading...

Billion-dollar development threatens the future of one of the western Mediterranean’s most important wetlandsThe silence is so complete it is easy to forget you are only a few minutes’ drive from the centre of Barcelona. Just the sough of the willows in the sea breeze, the splash of a fish surfacing and a heron’s cry – until the serenity is obliterated by a plane taking off.The Delta del Llobregat, one of the most important wetlands in the western Mediterranean, is being eroded on one side by the sea and on the other by the city’s land-hungry airport. As travel to Spain is still restricted, there are few flights and it is possible to revel in the delta’s almost mesmeric tranquillity. But before the pandemic there were already close to 90 flights an hour and, if the airport authority has its way, this will increase still further. Continue reading...

Campaigners sense turning point as shareholders, boards and The Hague act to force Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell to cut pollution

Biologist found the mother and three kittens this spring in the Simi Hills which was burned in 2018 by the Woolsey fireA family of bobcats has been found near Los Angeles inside what scientists are calling an unlikely home – the cavity of a tree in an area that was badly burned by a 2018 wildfire.

Increased hardship for small farmers as close to a billion pounds wiped off UK’s farming economy in 2020Farm incomes dropped drastically last year, as poor weather combined with the impact of the pandemic and Brexit-related issues wiped close to a billion pounds off the UK’s farming economy and increased hardship for many small farmers.Total income from farming, calculated annually by the government, fell from nearly £5.2bn in 2019 to just over £4.1bn in 2020, the lowest value in real terms since 2007. Continue reading...

Jamie Holman will film 150 people howling at Preston bus station to symbolise end of wildness in EnglandThe Lancashire artist Jamie Holman is paying 150 people £10 each to howl in unison as part of his upcoming exhibition, a memorial to the last wolf killed in England.Holman put out the call for participants on his Twitter account last month, asking people to join him at Preston bus station on Sunday 30 May to “contribute to a piece of art”. Holman says the performance will run from 2-4pm and he’s promised every participant £10 and refreshments. Continue reading...

Alarming toxic PFAS levels revealed in new report raise concerns that the chemicals are contaminating vegetablesSewage sludge that wastewater treatment districts across America package and sell as home fertilizer contain alarming levels of toxic PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”, a new report has revealed.Sludge, which is lightly treated and marketed as “biosolids”, is used by consumers to fertilize home gardens, and the PFAS levels raise concerns that the chemicals are contaminating vegetables and harming those who eat them. Continue reading...

Bugs Matter app will collect data on worrying population crash of creatures essential to life on EarthA new app that tracks bug splats on car number plates will enable UK citizen scientists to help shed light on the worrying decline of insects.Older drivers will remember scrubbing large numbers of splatted insects from windscreens after journeys in past decades. But a 2019 study that analysed car registration plates after trips in Kent found a 50% fall in splatted bugs compared with 2004. Continue reading...

As a student striker I’m used to being dismissed by adults, so this judgment to protect us from the climate crisis is exciting

Government plans to spend £45m on citywide systems and other technologies to reduce carbon outputTens of thousands of homes, offices and hospitals could soon be warmed with surplus heat from factories, incinerator plants and even disused mine shafts under plans by the government to fund low-carbon heating.The government will spend £30m to help set up heat networks across cities including London, Glasgow and Manchester and a further £14.6m to develop other low-carbon technologies that can heat and cool buildings without fossil fuels. Continue reading...

The mate is not discouraged. Instead, a ‘separate mini-brain in his tail kicks in and actually speeds up his performance’When the female praying mantis is mating, she does not bite the head off the male with one swift snip: she chomps into it, like an apple. It appears to have the texture of a honeydew melon.Her mate has tried to avoid this destiny. The male European mantis “uses his feelers to calm her down”, the BBC narrates. But it is already too late. Although chemicals in his brain have told him to stay away from her, the chemicals in his abdomen were more potent. Once he is decapitated, a “separate mini-brain in his tail kicks in and actually speeds up his performance,” says the BBC. The female, meanwhile, cleans her face “like a cat”, writes Annie Dillard in Pilgrim and Tinker Creek. After watching the video I wished I had been decapitated. Continue reading...

DoJ says decision to approve project in northern Alaska was ‘reasonable and consistent’ and should be allowed to go aheadJoe Biden’s administration is facing an onslaught of criticism from environmentalists after opting to defend the approval of a massive oil and gas drilling project in the frigid northern reaches of Alaska.In a briefing filed in federal court on Wednesday, the US Department of Justice said the Trump-era decision to allow the project in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska’s north slope was “reasonable and consistent” with the law and should be allowed to go ahead. Continue reading...

Nature’s financial value must be considered to avoid ‘irreversible’ degradation to biodiversity and landThe world needs to quadruple its annual investment in nature if the climate, biodiversity and land degradation crises are to be tackled by the middle of the century, according to a new UN report.Investing just 0.1% of global GDP every year in restorative agriculture, forests, pollution management and protected areas to close a $4.1tn (£2.9tn) financial gap by 2050 could avoid the breakdown of natural ecosystem “services” such as clean water, food and flood protection, the report said. Continue reading...

Court and investor defeats over carbon emissions a historic turning point, say campaigners and lawyersA “cataclysmic day” for three major oil companies in which investors rebelled over climate fears and a court ordered fossil fuel emissions to be slashed has sparked hope among campaigners, investors, lawyers and academics who said the historic decisions marked a turning point in efforts to tackle the climate crisis.A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered Shell to cut carbon emissions from its oil and gas by 45% by 2030. A tiny activist investor group simultaneously won two places on ExxonMobil’s board and Chevron’s management was defeated when investors voted in favour of forcing the group to cut its carbon emissions. Continue reading...

Study finds change would shrink emissions by 127m tonnes, helping country meet climate targetsThe introduction of a four-day working week with no loss of pay would dramatically reduce the UK’s carbon footprint and help the country meet its binding climate targets, according to a report.The study found that moving to a four-day week by 2025 would shrink the UK’s emissions by 127m tonnes, a reduction of more than 20% and equivalent to taking the country’s entire private car fleet off the road. Continue reading...

Oil-producing nation aims plant powered by wind and solar energy to be at full capacity by 2038Oman is planning to build one of the largest green hydrogen plants in the world in a move to make the oil-producing nation a leader in renewable energy technology.Construction is scheduled to start in 2028 in Al Wusta governorate on the Arabian Sea. It will be built in stages, with the aim to be at full capacity by 2038, powered by 25 gigawatts of wind and solar energy. Continue reading...

Jane Gilbert urges greater federal and state response to lethal threat posed by rising temperaturesMiami’s new chief heat officer has called for greater federal and state action on the lethal threat posed by rising temperatures after becoming the first official in the US appointed to focus solely on heatwaves.Jane Gilbert, who has been tasked by Miami-Dade county with coordinating and accelerating efforts to protect lives from extreme heat, said that more focus was needed on what has been called the “silent killer” of the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Rising ocean temperatures caused by climate crisis increasing number of cyclones and intensity of storms, say expertsIndia’s cyclone season is being made more intense by the rapidly heating Indian Ocean, scientists have warned.Last week India was battered by Cyclone Tauktae, an unusually strong cyclone in the Arabian Sea, resulting in widespread disruption. This week, another severe storm, Cyclone Yaas, formed in the Bay of Bengal, leading to more than a million people being evacuated into safe shelters. Continue reading...