Environment | The Guardian

Company says sewage plan would avoid 105,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over 30 years

Auditors say emissions down just 1% since 2011 and target of zero emissions by 2050 is a long way offCarbon emissions from passenger cars across Britain have fallen by just 1% since 2011, despite a steep rise in the sale of electric and hybrid vehicles, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has said.The National Audit Office said the popularity of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and an increase in road traffic were among factors that have cancelled out expected reductions from low-emission car sales. Continue reading...

Butterflies had bad year after four times as many trees were lost to illegal logging and extreme climate conditionsThe number of monarch butterflies that reached their winter resting grounds in central Mexico decreased by about 26% this year, and four times as many trees were lost to illegal logging, drought and other causes, making 2020 a bad year for the butterflies.The butterflies’ population covered only 2.1 hectares (5.2 acres) in 2020, compared to 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres) the previous year and about one-third of the 6.05 hectares (14.95 acres) detected in 2018, according to government figures. Continue reading...

Self-driving vehicle can interact with traffic lights and is the first project of its kind in EuropeA new driverless electric bus has begun operating in the southern Spanish city of Málaga, in the first such project in Europe.The bus, which began running on Saturday, is equipped with sensors and cameras and links Málaga’s port to the city centre on an 8km (five-mile) loop it does six times a day. Continue reading...

A ‘confronting and sobering’ report details degradation of coral reefs, outback deserts, tropical savanna, Murray-Darling waterways, mangroves and forestsLeading scientists working across Australia and Antarctica have described 19 ecosystems that are collapsing due to the impact of humans and warned urgent action is required to prevent their complete loss.A groundbreaking report – the result of work by 38 scientists from 29 universities and government agencies – details the degradation of coral reefs, arid outback deserts, tropical savanna, the waterways of the Murray-Darling Basin, mangroves in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and forests stretching from the rainforests of the far north to Gondwana-era conifers in Tasmania. Continue reading...

Australia should prioritise large-scale renewable energy options to replace ageing thermal generators, infrastructure body saysRenewable energy zones and dispatchable energy storage have been listed as “high priority initiatives” by Infrastructure Australia for the first time.The energy initiatives are among 44 new infrastructure proposals on the priority list, released on Friday, which together represent a $59bn pipeline of potential investments. Continue reading...

Males use vocal trickery to fool females into thinking a threat is lurking, giving them time to sow their genetic seedsMale lyrebirds in the throes of sexual union will mimic the sound of a distressed mob of other birds to fool their mate and stop her from escaping, new research from Australia has found.The remarkable discovery was made after analysing audio and video of superb lyrebirds – a species known for extravagant dance routines and an ability to imitate the calls of more than 20 other species. Continue reading...

Global study shows blazes diminish forest density and tree size, making woods likely to sequester less carbonMore fierce and frequent fires are reducing forest density and tree size and may damage forests’ ability to capture carbon in the future, according to a global study.Although forest fires are naturally occurring phenomena and natural forests regenerate, global heating and human activity have caused the frequency and intensity of fires to rise. Wildfires burn 5% of the planet’s surface every year, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere equivalent to a fifth of our annual fossil fuel emissions. Continue reading...

Critics say plan would wreck efforts to tackle climate crisis and undermine UK credibility ahead of Cop26The government is under growing pressure to halt a proposed expansion of Leeds Bradford airport, which critics say would wreck efforts to tackle the ecological crisis and undermine the government’s credibility ahead of a key climate conference later this year.The expansion plans, which would support an increase in passengers from 4 to 7 million people a year by 2030, were given conditional approval by Leeds city council earlier this month despite widespread opposition from local MPs, residents and environmental groups. Continue reading...

Livestock company still hopes to find a buyer for animals on board ship for two months, after rejection by Turkey and LibyaThe manager of a ship that has spent months at sea with hundreds of cattle on board has accused Spanish officials of failing to answer his call for help and of threatening to kill all the livestock if the ship enters port.

Group tells Robert Jenrick it intends to contest his decision not to challenge plans for new deep mineA Cumbrian campaign group has given notice to the communities secretary that it intends to seek a legal challenge of his controversial decision to allow a new deep coalmine in the west of the county to go ahead.Legal representatives acting on behalf of the South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) group have written to Robert Jenrick’s office to notify him of the group’s intention to contest his “ongoing refusal” to call in the mining plans. Continue reading...

Andrew Constance confirms he ordered the now-sacked transport department head to remove trees 40 metres either side of highways but was refusedThe New South Wales transport minister, Andrew Constance, demanded the now-sacked head of his department create an 80-metre “clearance zone” around highways after the 2019-20 bushfires, an order Labor says could have resulted in countless trees being felled if followed.During the state’s budget estimates hearings on Thursday, Constance confirmed he had issued the directive to the former department head, Rodd Staples, following last summer’s bushfire crisis. Continue reading...

Water Act proposes massive injection of federal dollars as millions of people go without access to clean, safe, affordable waterDemocratic lawmakers and advocates are urging Joe Biden to back legislation proposing unprecedented investment in America’s ailing water infrastructure amid the country’s worst crisis in decades that has left millions of people without access to clean, safe, affordable water. Continue reading...

Green groups argued plan to replace coal burning units with gas at Yorkshire site was inconsistent with emissions goalsDrax has scrapped its controversial plans to build Europe’s largest gas power plant at its site in North Yorkshire following fierce opposition from climate groups.The electricity generator confirmed that it would drop plans to build two combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) in place of two old coal burning units at the Drax site, weeks after completing the sale of four other gas plants to a subsidiary of Vitol last month. Continue reading...

As oil companies go out of business, they are leaving a legacy of abandoned wells that leak huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphereJill Morrison has seen how the bust of oil and gas production can permanently scar a landscape.Near her land in north-east Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, where drilling started in 1889, more than 2,000 abandoned wells are seeping brine into the groundwater and leaking potent greenhouse gasses. Continue reading...

Household bills also likely to rise if 17 plants proposed are built, according to CarbonTracker reportFossil fuel companies risk derailing the UK’s climate targets and pushing up household bills by planning to build a string of new gas-fired power plants worth £9bn, according to a thinktank.The UK has 17 gas-fired plants proposed with a combined generation capacity of 14GW. They include plans for Europe’s largest at the Drax site in North Yorkshire. Continue reading...

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Other predators such as narwhals are suffering similarly as unique adaptations become less suitedPolar bears and narwhals are using up to four times as much energy to survive because of major ice loss in the Arctic, according to scientists.Once perfectly evolved for polar life, apex predators are struggling as their habitats shrink and unique adaptations become less suited to an increasingly ice-free Arctic, researchers say. Continue reading...

Two livestock ships have been refused entry to multiple countries on health grounds since leaving Spain in DecemberOne of two livestock ships at sea since mid-December with thousands of cattle on board is now at the Spanish port of Cartagena, but the fate of its cargo is unclear.The two vessels left from different ports in Spain before Christmas to deliver their cargoes of animals, but were each refused entry by various countries including Turkey and Libya, owing to suspected outbreaks onboard both ships of the bovine disease bluetongue. Continue reading...

Chimneys for bat boxes and a flying fox heat stress forecaster are among efforts to prevent deaths from effects of climate crisisSteve Latour and his wife were enjoying their usual early morning coffee in the sun outside their lake house in the Kootenay region of British Columbia when they heard noises coming from the bat box attached to the side of the house. Every summer, about 150 Yuma myotis bats return to the box, using it as a maternity colony to give birth to pups and take care of them until they are ready to leave for hibernation in the autumn. Continue reading...

Black farmers have been disregarded by the USDA for years. Will anything change in Tom Vilsack’s second stint?James “Bill” McGill has been a farmer for 40 of his 76 years. He can’t remember the year his 320-acre farm was put up for sale by the same man from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) he’d gone to for a loan to help him keep it. He can sum up the loss succinctly: “The government took it away. It has always been that way for us.”Related: 'I'll be fierce for all of us': Deb Haaland on climate, Native rights and Biden Continue reading...

Conservatives have blamed the state’s power fiasco on solar and wind even though they account for a fraction of supplyThe frigid winter storm and power failure that left millions of people in Texas shivering in darkness has been used to stoke what is becoming a growing front in America’s culture wars – renewable energy. Continue reading...

Ernst and Young says results reflect pressure from investors to make sustainability a priority in decision makingAustralian bosses say the climate crisis is the biggest challenge facing their businesses – in contrast to their overseas counterparts, who have ranked recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic their top concern.“Climate change impacts” were rated the No 1 concern by 18% of 155 Australian executives surveyed by accounting firm Ernst & Young, followed by technological disruption (17%) and “the continuing Covid-19 pandemic” (15%). Continue reading...

Levies on flying, imports and other high-carbon services could raise £27bn a year by 2030, says Zero Carbon CampaignTaxing carbon dioxide emissions would be popular with voters, polling suggests, as the government moots ways to put a price on carbon that could help tackle the climate crisis and fund a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.Carbon taxes could be levied on energy suppliers, transport including flying, food, imports and other high-carbon goods and services. At present, the UK levies implicit taxes on carbon, for instance through duties on petrol and diesel, and some heavy industries pay an effective price on carbon. But there are no taxes for consumers that are explicitly geared to the carbon emissions created by the goods and services that they buy. Continue reading...

Free market can be overruled if necessary to create post-Covid growth, ex-PM advises former rivalBoris Johnson must be “muscular” in reshaping the economy to bring about a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis, former prime minister David Cameron has said, calling for an active policy of industrial intervention.Cameron, who as prime minister from 2010 to 2016 oversaw the UK’s recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, said the lessons from that recession were clear. “My advice would be, from what I learnt, is that as well as the framework [of climate and economic policy], you have to roll up your sleeves and be quite muscular in your interventionism,” he told the Guardian in an interview. Continue reading...

Trent Zimmerman is believed to have complained in joint Coalition party room that two years was too long for Australia’s wildlife to wait

NFU members question Labour leader on post-Brexit changes as he proposes major review of party’s farming policiesBadgers, bees and gene-edited livestock are among the key questions Labour will need to address if the party is to make headway in rural constituencies, this year’s National Farmers’ Union conference has shown.Sir Keir Starmer became the first Labour leader in 13 years to speak at the NFU’s annual gathering, a key date in the UK’s farming calendar. His reception was hard to judge, owing to the online nature of the event, but he answered questions from farmers on topics ranging from food standards post-Brexit to nitrate fertilisers. Continue reading...

John Kerry’s comments, including a call for a faster exit from coal power, add to pressure on the Coalition to do moreJoe Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, has publicly acknowledged “differences” between the United States and Australia in tackling the climate crisis while calling for a faster exit from coal-fired power.Kerry’s comments highlighted the increased pressure on Australia to commit to do more before this year’s Glasgow climate conference even though the Morrison government maintains it is “playing its part”. Continue reading...

A new report suggests previous estimates understated the amount of cheap solar and wind energy entering the national electricity marketUp to five of Australia’s remaining 16 coal power plants could be financially unviable by 2025 due to a flood of cheap solar and wind energy entering the electricity grid, a new report suggests.An analysis by two groups – the consultants Green Energy Markets and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (Ieefa) – found previous estimates had understated the amount of renewable energy likely to enter the national electricity market in the next five years, and its ramifications for the ageing coal fleet. Continue reading...

Pilot scheme will use methane from fermenting fruit to create clean power for city water plantIn spring, the air in Seville is sweet with the scent of azahar, orange blossom, but the 5.7m kilos of bitter fruit the city’s 48,000 trees deposit on the streets in winter are a hazard for pedestrians and a headache for the city’s cleaning department.Now a scheme has been launched to produce an entirely different kind of juice from the unwanted oranges: electricity. The southern Spanish city has begun a pilot scheme to use the methane produced as the fruit ferments to generate clean electricity. Continue reading...

Helicopters carried critically endangered great apes deep into forest from rehabilitation centresTen orangutans have been released back into the wild in the Indonesian part of Borneo island, with helicopters used to ferry the critically endangered great apes deep into the forest from rehabilitation centres.The Bornean orangutans had all been in captivity before their rescue. They include Nenuah, a 19-year-old female who had been repatriated from Thailand, according to the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF). Continue reading...

The rodents are often considered ‘nuisance animals’, but they can play a vital role in maintaining healthy landscapesMolly Alves steps down hard on the edge of a heavy wire trap, forcing its sides open with her hands. With care she lays the poised trap, baited with twigs and branches, in a bracingly cold stream. Her target? A beaver.Beavers are often considered “nuisance” animals on the US west coast and, if captured, are destroyed by animal control companies. Continue reading...

Forestry Commission accused of funding non-native plantations that damage peatlands and imperil rare speciesThe natural bowl in the Northumberland hills studded with dumpy young conifers looks innocuous enough. But the English borders are the scene of an increasingly bitter battle as ambitious government tree-planting targets collide with concerns for rare plants and birds.The government is seeking to dramatically increase tree planting to 30,000 hectares of new trees in the UK each year, with plantations sequestering carbon and helping the government reach net zero emissions by 2050. Continue reading...

Nearly £10bn worth of investments including in oil and gas made via pension funds in last financial yearLocal councils that have declared a climate emergency are continuing to pour money into fossil fuels through their staff pension funds, analysis has shown.Nearly £10bn worth of investments in fossil fuels, including oil and gas companies such as BP and Shell, were found in local government pension funds in the last financial year, according to an assessment by the campaign groups Platform and Friends of the Earth. Continue reading...

Zoologist says the animals seen in the Thylacine Awareness Group’s video are most likely pademelonsA wildlife expert has dismissed claims of a sighting of the extinct Tasmanian tiger, declaring the animals photographed were most likely pademelons.Devotees of the extinct Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, were abuzz this week with the potential new discovery that, if confirmed would have brought the animal back from the dead. Continue reading...

World’s Forgotten Fishes report lists pollution, overfishing and climate change as dangersFreshwater fish are under threat, with as many as a third of global populations in danger of extinction, according to an assessment.Populations of migratory freshwater fish have plummeted by 76% since 1970, and large fish – those weighing more than 30kg – have been all but wiped out in most rivers. The global population of megafish down by 94%, and 16 freshwater fish species were declared extinct last year. Continue reading...

About 50 long-finned pilot whales became stuck in the shallow water off Farewell Spit, and about 26 have diedA team of experts and volunteers are racing the tides to save a pod of pilot whales stranded at Farewell Spit at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island.Dozens of the roughly 50 long-finned pilot whales have already died since they stranded on Monday, and the remaining animals stayed in the shallows on Tuesday morning despite efforts to move them out to sea. Continue reading...

Address to National Farmers’ Union aims to extend party’s support beyond urban strongholdsSir Keir Starmer will call on farmers and people living in rural areas to take a fresh look at the Labour party, vowing to push for new investment in food and farming and a revision of subsidy payments, in an effort to move beyond the party’s urban strongholds.He will urge people to buy more British food, and for more of the public sector’s £2.4bn food procurement budget to be spent locally, as well as calling for subsidised wages for apprentices to shore up the UK’s ageing farm workforce. Continue reading...

National Farmers Federation and business groups call for pandemic recovery regionalisation strategyRenewable energy zones must be “at the centre of any regionalisation agenda”, the National Farmers Federation has said.In a policy paper released on Tuesday, the NFF makes the call for renewable energy to be part of new investment to address the $3.8bn annual shortfall in infrastructure in regional Australia. Continue reading...

Larch Maxey’s exit leaves four in tunnel, as judge grants possession order to HS2A fifth HS2 protester has voluntarily left the Euston tunnel, leaving four people still in occupation.The decision by Dr Larch Maxey came on the same day that a high court judge granted a possession order to HS2 for the site in London. Continue reading...

Israel is reeling from a disastrous tar slick, while oily sand has been found in southern LebanonAt first sight there are few obvious signs of the oil spill on the Mediterranean beach. Wooden parasols stand solitary in the sand, while a few runners make their way along the waterline, enjoying the winter sun.“The beach looks OK, but it’s all underneath,” says a volunteer, sitting at a water station on the boardwalk. “It’ll take decades to clean.” Continue reading...

As climate impacts intensify, power grids stuffed with ageing fossil fuel infrastructure crumbleClimate change is full of surprises. We were warned about heatwaves, hurricanes and high-intensity firestorms. What we didn’t see coming was a cynical, cyclical economy of blackout bullshit. As climate impacts intensify, power grids stuffed with ageing fossil fuel infrastructure crumble. Those blackouts are usually blamed on wind and solar – and used to extend the lifespan of existing fossil fuel generators. Opportunity costs increase, climate impacts worsen and blackouts intensify. It’s an accelerating death spiral.Last week Texas suffered an outage likely to be the worst on record in the US. Millions of people were without power for days, initially at a scale roughly equivalent to all of eastern Australia going dark at once. A burst of winter weather froze vital components at power stations, gas supplies were limited by frozen pipelines and, consequently, a third of the state’s thermal power stations were offline (mostly gas). An unspecified proportion of wind turbines were disabled due to icing and low-temperature shutoffs, but “gas and coal were actually the biggest culprits in the crisis”, Eric Fell, director of North America gas at Wood Mackenzie, told Bloomberg. Continue reading...

President says the time is finally right for international agreement to tackle biodiversity loss and global heatingWhen it comes to the environment, few countries rival Costa Rica in terms of action and ambition.The tiny Central American nation is aiming for total decarbonisation by 2050, not just a “net zero” target. It has regrown large areas of tropical rainforest after suffering some of the highest rates of deforestation in the world in the 1970s and 1980s. Costa Ricans play a major role in international environmental politics, most notably Christiana Figueres, who helped to corral world leaders into agreeing the Paris accord. Continue reading...

CBI, Energy UK and others tell chancellor cutting scheme will risk target of net zero emissions by 2050Business groups are urging the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to keep funding home insulation and other low-carbon measures under the green homes grant, which is under threat from cuts.They warned that moves to reduce the amount of money paid out under the scheme, or abandon it altogether, would make it harder to reach the government’s target of net zero emissions by 2050, and damage the UK’s credibility as host nation of this year’s Cop26 UN climate summit and president of the G7 group of rich nations. Continue reading...

Health department finds sharp increase in levels of lead among children in the town – home to one of world’s largest lead refineriesLead in the blood of children living in the South Australian town of Port Pirie has reached the highest level in a decade, with a sharp uptick in concentrations recorded during 2020.The town of 15,000 people is home to one of the world’s largest primary lead refineries, which has been in continuous operation since 1889 and serves as the town’s main employer. Continue reading...

Pilot for First Group this autumn part of EV maker’s rapid expansion before New York IPOElectric buses built by Arrival, the UK-based manufacturer, will be tested on British roads for the first time later this year in a trial with the transport company First Group.The tests will begin in the autumn of this year, starting with four of the first production vehicles produced at Arrival’s research and development facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Discussions are under way about further trials with other companies. Continue reading...

Volunteers gather to remove clumps of tar in cleanup effort that could take months or years, officials sayIsraeli authorities are trying to find the ship responsible for an oil spill that drenched much of its Mediterranean shoreline with tar, an environmental blow that will take months or years to clean up, officials said.Thousands of volunteers gathered on Sunday to remove clumps of sticky black refuse from the pale beaches. Israel’s military said it was deploying thousands of soldiers to help with the effort. Authorities warned members of the public to keep their distance until further notice. Continue reading...

Ingestion of lead shotgun pellets from bed of Larnaca Salt Lake blamed for rise in deaths of migrating flamingosConservationists in Cyprus are urging authorities to expand a hunting ban throughout a coastal salt lake network, amid concerns that migrating flamingos could swallow lethal quantities of lead shotgun pellets.Martin Hellicar, the director of Birdlife Cyprus, said flamingos were at risk of ingesting the tiny pellets lying on the lakebed as they fed. Like other birds, flamingos swallow small pebbles to aid digestion but cannot distinguish between pebbles and the lead pellets. Continue reading...

The Lone Star State is aptly named. If you’re not part of the Republican oil elite with Cruz and Abbott, you’re on your ownTexas has long represented a wild west individualism that elevates personal freedom – this week, the freedom to freeze – above all else.Related: Why the cold weather caused huge Texas blackouts – a visual explainer Continue reading...