Environment | The Guardian

Climate finance for developing nations was supposed to reach $100bn a year by 2020, but has fallen far shortThe G7 summit ended with rich nations reaffirming their goal to limit global heating to 1.5C, and agreeing to protect and restore 30% of the natural world by the end of this decade, but failing to provide the funds experts say will be needed to reach such goals.Boris Johnson badly needed a successful G7 deal on climate finance to pave the way for vital UN climate talks, called Cop26, to be held in Glasgow this November. Climate finance is provided by rich countries to developing nations, to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of climate breakdown, and was supposed to reach $100bn a year by 2020, but has fallen far short. Continue reading...

Boaters fear that the Canal and River Trust’s plans to trial ‘water safety zones’ will lead to a big reduction in mooring spaces

WA unveils plan to phase out items such as plastic bags, cutlery and polystyrene containers by the end of 2021 - several years ahead of NSWLightweight plastic bags, disposable plastic straws and cutlery, plastic cotton buds and microbeads will be banned in New South Wales from next year, as part of a state government push to reduce plastic litter by 30% by 2025.Reducing plastic waste is part of a wider $356m five-year plan from the NSW government that will also see a new “green” bin for food and organic waste rolled out to homes across the state by 2030 – something the state’s environment minister Matt Kean says will help reduce emissions in landfill and allow greater extraction of biogas from waste. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson announces £500m for ‘blue planet fund’, but pledge was contained in 2019 Conservative manifesto

Michael Packard, 56, was spat out after half a minute and expert says experience would have been ‘totally freaky’ for the whaleA New England lobsterman has described the moment he realised he was trapped in the mouth of a humpback whale off the coast of Cape Cod.“Oh my God, I’m in a whale’s mouth and he’s trying to swallow me. I thought to myself, ‘Hey, this is it. I’m finally going to die. There’s no getting out of here,’’’ Michael Packard told a local news station in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Continue reading...

World leaders called upon to put the ocean first and respond to the demands of climate change

‘Premature austerity will threaten growth’ as world recovers from Covid-19, says climate economistWealthy nations must ignore calls to rein in public spending as the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic gathers pace, or risk a fresh crisis, the climate economist Nicholas Stern has warned.Leaders of the G7 industrialised countries are meeting in Cornwall this weekend, to discuss vaccines, the recovery from the pandemic, and the climate crisis. Continue reading...

‘Queen of the Deep’ says it is not too late to reverse human-made damage to oceans and preserve biodiversityThe world has the opportunity in the next 10 years to restore our oceans to health after decades of steep decline – but to achieve that, people must wake up to the problem, join in efforts to protect marine areas and stop eating tuna, according to the oceanographer and deep sea explorer Sylvia Earle.“We are at the most exciting time maybe ever to be a human, because we’re armed with knowledge,” said Earle, also known as the Queen of the Deep and “her Deepness”. Earle has also set numerous records for deep sea diving, and was the first woman to serve as chief scientist of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Continue reading...

Undercover documentary investigates the trafficking of Latin America’s big cat to meet demand in China

Australia, one of four guest countries invited to the summit in Cornwall, is an outlier on climate with G7 nations agreeing to more ambitious targets

Australia’s largest telco will instead focus on pumping power back into the network from the new $120m Crookwell 3 windfarm in NSWThe Telstra CEO, Andy Penn, has said the company is too big to go “off-grid” in its pursuit of using 100% renewable energy, meaning it must invest in returning renewable energy to the grid to achieve its goal.Australia’s largest telecommunications company has towers, exchanges, data centres and a network of 50,000km of fibre running across the country. It accounts for around 1% of all of Australia’s energy production and is the 14th biggest electricity user in Australia. Continue reading...

Opec and allies will face pressure to pump more fossil fuels as economies recover, says IEAThe world’s demand for oil will rebound to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022, as recovering economies require oil-producing countries to pump more fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and their allies, including Russia, collectively known as Opec+, will need to “open the taps to keep the world oil markets adequately supplied”, the global energy watchdog said in its monthly oil report. Continue reading...

Poll on eve of conference shows support for party has fallen away after fuel price debateThe leaders of Germany’s Greens will resist a push by party activists this weekend to adopt more ambitious climate policies, balancing their ecologist message with care to ensure poorer voters are not left out of pocket after September’s election.The Greens, aiming to win the chancellery for the first time at the 26 September federal election, surged ahead of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) in polls in late April after picking Annalena Baerbock as their candidate to run for chancellor. Continue reading...

Ship cannot sail out of Egyptian waters as authorities detain crew and cargo until owners pay for blockagesLemons, bamboo shoots and tofu sit in the sweltering heat, alongside goods from Lenovo, Ikea, Dixons Carphone and dozens of other brands – including barbecues, sun loungers, swimwear, lawnmowers and camping equipment – that will arrive at their intended destinations long after summer ends.Since the successful operation in late March to dislodge the 220,000-ton Ever Given from the Suez canal, where it was stuck for six days, the cargo ship has been grounded again – this time by a fierce legal battle between the ship’s owners, insurance companies, and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA). Continue reading...

For two weeks in late spring, near dusk, the fireflies at the most-visited national park in the US flash in unison, a ‘one-of-a-kind natural phenomenon’As fireflies in the southern Appalachians search for their mates each year, a crowd of people awaits them, hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare light show known to some as a life-changing experience.For two weeks in late spring, near dusk, the synchronous fireflies at the Great Smoky Mountains national park put on a spectacular display across the landscape, flashing in unison for about five seconds and then stopping, together, like twinkling Christmas lights. Continue reading...

Low water levels and high temperatures mean juvenile Chinook salmon are being given a helping hand to reach the oceanBaby Chinook salmon from California’s Central Valley typically have a long swim downriver to the ocean to survive into the next stage of life. This year, they are getting a helping hand in the form of a fleet of tanker trucks set to carry almost 17 million of the fish to the sea.It’s all part of a flurry of steps across western US states to keep tens of millions of endangered salmon from suffering in a year of historic drought for the region. Continue reading...

Welcome to our monthly roundup of the biggest issues in farming and food production, with must-read reports from around the webMEPs have voted in favour of a resolution calling for a ban on the use of cages across the EU for farmed animals by 2027. They also called on the EU Commission to ban the force-feeding of ducks and geese for the production of foie gras. Campaigners estimate that more than 300 million animals in the EU spend all or part of their lives in cages, pens or stalls.

We must find a way to embrace shipping, the ocean and our place in the world without shackling ourselves to unpayable foreign debtGrowing up in Sri Lanka in the 1990s, it was drilled into me from an early age that my island was destined to be a maritime hub. At school, I was taught that Sri Lanka was once the heart of the maritime Silk Road, a network of trade routes that connected the east and west from 130BC to the mid-1400s.My textbooks were filled with tales about how Sri Lanka’s strategic positioning and rich natural resources were so prized that it was consecutively colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch and British empires for almost four centuries. Continue reading...

With Swytch, you can clamp a wheel, battery and sensor to any model and enjoy a power-assisted rideI’ve been something of a sceptic about technological bike gizmos over the years, add-ons that too often seem to represent a solution in search of a problem, an attempt to reinvent something – the bicycle – that was not far short of perfect anyway.I’m no luddite. New developments make cycling even more enjoyable and useful, not least near-puncture proof tyres and tiny, retina-searing lights. Plus, of course, there’s the amazing world of electric-assist bikes, or e-bikes. Continue reading...

Fast-fashion boom fuelling rise in use of synthetic fibres made from fossil fuels, study showsApproximately half of the clothes sold by large online fashion brands such as Boohoo and Asos are made entirely from virgin plastic materials such as polyester, despite a push to reduce the huge environmental impact of the fashion industry.An analysis of 10,000 items added to the Asos, Boohoo, Missguided and PrettyLittleThing websites over a fortnight in May found an average of 49% were made entirely of new plastics such as polyester, acrylic and nylon. In some stores just 1% contained recycled fabric, according to the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) study. Continue reading...

The major blood vessel of the penis splits into two main branches which each supply two of the four penile headsThe penis of an echidna has four heads but only two become erect at any one time. Now, Australian researchers have uncovered why.Scientists discovered the marsupial has unusual reproductive anatomy that causes male echidnas to ejaculate from only two of their four penile heads at one time. Continue reading...

The reservoir will be at its lowest since the 1930s when the Hoover dam was built, and officials expect levels to get worseLevels in Lake Mead – the largest US reservoir by volume – fell to historic lows on Thursday, as the region continues to face the effects of a devastating prolonged drought.Stationed on the main stem of the Colorado River in the Mojave along the Arizona-Nevada border, Lake Mead was formed with the construction of the Hoover dam, which generates electricity for areas in Arizona, California and Nevada. It provides water for urban, rural and tribal lands across the south-west. Continue reading...

Just 10 plastic products make up 75% of all items and scientists say the pollution must be stopped at sourcePlastic items from takeaway food and drink dominate the litter in the world’s oceans, according to the most comprehensive study to date.Single-use bags, plastic bottles, food containers and food wrappers are the four most widespread items polluting the seas, making up almost half of the human-made waste, the researchers found. Just 10 plastic products, also including plastic lids and fishing gear, accounted for three-quarters of the litter, due to their widespread use and extremely slow degradation. Continue reading...

Cornwall art installation created from 20,000 pieces of discarded tech highlights growing threat it poses to environmentThe seven giant faces loom above the dunes, gazing sombrely over swathes of bright sea thrift towards the ocean.Even before the G7 had sat down to begin their Cornish summit, Mount Recyclemore, a sculpture made of discarded electronic waste depicting the visages of the seven leaders, looked bound to be one of the stars of the show. Continue reading...

Prince says private-sector innovation and finance is vital, otherwise ‘we just don’t stand a chance’Prince Charles has said businesses must lead the way alongside governments in tackling the climate emergency.Before the start of the G7 summit in Cornwall on Friday, he told a gathering of political and business leaders that private-sector cash and knowhow was essential, and businesses needed strong policy signals from government. Continue reading...

Organization says the Southern Ocean consists of the waters surrounding Antarctica, out to 60-degrees south latitudeAnyone who thought the world had four oceans will now have to think again, after the National Geographic Society announced it would recognize a new Southern Ocean in Antarctica, bringing the global total to five.The National Geographic, a non-profit scientific and educational organization whose mapping standards are referenced by many atlases and cartographers, said the Southern Ocean consists of the waters surrounding Antarctica, out to 60-degrees south latitude. Continue reading...

Restoring nature boosts biodiversity and ecosystems that can rapidly and cheaply absorb carbon emissionsHumanity must solve the climate and nature crises together or solve neither, according to a report from 50 of the world’s leading scientists.Global heating and the destruction of wildlife is wreaking increasing damage on the natural world, which humanity depends on for food, water and clean air. Many of the human activities causing the crises are the same and the scientists said increased use of nature as a solution was vital. Continue reading...

New research shows American students are losing huge chunks of learning to heat. Here’s how your district faresHuman bodies react swiftly when they overheat.Blood rushes to the skin, trying to find cool air. Sweat seeps out of the skin and evaporates, dissipating body heat. But these processes have a cost: they reduce blood circulation, which means our most important organ, the brain, gets less blood. Continue reading...

Police arrested more than 100 people this week as activists try to block the expansion of the pipelineEnvironmental protesters and Native American tribes have joined together to try to block construction efforts that would expand and repair a controversial pipeline called Line 3, which would carry hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil through tribal lands and fragile watersheds in northern Minnesota.The protesters said they were there as water and land protectors, fighting Enbridge, a Canadian-owned company, and the $9bn upgrade of the pipeline. The action sparked a confrontation with law enforcement officers and raised the prospects of a high-profile fight set to highlight the use of fossil fuels at a time of growing climate crisis. Continue reading...

Five citizens accuse government of failing to protect them from impacts of global heatingFive Polish citizens are taking their government to court over its failure to protect them from the impacts of the climate crisis.They say the state has breached their rights to life, health and family life by delaying action to cut national carbon emissions and propping up the coal industry. Continue reading...

Scott Morrison and Lee Hsien Loong also expected to talk about South China Sea and how to handle Beijing’s actions in the regionScott Morrison will discuss a travel bubble between Australia and Singapore when he visits his counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, but the high-level talks are expected to produce a political commitment to the idea rather than a firm starting date.The Australian and Singaporean prime ministers will on Thursday also discuss how to handle China’s actions in the region, with Australia believed to have suggested including language in their joint statement on the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation in the contested South China Sea. Continue reading...

Group controlling $41tn in assets sign joint statement calling on world leaders to bolster net zero targetsInvestors controlling $41tn (£29tn) in assets have called for governments around the world to end support for fossil fuels and set targets for rapid reductions in carbon emissions to limit the damage from global heating.The 457 investors, who hold almost a third of world’s assets under management, signed a joint statement calling for governments to “significantly strengthen” their plans to cut carbon emissions in the next decade and to bring in detailed targets for net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Continue reading...

Our solar rollout has been world-leading and can point the way to get us moving on EVsGovernments and car manufacturers are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in electric vehicles. But while the electric transport revolution is inevitable, the final destination remains unknown.The electric vehicle transition is about more than just doing away with vehicles powered by fossil fuels. We must also ensure quality technology and infrastructure, anticipate the future and avoid unwanted outcomes, such as entrenching disadvantage. Continue reading...

Exclusive: excessive feeding as visitors flocked to London’s green spaces has led to overcrowding, disease and pollutionLondon’s royal parks are urging visitors to stop feeding bread to ducks because it is causing overcrowding and bullying among birds, the Guardian can reveal.A campaign launching today highlights how excessive feeding upsets fragile ecosystems, leading to large groups of aggressive gulls and crows that steal the eggs and chicks of other birds. Leftover food also attracts rats, and soggy bread and waterfowl faeces contaminate the water. Continue reading...

TC Energy halts project that faced longstanding opposition from climate campaignersA $9bn oil pipeline that became a symbol of the rising political clout of climate advocates and a flashpoint in US-Canada relations was officially canceled on Wednesday.Keystone XL, which was proposed in 2008 to bring oil from Canada’s western tar sands to US refiners, was halted by owner TC Energy after Joe Biden this year revoked a key permit needed for a US stretch of the 1,200-mile project. Continue reading...

Little demand is likely for the ‘peaking’ plant before 2030, calling into question the Coalition’s claim it will reduce electricity pricesA $600m gas power plant promised by the Morrison government is not needed and has no prospect of generating enough revenue to justify its cost, according to a new analysis.A report by Victoria University’s energy policy centre suggested the case for the Hunter Valley plant, to be built by the publicly owned Snowy Hydro with taxpayers’ funds, failed on several grounds. Continue reading...

Ben van Beurden pledges to ‘rise to challenge’ after court ordered oil firm to cut global carbon emissions by 45%

President brushed off bug attack but previous evening some press had been delayed after charter plane was swarmed by cicadasThere was already plenty of buzz about Joe Biden’s first overseas trip as president – tackling issues as the “special relationship” with Britain, European unity against authoritarian power in Russia and China and tackling Vladimir Putin about cybercrime.But the Washington political hum became all too literal on Wednesday as the US president was bombarded by large insects as he prepared to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, en route to the UK. Continue reading...

‘Historic’ move to ban destructive fishing methods in five habitats welcomed, but conservationists say change must come faster

Draft paper says Bełchatów coal-fuelled plant to be phased out as part of plans to transform country’s energyPoland plans to close Europe’s most polluting power plant by the end of 2036, according to a draft document published by local authorities.The document, which is subject to public consultation, is part of the Lodz region’s application for support from the EU’s Just Transition Fund, aimed at helping regions bear the cost of shifting to a climate-neutral economy. Continue reading...

The froth has spilled out of a canal in Marunda repeatedly over recent years, but the exact cause is unknownA blanket of thick, snow-like foam covers the surface of a canal in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. The froth has exuded from the waters of the east flood canal in Marunda repeatedly over recent years, usually in the rainy season.Similar pollution has plagued waters in India, including Delhi’s sacred Yamuna River, which has been coated in toxic froth caused by untreated waste, chemicals and pollutants. Continue reading...

Salmon are headed to a point of no return throughout the US west. And the impact on Native American communities could be devastatingKnee-deep in the rumbling waters of Rapid River in western Idaho, Mike Tuell guided his dip net between boulders and tree branches in search of the calm pockets where salmon rest.It was a Tuesday evening in May, and his first time out fishing this season. The spring-summer Chinook were just beginning their treacherous journey back to their natal spawning areas. Continue reading...

Member of fox family is on list of 20 invasive species likely to reach UK shores and destroy wildlifeThey are cute and furry, and could become the UK’s next major non-native pest.Raccoon dogs, an exotic member of the fox family that is native to Japan, China and Siberia, are one of the most destructive invasive species at risk of becoming established in Britain, experts say. Continue reading...

Greenhouse gases produced by Pluto LNG plant in Pilbara will balloon in short term, climate activists sayThe Western Australian government has been criticised for approving a greenhouse gas abatement plan for a Woodside Energy-led gas export development that will allow the plant to increase emissions over the next decade.It came as Woodside’s interim chief executive, Meg O’Neill, argued that the oil and gas company could develop new fossil fuel projects while aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Continue reading...

Landowners to be paid for planting that protects wildlife, reduces flood risk and increases public accessLandowners will be paid thousands of pounds in bonuses for creating new woodlands that boost wildlife, increase public access and reduce flooding, under a new £16m scheme for England announced on Wednesday.The Forestry Commission plan will for the first time allow payments for natural regeneration, where wind-blown seeds colonise land. This can be the best way to recreate native woodlands and some landowners have complained that past grants only allowed tree planting. Support for planting trees along rivers to improve waterside habitats will also be offered for the first time. Continue reading...

There are fewer than 30 breeding pairs in Britain, and the one I saw at a Scottish loch was at its springtime finestChestnut flanks and neck. Ruby-red eyes. Dagger-like bill. And, on either side of its matt-black head, golden plumes shimmering in the Speyside sunshine. All wrapped up in a buoyant waterbird, gliding across the silky-smooth surface of the loch, before disappearing beneath, then yo-yoing into view again, with a tiny fish as its prize.The Slavonian grebe’s splendour is enhanced by its rarity: there are fewer than 30 breeding pairs in Britain, spread out across the Scottish Highlands. Being relatively unknown, it might not win a competition for Britain’s most beautiful bird. But it would certainly give any other contenders a run for their money. Continue reading...

‘Massive biodiversity gains’ to be made, says letter signed by academics and public figuresMore than 100 academics, experts and public figures have signed a letter calling on the royal family to rewild their lands as a public commitment to help tackle Britain’s biodiversity crisis and to show climate leadership.Organised by the rewilding campaign group Wild Card, the letter’s 120 signatories include the broadcasters Chris Packham, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anita Rani as well as the leading environmental scientist Prof Sir Robert Watson. Continue reading...

Climate Commission recommends shift to electric cars, large-scale agricultural reform and an end to reliance on gas in homesNew Zealand has been handed a new vision for dramatic reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions – including reduced animal numbers on farms, no new household gas connections by 2025, and a dramatic shift to electric cars in the next decade.The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the climate crisis was a matter of “life or death” as she spoke at the release of a new roadmap for the government’s response to global heating. Continue reading...

The Pacific country’s concessionary tax system leads to ‘undertaxed’ resource sector and ‘no equity’ for people in Papua New GuineaAustralian mining companies have paid little or no corporate income tax in Papua New Guinea despite earning hundreds of millions of dollars from their PNG operations, benefiting from a complex taxation system that experts say leaves the country’s resources sector significantly “undertaxed”.Guardian analysis of company reports and industry data can reveal that during the past decade Australian mining giants Newcrest and St Barbara, which have huge mines in PNG, have paid no corporate income tax some years, with the companies legally using generous tax rules and accounting practices to minimise their tax burdens. Continue reading...