by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5MBAB)
New alliance urges governments to work together to deliver a just transition to a green economyPeople around the world need a “global green deal” that would tackle the climate crisis and restore the natural world as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of politicians from the UK, Europe and developing countries has said.The Global Alliance for a Green New Deal is inviting politicians from legislatures in all countries to work together on policies that would deliver a just transition to a green economy ahead of Cop26 UN climate talks in Glasgow this November. Continue reading...
by Adam Morton Climate and environment editor on (#5MB3M)
Former NSW premier says the proposal to raise Warragamba Dam wall is undermining environmental protections of regionThe former New South Wales premier and foreign minister Bob Carr has written to Unesco urging it to send a mission to the Blue Mountains to assess its world heritage status, warning it could be badly affected by the proposed heightening of the Warragamba Dam.Carr, who was premier when the greater Blue Mountains region was inscribed on the world heritage list 21 years ago, said the area had been badly affected by the 2019-20 bushfires – which he described as “by far the worst in Australia’s history” – and parts would be flooded if the dam wall was raised, as proposed by the Gladys Berejiklian government. Continue reading...
Chancellor surveys flood damage and meets survivors as German death toll passes 150 with dozens missingChancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany must up its pace in tackling the impact of the climate crisis, after more flash floods devastated towns in eastern Germany, Bavaria and Austria over the weekend.While one flood in itself was not an indicator of the climate crisis, Merkel said during a visit to one of the two regions in western Germany hardest hit by last week’s record rainfall, the number of such extreme weather events had increased in recent years. Continue reading...
by Nina Lakhani, Aliya Uteuova and Alvin Chang on (#5MAWX)
Here are some key findings of the investigation the Guardian published this week into America’s monopolized food systemWhen you walk into a US grocery store the shelves seem to be teeming with choice, with countless brands appearing to offer every type of food and drink.But a joint investigation published this week by the Guardian and Food and Water Watch showed how this choice is largely an illusion. In fact, a handful of mega firms dominate every link of the food supply chain: from seeds and fertilizers to slaughterhouses and supermarkets to cereals and beers. Continue reading...
Most are built for affluent professionals rather than oligarchs, with trend raising flood concernsWith their underground swimming pools, cinemas and art galleries, London’s luxury basement developments have long provoked envy and disgust as depositories for the hidden wealth of the super-rich.But a study that has mapped all the 7,328 basements approved by 32 boroughs and the City of London between 2008 and 2019 has found that the majority of these developments were built for affluent professionals rather than oligarchs, with the researchers saying they have become as normal as loft conversions. Continue reading...
Walkers and cyclists defy closure of Ash Ranges they say is illegal under 1876 grant to armed forcesRod Johnson has walked around Ash Ranges all his life. On a few days each month, the ancient woodland is closed to the public so soldiers from Aldershot barracks can practise at the firing ranges.Related: Ministry of Defence under fire for ‘inventing rules’ to sell wildlife haven Continue reading...
Search for missing continues, with Netherlands, Switzerland and Luxembourg also affectedThe death toll from catastrophic floods in western Germany and Belgium has risen to more than 180, as emergency services continued their search for hundreds still missing.The German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said he was “stunned” by the devastation caused by the flooding and pledged support to the families of those killed and to cities and towns facing significant damage. It is Germany’s worst natural disaster in more than half a century. Continue reading...
Dominic Spooner’s startup Vaulta is working on a reusable battery casing to create less waste and a lighter productAs some of the world’s largest companies invest billions to advance battery technology, Dominic Spooner has been working at solving the next problem: the impact of unwieldy – and environmentally unfriendly – battery casings.Spooner runs his lightweight battery casing technology firm Vaulta from a shared garage in Brisbane’s north. “Batteries will change our lives in ways that we’re maybe not even totally aware of, but … we can create our own new group of problems if we’re not careful,” he says. Continue reading...
Animal Rebellion activists began blockade of Scunthorpe site on Thursday over fast food chain’s meat productsFour activists have been arrested at a protest that lasted almost three days at a McDonald’s burger factory in Scunthorpe.About 50 activists from Animal Rebellion claimed they had prevented millions of burgers from leaving the factory, and urged the fast food chain to move to a meat- and dairy-free menu by 2025 to help protect the future of the planet. Continue reading...
A mobile market is helping to get healthy food into neighborhoods otherwise full of ‘fringe’ food stores like liquor shops“I like the purple cabbage,” says Matinah Muhammad as she peruses all the colorful produce available at today’s mobile farmer’s market. “I used to have to go all the way to wherever just to get some cabbage.”She knows all this fresh food would be nowhere near her neighborhood if it was not for the bright green truck that brings this seasonal market here every two weeks, organized by a local non-profit, the Arcadia Center. Continue reading...
Dolphins, manatees and 800 tons of dead fish are piling up on the state’s shorelines in one of the worst algal blooms in yearsPiles of dead fish, dolphins, turtles and manatees are rotting on the shorelines of coastal Florida in a soup of reddish brown ocean water after a devastating so-called “red tide” algal bloom struck sea life in the region.The city council in St Petersburg, Florida, called for a state of emergency last week saying that crews need help getting the dead sea creatures cleaned up from the beaches. In the Pinellas county area, more than 800 tons of dead fish and sea life have washed ashore – and the smell is already hitting the cities. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5M9ZS)
Former Bank chief says governments must act as free markets will not reduce emissions aloneGovernments must step up their regulation of businesses to tackle the climate crisis, the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has urged, because the financial free markets will not reduce greenhouse gas emissions alone.Carney, who left the Bank of England last year before the first Covid-19 lockdown, is now one of the most influential figures working on Cop26, the vital UN climate talks to be held in Glasgow in November. He is a UN envoy on climate change and Boris Johnson’s finance adviser on the climate. Continue reading...
As more and more countries grant natural features or ecosystems legal personhood, the UK’s fight to pass nature rights laws is quietly gaining paceThe River Frome murmurs and babbles through the woods and fields of north Somerset. It is popular with anglers and wild swimmers but is often polluted with a cocktail of agricultural runoff, leading to frequent complaints from the public.In 2018, Frome Town Council tried to pass a bylaw giving part of the river and the adjacent Rodden meadow the status of a person in law. This would establish their right to exist, flourish and thrive, and for the river to flow freely and have a natural water cycle, as well as ensuring timely and effective restoration if they were damaged. The council and a local charity, Friends of the River Frome, were to be made joint guardians of the river and meadow, tasked with balancing their interests with the health and safety of local people. Continue reading...
Kenyan president condemns killing of Joannah Stutchbury, who protested against building in Kiambu forestA prominent environment activist has been shot dead near her home in Kenya, after receiving multiple death threats following her campaign against the development of wetlands in a national park.Joannah Stutchbury, 67, was killed at 10pm local time on Thursday as she returned to her home on the outskirts of Nairobi. Friends said she had stopped her car to clear branches blocking her driveway when she was shot several times. Neighbours found her body in the car with the engine still running and valuables still in the vehicle, suggesting the attack was not a robbery. Continue reading...
Debris from areas burned by wildfires courses through city streets as one woman dies in flash flood on Colorado RiverParts of Arizona have been hit with devastating flooding, with the city of Flagstaff declaring a state of emergency after being inundated with torrents of water that turned streets into murky, fast-running streams.In one widely shared video, a person shouting “Oh my God!” filmed as a Toyota Prius was shown being swiftly carried down a Flagstaff street by a raging swell of dark water. The city, located among the mountains of northern Arizona and considered a gateway to the Grand Canyon, has been pelted by several days of rain, prompting local officials to urge people to shelter in place. Continue reading...
Campaigners criticise European Commission strategy that allows continued burning of trees for fuelThe EU executive has been accused of “sacrificing forests” after it published proposals that would allow trees to continue to be burned for fuel.The charges of “accelerating climate breakdown” through wood-burning were made on Friday as the European Commission unveiled its forest strategy, which includes a goal to plant 3bn trees across the EU by 2030. Continue reading...
Judge says demonstration was ‘peaceful’ but impacted Murdoch, Mail, Telegraph and Standard titlesSix Extinction Rebellion protesters on trial for blockading the printing press of some of the UK’s biggest newspapers have been found guilty.The activists appeared at St Albans magistrates court on Friday accused of obstructing the highway outside Newsprinters printing works in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, on 4 September 2020. Continue reading...
Advocates want Osha to issue federal heat standards, requiring water, shade and rest breaksThe climate crisis is endangering farm workers around the US who work outside in excessive heat throughout the year without any federal protections from heat exposure in the workplace.“It’s really challenging to work in the heat, but the reality is we have to, we don’t really have a choice, we have to keep working even when it’s incredibly hot,” said Tere Cruz, a farm worker for 15 years in Immokalee, Florida. “The first thing in the morning, you don’t feel it as much but then after 11am your body really starts to feel the heat. You feel like all the energy has been sucked out of you and it’s really hard to keep going.’’ Continue reading...
Deluge raises fears human-caused disruption is making extreme weather even worse than predictedThe intensity and scale of the floods in Germany this week have shocked climate scientists, who did not expect records to be broken this much, over such a wide area or this soon.After the deadly heatwave in the US and Canada, where temperatures rose above 49.6C two weeks ago, the deluge in central Europe has raised fears that human-caused climate disruption is making extreme weather even worse than predicted. Continue reading...
Fears of growing urban/rural divide as workers take to tractors to protest against measures they say are unfairThousands of farmers have descended on dozens of towns and cities across New Zealand in their tractors in a nationwide protest against a swathe of new environmental regulations.The Howl of a Protest event was tipped to be the largest of its kind for the rural sector, with motorcades expected in 51 towns and cities. Continue reading...
Public urged to join world’s biggest butterfly count to help collect data on impacts of climate crisisButterflies across the UK have been hit hard by unseasonably cold and wet spring weather, conservationists have warned.April was the sunniest on record but it also had a record number of frosts followed by the wettest May for England in 54 years. Native butterflies such as the small tortoiseshell, large white, and red admiral have been badly affected, with numbers down compared with 10-year averages, according to the wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#5M8H5)
Energy firms hope to produce world’s first large-scale floating turbines in north-east ScotlandRoyal Dutch Shell has joined forces with Scottish Power to develop the world’s first large-scale floating offshore windfarms in the north-east of Scotland.The energy companies have submitted multiple plans for a string of large floating offshore windfarms to Crown Estate Scotland as part of the property manager’s latest leasing round for access to the coastline. Continue reading...
Parts of Belgium, France and Netherlands also badly affected as unprecedented rainfall wreaks havocAt least 58 people have died and dozens more are missing in Germany after much of western Europe was inundated by record rainfall that brought devastating floods.“Climate change has arrived in Germany,” the environment minister said, as the country reeled from the sight of destroyed buildings, upended cars and people stranded on rooftops. Continue reading...
Its favourite thing to do is to crawl inside a flower, where petals turn light pink, yellow or redA small girl is eating ice cream. She is at a lake, “Zoo Lake”, in the middle of a city. People who live nearby hear the Zoo’s lions roaring at night. (A world and a century away, in Innisfree, Yeats lives “alone in the bee-loud glade”.)The principal activities at this lake are learning to ride bikes, riding bikes, and walking. Ice-cream sellers pedal their cooler boxes round and round the water. Bees hover over the rubbish bins full of ice-cream wrappers. Continue reading...
Coalition’s Great Barrier Reef envoy also said Australia was a ‘victim of our own success’ when it came to coral bleaching• Download the free Guardian app; get our morning email briefingCoral and ocean scientists have described statements on coral bleaching from the government’s reef envoy, Warren Entsch, as “far-fetched” and “ill-informed” on the day he accompanied more than a dozen ambassadors on a snorkelling trip to the Great Barrier Reef.Entsch told the ABC on Thursday warm water originating in the northern hemisphere and flowing across the Pacific to the reef was a chief cause of mass coral bleaching. Continue reading...
At $42bn, the Harvard endowment exceeds the combined monetary value of many small countries. But it stubbornly refuses to speed up divestmentOn display in every corner of the Harvard University campus, carved in stone, students find a shield with three books and the inscribed school motto: “Veritas.” Latin for truth.Ah yes, truth. Continue reading...
Conviction of businessman who conspired in murder of indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceres raises hopes of end to impunityWhen Bertha Zuñiga heard that a former Honduran army intelligence officer and businessman had been found guilty of collaborating in the murder of her mother, Berta Cáceres, she breathed a big sigh of relief. Five years after the environmental campaigner was assassinated by hired hitmen, this was the verdict her family and friends had been waiting for.“I know there is still a long road, maybe very long and very hard, but to have achieved a guilty verdict against the [former] president of a corporation, [who is] connected to the armed forces: it is unprecedented in our country,” says Zuñiga, 30. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5M78V)
More than 100 poorer nation governments demand action from rich world before Cop26 climate talksRich countries must move faster to cut greenhouse gas emissions and provide financial assistance to their less wealthy counterparts to cope with the climate crisis, governments from the developing world have said.Poor nations have been frustrated with the slow progress at the recent G7 leaders’ summit and meetings of the G20 group of major economies. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5M78W)
Only 10% of $17tn global bailout directed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and restoring nature, report findsTrillions of dollars poured into rescuing economies around the world from the Covid-19 crisis have been spent in ways that worsen the climate crisis and harm nature because governments have failed to fulfil promises of a “green recovery” from the pandemic.Only about a tenth of the $17tn in bailouts provided by governments since the start of the pandemic was spent on activities that reduced greenhouse gas emissions or restored the natural world, according to analysis from Vivid Economics, published on Thursday. Continue reading...
Prime minister offers funding in bid to centralise how country deals with storm, drinking and wastewater but plan has already met oppositionNew Zealand has ringfenced $2.5bn to ease financial pressures on councils as they deal with a controversial shake-up of the water industry.With $1.5bn already allocated to the Three Waters Reform program, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that councils would be given $500m to cushion extra costs and another $2bn for future investment. Continue reading...
Health officials face anger over hours-long delay before notifying public of dangerSeventeen million gallons of untreated sewage were discharged into California’s Santa Monica Bay between Sunday evening and early Monday morning, spurring beach closures, as well as criticism of how health officials notified the public about potential safety risks.The problems came to a head at Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, located in the Playa del Rey area of Los Angeles, on Sunday evening. An “unusual amount of debris” – including construction waste and grease, among other refuse – entered the plant through its sewer lines, said Elena Stern, a senior public information director for the city’s department of public works. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler and Damian Carrington on (#5M72R)
Recommendations include extending free school meals to more children and a reboot of food educationThe 290-page National Food Strategy proposes four main objectives: escaping the junk food cycle to protect the NHS; reducing diet-related inequality; making the best use of Britain’s land and protecting the environment; and creating a long-term shift in UK food culture. Here are some of the key recommendations. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler and Damian Carrington on (#5M72T)
Report says changes in eating habits must be accelerated to meet targets on health and climateMinisters are being urged to levy a £3bn sugar and salt tax as part of a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to break Britain’s addiction to junk food, cut meat consumption by nearly a third and help tackle climate change.The government-commissioned National Food Strategy, drawn up by the restaurateur Henry Dimbleby, says the UK population’s “malfunctioning” appetites and poor diets – fuelled by consumer and manufacturer’s reliance on processed food – place an unsustainable burden on the NHS and contribute to 64,000 deaths each year. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5M72S)
The government-commissioned review lays out the damage our diet and farming system wreaks on the environmentThe new food strategy for England, commissioned by the government, lays out in stark detail the damage the current food and farming system wreaks on the environment, as well as our health. It is the biggest destroyer of nature and a major source of climate warming, it says.The report takes aim at overconsumption of meat. “Our current appetite for meat is unsustainable,” it says. “85% of farmland is used to feed livestock [and] we need some of that land back.” Continue reading...
Brazilian academics and activists issue warning amid fresh assault on environmental protectionsThe collapse of the Amazon rainforest is inevitable if Jair Bolsonaro remains president of Brazil, academics and environmental activists have warned amid a fresh government assault on protections for the forest.Despite evidence that fire, drought and land clearance are pushing the Amazon towards a point of no return, they say the far-right leader is more interested in placating the powerful agribusiness lobby and tapping global markets that reward destructive behaviour. Continue reading...
Setting ambitious goals and relying on future technical innovation is not enoughLast month, the Climate Change Committee delivered a withering verdict on the government’s failure to come up with a proper plan to deliver on its admirably ambitious net zero targets. As the committee released two dismal progress reports, which showed Britain behind on its goal of a 78% cut to greenhouse gases by 2035, its chairman, Lord Deben, observed: “The policy is just not there. It’s clear we need to step up very rapidly.”On Wednesday, ministers were at it again. As they contemplate a societal transition on an epochal scale, affecting all aspects of people’s everyday lives, Boris Johnson and his ministers appear to believe they can get by through a combination of setting dates and making heroic technological assumptions. This time it was the turn of the transport minister, Grant Shapps, to unveil eye-catching net zero pledges. According to the government’s delayed transport decarbonisation plan, polluting diesel and petrol lorries are to be banned in Britain by 2040 at the latest, and all types of transport will be decarbonised by 2050. Yet as the Road Haulage Association pointed out, zero-emissions heavy goods vehicles are still an aspiration rather than a reality, and Mr Shapps has delivered no detail on how the bill for this hypothetical transition will be met. In aviation, where the government has pledged net zero internal UK flights by 2040, there is a similar gap between rhetoric and reality. The notion that hydrogen aircraft and sustainable aviation fuels can obviate the need to fly less, at least in the medium term, is fanciful. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#5M6J7)
‘Fundamental changes’ to travel patterns due to the pandemic and environmental goals prompted rethink of spending on roadsBritain’s £27bn roadbuilding strategy will have to be redrawn to take account of environmental commitments, the government has admitted, in a victory for campaigners who sought a judicial review.The government’s transport decarbonisation plan, published on Wednesday, pledged to review the national networks national policy statement, which outlined a strategy of major spending on roads. Continue reading...
Reflective surfaces, green roofs can lower temperatures in sweltering citiesThe sweltering heat endured by major American cities is being fueled by vast swaths of concrete and a lack of greenery that can ratchet up temperatures by nearly 9F (5C) compared with surrounding rural areas, new research has found.In the past month, Phoenix experienced a string of four days above 115F (46C) for the first time and Boston hit 100F for the first time in a decade. A deadly heatwave in the US north-west, which scientists say would have been “virtually impossible” without human-induced climate change, baked Seattle at a record 108F, while Portland, where roads buckled and power cables melted in the heat, reached an incredible new high of 116F. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#5M6C2)
Ambition to expand offshore wind energy will cause huge displacement to industry, UK fishing federation claimsThe government has been accused of sacrificing the fishing industry for a second time since Brexit in order to burnish its green credentials with a huge programme for offshore wind turbines.The prime minister, Boris Johnson, last year said the UK had an opportunity to become “the Saudi Arabia of wind”, as part of a goal to become carbon neutral by 2030. Continue reading...
Rejection of planned scheme on outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne said to confirm industry’s demiseCampaigners are hailing the end of opencast coal mining in Britain after a long battle to see off the final applications for new mines in former coal heartlands.The Banks Group’s decision not to appeal against the rejection of a proposed scheme on the outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne means England joins Scotland in apparently reaching the end of the road for surface coalmining. Continue reading...
by Adam Morton Climate and environment editor on (#5M60R)
Trent Zimmerman and Bridget Archer said net zero was not only the right thing to do but would create opportunities for AustraliaTwo Liberal backbenchers have called on Scott Morrison to set the long-mooted climate target of net zero emissions by 2050 before a major UN conference in November, and to restore funding and advisory powers to the Climate Change Authority.Trent Zimmerman, the member for North Sydney, and Bridget Archer, the member for Bass in northern Tasmania, made the call in a joint response to an inquiry into climate change legislation proposed by the independent MP Zali Steggall. Continue reading...
The agency places no limits on PFAS in drinking water, despite research suggesting the entire class of chemicals is toxicThe Environmental Protection Agency announced this week that it’s considering drinking water limits for the entire class of PFAS compounds, which public health advocates say are categorically toxic.The chemicals are used to make products resistant to water, stain and heat, and are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t fully break down or degrade. They are linked to a range of serious health problems such as cancer, liver disease, kidney problems, heart disease, decreased immunity and more. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent on (#5M5TC)
MPs and builders want tax cut included in government strategy to cut emissions from home heatingMinisters are resisting calls to reduce VAT on green home improvements, despite pleas from MPs and builders, as they prepare to set out a national strategy for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from home heating.Heating Britain’s homes accounts for about 14% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and that number has barely budged in the past decade. This year, ministers scrapped the green homes grant, a scheme to subsidise insulation and low-carbon heating systems, after only six months. This left the UK with no plan to bring homes into line with the government’s commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Continue reading...
Exclusive: oil rich nations back push against Unesco recommendation to have reef placed on world heritage ‘in danger’ listAustralia has gained the support of oil-rich Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in its lobbying effort to keep the Great Barrier Reef off a list of world heritage sites in danger.The two nations, both members of the 21-country committee, are co-sponsoring amendments seen by the Guardian that back Australia and ask the world heritage committee to push back a key decision until at least 2023. Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#5M5S5)
Passengers face ‘near impossible’ choice between low prices and climate-friendly travel, says Which?Train fares on popular UK routes are 50% more expensive than plane fares despite rail journeys causing 80% lower carbon dioxide emissions, according to analysis by the consumer group Which?.It said passengers face a “near impossible” choice between low ticket prices and climate-friendly travel. More people are taking holidays in the UK due to coronavirus and airlines have launched dozens of new domestic routes. Continue reading...
Landmark report proposes free public transport, more green spaces and cash for home improvementsThe British public should be given a “people’s dividend” worth billions of pounds as part of the national drive to hit targets for net zero carbon emissions and the restoration of nature, according to the most detailed blueprint to date for a green transition.Free public transport, more green spaces and money for improving homes are at the core of a landmark report that proposes one of the greatest advances in the fairness agenda since the creation of the NHS. Continue reading...