Exclusive: Ángel Gurría says action on environmental crises must be defining focus of wealthy countries after Covid

Campaign group calls for more testing at Mavrovouni, a temporary facility housing thousands of refugees on the Greek islandThe Greek government is “downplaying” the risks of lead contamination in the refugee camp on Lesbos, according to Human Rights Watch.The group is calling for further comprehensive testing at the Mavrovouni camp after results revealed that one area had particularly high levels of lead contamination. Continue reading...

Ángel Gurría reflects on time at helm as new generation leads institutions with power to influence governments

Local leaders shift from largely lackadaisical approach that allowed polluters to contaminate Black neighborhoods to working with and advocating for Black residents

Multibillion-dollar company DuPont worried about the potential cost of offsetting emissions of a ‘likely human carcinogen’Chemicals giant DuPont decided to sell a plant in south Louisiana that emits a likely cancer causing pollutant, citing “major concerns” that government agencies would regulate its emissions to protect the community living nearby, internal documents seen by the Guardian reveal.The documents show the multibillion-dollar company worried in 2011 about the potential cost of offsetting its emissions of the “likely human carcinogen”, chloroprene, and so moved to sell the plant, the Pontchartrain Works facility. Continue reading...

To reach this conservation goal, the country will have to conserve more than 400m acres of land and waterways in the next 10 yearsIt was an executive order that made waves in environmental circles: after only a week in office, President Joe Biden pledged to preserve 30% of US lands and waters by 2030.The so-called 30 by 30 conservation goal has already met with bipartisan support in Congress, and it aligns with science-based global preservation targets to reach an eventual target of 50% by 2050. Continue reading...

With webbed feet and a tail for a rudder, Asia’s fishing cats face shrinking habitats. But conservation efforts in West Bengal are helping it swim against the tide

The Department of Environment says light pollution and ocean plastics may be to blame for the unprecedented developmentQueensland’s environmental authorities have raised alarm about large numbers of flatback turtle hatchlings that are dying soon after leaving the nest in the waters along the Capricorn coast region of Queensland.The Queensland Department of Environment said it had been finding many hatchlings dead or stranded since the start of hatching season in late January. Continue reading...

EPA warns Forestry Corporation of NSW it could face regulatory action after accusing it of walking away from negotiationsThe Forestry Corporation of New South Wales has signalled it will resume logging in bushfire-affected forests despite warnings from the state’s environmental regulator.The dispute between the state-owned forestry agency and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has escalated after the Forestry Corporation indicated it would not operate under rules that were set up to protect forests on the state’s south coast after the 2019-20 summer fires. Continue reading...

More Nationals supporting Joyce amendment and Liberal Craig Kelly says he will consider itThe deputy Liberal leader, Josh Frydenberg, has rejected Barnaby Joyce’s call to allow the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in coal in a bid to slap down a growing Nationals revolt.The Morrison government has deferred the looming internal brawl on coal by removing its own bill from the notice paper, but on Wednesday more Nationals came out in support of the Joyce amendment and Liberal Craig Kelly said he would consider it. Continue reading...

Lawmakers and the Murdoch media target wind and solar but grid operator says fossil fuel generators suffered biggest problemsThe electricity outages suffered by millions of Texans amid frigid temperatures sweeping across the United States have been seized upon by conservative commentators presenting a false narrative that renewable power was to blame.“We should never build another wind turbine in Texas,” read a Facebook post on Tuesday by the state’s agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller. “The experiment failed big time.” Continue reading...

World’s biggest investor wants polluting industries to set targets to cut emissions and reach net zeroBlackRock, the world’s biggest investor, has said that oil companies and other polluting industries should disclose their carbon emissions and set targets to cut them, in the latest sign of the rapid reassessment of climate risks by asset managers.All companies in which BlackRock invests will be expected to disclose direct emissions from operations and from energy they buy, known respectively as scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, the investment firm said in a letter outlining its plans. Continue reading...

Environmental audit committee says chancellor must use budget to spur low-carbon growthMinisters should cut VAT on repairs for electrical goods and green home improvements, to help people reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their everyday lives, an influential committee of MPs has urged.Funding for green home grants to install insulation and low-carbon heating, should also be restored to kickstart a “green recovery” in the UK, said the environmental audit committee in a report on how to “grow back better” from the coronavirus crisis. Continue reading...

Former Nationals leader announces he will try to amend his own government’s legislationThe outspoken Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly says he will look at an amendment from Barnaby Joyce that would allow the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in coal.Joyce took Liberals by surprise on Tuesday night by proposing an amendment to the government’s CEFC bill intended to allow for new investment in “high efficiency, low emissions” coal-fired power. Continue reading...

Trade union body says Mathias Cormann would set back fight against poverty and the climate crisisThe TUC has urged the UK foreign secretary to reject the Australian candidate to lead the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), saying it would set back the fight against poverty and the climate crisis.Frances O’Grady, the head of the trade union body, said she was concerned that the UK was preparing to vote in favour of Mathias Cormann, the former Australian finance minister who has a reputation for defending Australia’s mining interests and opposing urgent action on climate change. Continue reading...

Foundation Food Group allegedly asked workers to sign blank sheets of paper, and impeded compensation and healthcare claimsMeat plant workers who were injured and displaced after a fatal accident in the US last month are alleged to have been intimidated and offered limited medical care.A liquid nitrogen leak at a Foundation Food Group poultry plant in Gainesville, Georgia, killed six people in January and hospitalised at least 11 others.

CSIRO-led research estimates 100 entire populations were burnt and another 816 had more than half their area burntMore than 100 plant species had their entire populations burned in the Black Summer bushfires, according to the most detailed study yet of the impact on Australia’s plants.An estimated 816 species had at least half the areas they grow burned, according to estimates in the study, and some ecosystems are now at risk of “regeneration failure”. Continue reading...

Anton Hofreiter says homes an unsustainable option because they use too much space and energy

Fires used by just 8% of population but cause triple the particle pollution of traffic, data showsDomestic wood burning has become the single biggest source of small particle air pollution in the UK, producing three times more than road traffic, government data shows.Just 8% of the population cause this pollution by burning wood indoors, according to a separate government-commissioned report. It found almost half of those burning indoors were affluent and many chose a fire for aesthetic reasons, rather than heat. Continue reading...

Even before a child is born in the US, their race plays a huge part in how they'll experience heat and pollution.It starts with America's history of racist housing policies that segregated families of color into undesirable neighborhoods – and we can actually see the effects of those policies today: lots of pavement, little green space, and ultimately more heat. Meanwhile, in areas where white families live, the neighborhoods tend to have a lot more trees and shade, which leads to less heat. And as the climate warms, it's black families who are most likely to be stuck in extremely hot areas.Recent research is showing us that this isn't just about being uncomfortable. Heat has an effect on everything – from pregnancies to our long-term health to our ability to learn.As part of our environmental justice series, the Guardian's Alvin Chang and Oliver Milman explain how the climate crisis and race have become inextricably linked in the US Continue reading...

Global heating takes a disproportionate toll on Black and Latino children – and the danger begins before they are even bornJoe Biden has vowed to uproot what he describes as the systemic racism that has caused certain communities “disproportionate harm from climate change and environmental contaminants for decades”.The need for this is increasingly clear. The roots of systemic racism run so stubbornly deep in the US, recent research has revealed, that global heating harms Black and Latino children before they are even born, as well as in the first years of their lives. Continue reading...

Council identifies site near city’s airport and hopes production will start by 2025Coventry city council intends to secure pre-emptive planning permission for a “gigafactory” beside the city’s airport to make electric car batteries, in the latest effort by UK authorities to attract investment.The government has identified investment in battery factories as a key goal to keep automotive jobs as the sector moves away from the internal combustion engine. Only one company, however, a startup called BritishVolt, has so far announced a project to build a UK battery factory. Continue reading...

Government says two properties in Gateshead will offer public a glimpse of the ‘potential home of the future’The UK’s first homes to be fitted with boilers and hobs that run on hydrogen rather than fossil fuel gas will be built in Gateshead by April.The semi-detached houses in the north-east will use 100% hydrogen for heating and cooking in appliances including boilers, hobs, cookers and fires under a new government scheme intended to offer the public a glimpse into “the potential home of the future”. Continue reading...

Experts in Cambridge are on night vigil as the moonflower is about to blossom in a UK first, an event being livestreamed for allCambridge botanists are eagerly waiting for a rare and unusual cactus called the moonflower to bloom for what is thought to be the first time in the UK, an event that begins at sunset and is over by the time the sun rises the following day.Experts at Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden (CUBG) have been on night watch for several days, even setting up a live stream so the public can get a glimpse of the flowering of the Amazonian plant Selenicereus wittii. Continue reading...

Carmaker also says it will abandon petrol vehicles entirely by middle of next decadeJaguar Land Rover, the UK-based carmaker, will make its Jaguar brand electric-only by 2025 and abandon petrol vehicles entirely in the middle of the next decade as part of a set of sweeping changes brought in by its new chief executive.The company, which is owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, will eliminate the internal combustion engine for its struggling Jaguar brand by 2025, as JLR aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2039. Continue reading...

Richard Murphy and Colin Hines on creating a programme of economic activity that improves social conditions and addresses the environmental crisisThere is no better example of what Larry Elliott perceptively terms “capitalism for dummies”, whereby our political systems self-destructively fail to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis, than the unspent 95% of the green homes programme (We’re on a collision course with the planet. But with public support, that can change, 10 February).To reverse this trend, and overcome the social and employment effects of the Covid pandemic, will require a new form of growth – one which only supports an increase in economic activity that improves social conditions, creates secure, adequately paid jobs and seriously addresses the environmental crisis. Continue reading...

Animals traded for pet industry, bushmeat, traditional medicine, ivory and lab use declined locally by up to 99.9%

Exclusive: Agnes Kalibata says price rises and scarcity mean people in poverty are in more danger than last year

Many health experts and advocates say breastfeeding is the best choice for babies but the threat of passing on contamination from PFAS is prompting new questionsMaryann Jacobs’ heart was pounding as she opened her letterbox one snowy morning last year in Hoosick Falls, a small town in upstate New York bordering Vermont and Massachusetts.Inside was an envelope from the New York state department of health which she knew would reveal the results from a second round of testing for several chemicals that are part of a group of about 5,000 perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS (often referred to as “forever chemicals”), in her family’s blood. Continue reading...

As the climate crisis worsens, Andrés Manuel López Obrador plans to buy nearly 2m tons of thermal coal from small producersThe men on the midnight shift smoked cigarettes and cracked jokes in the glow of their helmet lights as they prepared to go underground. They were loading safety equipment and coils of pipe onto wheelbarrows, in readiness for a second shift due to start working later that week.“We’re reactivating the industry,” said Arturo Rivera Wong, who had just taken on 40 more workers at the mine he owns in the scrublands of the border state of Coahuila. Continue reading...

Deputy premier to seek legal advice on overturning an independent decision to reject coalmine expansionNSW’s deputy premier says his department will explore all legal options to “find a way forward” for a major Illawarra coalmine expansion after the Independent Planning Commission rejected the proposal.Mining corporation South32 sought to expand the Dendrobium coalmine at Kembla Heights to extract an additional 78m tonnes of coal from two new areas, and to extend the mine’s life until 2048. Continue reading...

Conservationists and traditional owners want to ensure there is enough money to rehabilitate area when Glencore mining endsTraditional owners and conservationists have launched legal action against the Northern Territory government over its decision to cut $120m from a bond held as insurance against any future environmental damage from the contentious McArthur River lead and zinc mine.Lawyers for Jack Green and Josephine Davey Green, residents of the remote community of Borroloola, will argue the territory government’s November 2019 decision was unlawful. Continue reading...

Video is unusual in that it captures species that don’t interact often in high numbers as manatee numbers are downAlmost 200 threatened Florida manatees have been filmed together basking in shallow waters off the state’s west coast, the remarkable drone footage also showing a pod of playful dolphins swimming through the group.Related: Officials hail 'encouraging' number of north Atlantic right whale births Continue reading...

It’s the third crocodile attack in the state this month, after two swimmers in Cairns and Weipa survived encountersA second crocodile has been killed and will be examined for human remains after a 69-year-old fisher went missing in north Queensland.The reptile, measuring about 3 metres, was caught and euthanised by Department of Environment and Science officers near Hinchinbrook Island on Sunday night. Continue reading...

BLM, Extinction Rebellion and animal rights protests all targeted as forces expand use of drones

Judiciary | Queen’s leases | Travel plans | Ancient showroom | StonehengeDonald Trump’s acquittal in the US Senate (Report, 14 February) surely provides the best possible evidence for never allowing politicians to get involved in judicial decision-making. Their priorities lie in other directions.

Chris Packham, Mark Avery and Ruth Tingay have faced threats and insults for taking the fight for wildlife to court, but they are not going awayWild Justice is seen by many as the disruptive new kid on the block. The environmental group has ruffled the feathers of countryside goliaths – the shooting and farming industries – and yet its main ally is the greatest establishment of them all: the law.“Wild Justice gets called lots of names,” says one of its founders, Dr Mark Avery, who was the RSPB’s conservation director for nearly 13 years. “We’re told we’re extremists, we’re zealots, and we’re activists, but what we’re doing is extremely middle class. We’re just using the law and saying ‘you’re not allowed to do that’.” Continue reading...

A metal recycling plant is due to open on the polluted Southeast Side months after the same firm shut a metal scrapyard in a white, affluent part of townTrinity Colón grew up believing everyone had asthma. Continue reading...

Crocodile was killed after being located in the vicinity of the missing man’s damaged boatHuman remains have been found in a crocodile after a 69-year-old fisherman went missing in central Queensland.A specialist examined the 4.2-metre crocodile in Cairns overnight, locating human remains inside. Continue reading...

A federal judge rejects Apache tribal members’ request to halt the transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper mining companyEfforts to prevent a sacred Native American site from being destroyed by a copper mine received a setback yesterday, when a federal judge rejected Apache tribal members’ request to halt the site’s transfer to a a multi-national mining company.While US district judge Steven Logan acknowledged that the mine would “close off a portal to the Creator forever and will completely devastate the Western Apaches’ lifeblood”, he said the activist group Apache Stronghold lacked legal standing in the case since it represented tribal individuals rather than a tribal government. Continue reading...

Community forest projects have seen a surge in volunteers keen to reduce CO2 emissions by creating new woodlandsThe UK may be in the grip of a winter lockdown but in one village on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales the local climate-change group has been busy.Plans are afoot to plant hundreds of trees on land surrounding Newton-le-Willows, in lower Wensleydale, in an effort to tackle the climate crisis. According to scientists, planting billions of trees across the world is one of the biggest and cheapest ways of taking CO2 out of the atmosphere. Continue reading...

Three-and-a-half-year protest at Harvil Road camp west of London ends with removal of seven activistsActivists at the first and longest-running protest camp against the controversial HS2 high-speed rail development were evicted in the early hours of Saturday morning.The camp, at Harvil Road in the Colne Valley, Hillingdon, 25 miles west of the Euston tunnel protest against HS2, which has now entered its 17th day, was set up three and a half years ago. It has been the subject of several high court actions as HS2 sought and obtained injunctions to evict environmental activists from various parts of the site. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Although scientists recommended otherwise, Trump officials favored political allies over endangered wildlife, internal emails showFederal scientists and regulators repeatedly complained they were sidelined by Donald Trump’s administration when they warned of risks to wildlife posed by a California water management plan, according to newly unveiled documents.The plan, finalized in late 2019, favored the former president’s political allies – farmers upset with environmental protections that kept them from receiving more irrigation water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the hub of California’s water network. Continue reading...

In an exclusive extract from his new book, the Microsoft founder explains why we need to cut carbon emissions to zero – even if he is an ‘imperfect messenger’There are two numbers you need to know about climate change. The first is 51bn. The other is zero.Fifty-one billion is how many tons of greenhouse gases the world typically adds to the atmosphere every year. Zero is what we need to aim for. To stop the warming and avoid the worst effects of climate change, humans need to stop adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The climate is like a bathtub that’s slowly filling up with water. Even if we slow the flow of water to a trickle, the tub will eventually overflow. Setting a goal to reduce our emissions won’t do it. The only sensible goal is zero. Continue reading...

Lazer Sandford says subterranean tactics are likely to feature in new wave of climate emergency protestsAn environmental activist who spent 12 days in a tunnel network underneath Euston Square Gardens in central London says the protest is likely to be the first of a new wave against the climate emergency using subterranean tactics.Speaking exclusively to the Guardian in his first interview since leaving the tunnel network on 6 February, Lachlan Sandford, 20, known as Lazer, said the protest to raise awareness about the environmental destruction that activists believe the high-speed rail link HS2 will cause would not be a one-off. Continue reading...

Exclusive: US chains Walmart, Costco and Kroger selling Brazilian beef produced by JBS linked to destruction of Brazilian rainforestThree of the biggest US grocery chains sell Brazilian beef produced by a controversial meat company linked to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, an investigation has revealed.Food giants Walmart, Costco and Kroger – which together totalled net sales worth more than half a trillion dollars last year – are selling Brazilian beef products imported from JBS, the world’s largest meat company, which has been linked to deforestation. Continue reading...

Department of Environment and Science says damage to boat indicates crocodile’s involvement ‘highly likely’A four-metre crocodile believed to be behind a fatal attack on a missing fisherman in north Queensland has been captured and killed, after human remains were found.Related: King croc of Port Douglas dies after crab pot encounter Continue reading...

Weather forecasts have the potential to be an important conservation tool, say meteorologists

New book by Microsoft billionaire plays down impact of flying and driving and calls for focus on steel, meat and cementThe world is not lacking rich men with big ideas, Bill Gates has acknowledged. But having pumped $100m into Covid research, the Microsoft billionaire has turned to the climate emergency and the urgent need to slash carbon emissions to zero, undeterred by being a self-confessed “imperfect messenger” for the cause.With a personal fortune of around $120bn, the world’s former richest man reveals in his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: the Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, that he has poured more than $1bn into innovative approaches to achieving carbon neutrality, investing in zero-carbon technologies and affordable and reliable clean energy. Continue reading...