Environment | The Guardian

Exclusive: Tony Juniper, who will oversee nature restoration fund, says claims not fully backed by evidence'The government's leading environmental adviser has said ministers are wrong to suggest nature is blocking development.Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, is to oversee a national nature restoration fund, paid into by developers, which will enable builders to sidestep environmental obligations at a particular site - even if it is a landscape protected for its wildlife. Continue reading...

Clive Lewis says he will vote against planning bill amid concerns it will let developers build over precious habitats

Source confirms decision that will help meet net zero targets and pledge to cut energy bills by 300

Researchers at Aussie Ark have found 10 Tasmanian devil joeys during the first pouch check of the endangered marsupial's 2025 breeding season, which runs from February to June each year. Continue reading...

Environment committee also wants to outlaw dredging and mining due to destructive effects on seabed and marine lifeMinisters must ban bottom trawling for fish in marine protected areas, an influential group of MPs has said, because the destructive practice is devastating the seabed and marine life.The UK parliament's environmental audit committee called for a ban to encompass dredging and mining as well as the bottom trawling of fish in the 900,000 sq km covered by nearly 180 marine protected areas. Continue reading...

World Meteorological Organization report says record heat in 2024 was driven by climate crisis and intersected with extreme weather eventsAlmost 40 million sq kilometres of ocean around south-east Asia and the Pacific - an area five times the size of Australia - was engulfed in a marine heatwave in 2024, a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report has revealed.WMO scientists said the record heat - on land and in the ocean - was mostly driven by the climate crisis and coincided with a string of extreme weather events, from deadly landslides in the Philippines to floods in Australia and rapid glacier loss in Indonesia. Continue reading...

The Dorrigo Plateau was used for antimony mining until prices collapsed in the 1970s. Now exploration has begun again - but locals are concerned the heavy metal may impact the water supply

Coalition that includes SoCalGas, country's largest gas utility, has launched fierce campaign against transition away from gas-fired appliancesThis story is co-published with Floodlight.On a windy night in early January, Barbara Ishida, a second grade teacher, spotted the Eaton fire glowing in the hills behind her home in Altadena, California. Her mind turned to the deadly wildfires in Lahaina and Paradise and she thought, Let's get out - now." Continue reading...

Ministers understood to be drawing up amendments to bill to try to head off threatened rebellion by two dozen MPsLabour MPs are planning to rebel over the planning and infrastructure bill after constituents raised concern that it threatens protected habitats and wildlife.The Guardian understands that about two dozen Labour MPs are calling for ministers to force developers to build more than a million homes for which they already have planning permission before pushing through legislation that rolls back environmental protections for the most protected habitats in England. Continue reading...

Senior Tory to give speech in which he will criticise neo-luddites' on right for failing to embrace green technologyJames Cleverly has taken direct aim at Kemi Badenoch's decision to ditch net zero targets by criticising what he called neo-luddites" on the right who seem scared of using green technologies to protect the environment.The senior Conservative MP, who lost to Badenoch in last year's Tory leadership race, said it was a false choice to believe the UK had to choose between economic growth and protecting the environment. Badenoch has argued current net zero targets will harm the economy. Continue reading...

The legislation is a product of joined-up environmental thinking - aiming to create housing while preventing nature loss

Exclusive: National Fire Chiefs Council warns of pressures, with callouts up 20% in a decade as firefighter numbers fallFire stations in England are falling apart", fire chiefs have warned, with funding plummeting by an estimated 1bn in the last decade as callouts have increased by a fifth.Fire and rescue must not become the forgotten emergency service", the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) urged, warning of mounting pressures that risk undermining public and firefighter safety", as it responds to more 999 calls with fewer firefighters. Continue reading...

Experts think the clever birds learned the technique by watching people and then trying it themselves

Parliamentary committee raises concerns over suboptimal' workplace culture at ageing waste dumpMPs have warned about the speed and cost of cleaning up the Sellafield nuclear waste dump and raised concerns over a suboptimal" workplace culture at the site.Members of parliament's public accounts committee (PAC) urged the government and bosses at the sprawling collection of crumbling buildings in Cumbria to get a grasp on the intolerable risks" presented by its ageing infrastructure. Continue reading...

Pupils told to play indoors because of attacks by bird of prey, which follow strikes by hawk near LutonA buzzard called Brenda has been terrorising a 300-year-old primary school on the outskirts of London, sending children running for cover while neighbours have been dive-bombed as they put out the bins.Pupils at Dame Tipping Church of England primary school in the village of Havering-atte-Bower, in the London borough of Havering, have been told they cannot play outside while the bird remains a threat. Continue reading...

The judge wanted us to show remorse, but I can't apologise for fighting the climate disasterLast week, at Minshull Street crown court in Manchester, I was sentenced to two and half years in prison for conspiring to intentionally cause a public nuisance. The prosecution's case was that I intended to obstruct the public or a section of the public in the exercise or enjoyment of a right that may be exercised or enjoyed by the public at large" - in other words, that I was part of Just Stop Oil's plan to obstruct planes at Manchester airport. I did intend that - and I have a defence for my actions.The offence of public nuisance - which falls under the Criminal Law Act 1977 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 - was traditionally and frequently used to prosecute significant environmental offences. It punished big corporations causing real harm to the general public by poisoning water, polluting air, emitting dust and noise or dumping chemical waste. There is no irony lost in the fact that the same offence in statutory form is now being zealously deployed to prosecute environmental protesters.Indigo Rumbelow is co-founder of Just Stop Oil. She is serving a sentence in HMP Styal Continue reading...

Scientists puzzled by huge amounts of prickly sargassum suffocating shorelines from Puerto Rico to GuyanaA record amount of sargassum has piled up across the Caribbean and nearby areas in May, and more is expected this month, according to a new study.The brown prickly algae is suffocating shorelines from Puerto Rico to Guyana and beyond, disrupting tourism, killing wildlife and even releasing toxic gases that forced one school in the French Caribbean island of Martinique to temporarily close. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Planning bill includes mechanism for developers to pay to pollute' valuable ecosystems, experts warn

Future of troubled supplier in doubt as US private equity group says it cannot proceed with acquiring 4bn stake

Controversial plans could see the slaughter of almost 200 black bears, about 5% of the state's estimated totalIt's tough to be a bear in Florida these days, where only a year ago a Republican state congressman was accusing the ursine population of shooting up crack cocaine and trashing people's houses.Then came a controversial new law that allows anybody to shoot and kill any bear perceived as a threat without fear of consequences, which animal advocates say could be bad news for any creature that inadvertently wanders into a back yard. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer expected to confirm result of 15-year search for investment at UK-France summit next month

A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species' collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticidesDaniel Janzen only began watching the insects - truly watching them - when his ribcage was shattered. Nearly half a century ago, the young ecologist had been out documenting fruit crops in a dense stretch of Costa Rican forest when he fell in a ravine, landing on his back. The long lens of his camera punched up through three ribs, snapping the bones into his thorax.Slowly, he dragged himself out, crawling nearly two miles back to the research hut. There were no immediate neighbours, no good roads, no simple solutions for getting to a hospital. Continue reading...

Climate minister says greenlighting North West Shelf project until 2070 is not the leadership Pacific countries expect as Australia seeks to host summitVanuatu's climate minister has expressed disappointment over Australia's decision to extend one of the world's biggest liquefied natural gas projects and said it raises questions over its bid to co-host the Cop31 summit with Pacific nations.The UN is expected to announce which country will host the major climate summit in the coming weeks, with Australia pushing for the event to be held in Adelaide as part of a Pacific Cop". Continue reading...

Doug Burgum says Biden order that banned drilling in 23m-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska will be reversedMillions of acres of Alaska wilderness will lose federal protections and be exposed to drilling and mining in the Trump administration's latest move to prioritize energy production over the shielding of the US's open spaces.Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, said on Monday that the government would reverse an order issued by Joe Biden in December that banned drilling in the remote 23m-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), the New York Times reported. Continue reading...

Using passive design and local materials such as ice cream buckets, these modern community spaces offer a respite from urban heat and hustle Continue reading...

The Emmy award winning comic teams up with renowned scientist Michael Oppenheimer for a new video campaignDavid Cross is many things: a famed comic, an Emmy award winner, and a New York Times bestseller. But he is not a climate scientist.That fact might make him the perfect person to communicate the urgency of global heating to mass audiences. Continue reading...

The president's funding cuts and bullying are about dividing Americans and tightening his grip on powerThe author and environmentalist Wallace Stegner called our national parks America's best idea".Certainly, these jewels - 85m acres of parkland throughout all the 50 states - are beloved by the public. So are America's public libraries, arts organizations and museums.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

National Weather Service offices are reeling from job cuts and a hiring freeze imposed by TrumpMore than a dozen National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices along the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico coast are understaffed as the US plunges into an expected active season for ruinous storms, data seen by the Guardian shows.There is a lack of meteorologists in 15 of the regional weather service offices along the coastline from Texas to Florida, as well as in Puerto Rico - an area that takes the brunt of almost all hurricanes that hit the US. Several offices, including in Miami, Jacksonville, Puerto Rico and Houston, lack at least a third of all the meteorologists required to be fully staffed. Continue reading...

Campaigners say the publication of key KPMG report must be a condition to MPs extending subsidies schemeThe owner of the Drax wood-burning power station should be forced to disclose full details of its tree consumption, campaigners have argued, as MPs review the billions in renewables subsidies the North Yorkshire plant receives.A delegated legislation committee will decide on Monday whether to pass the government's plans to extend billpayer-funded subsidies to the country's biomass power generators, of which Drax is by far the biggest. Continue reading...

Make UK tells government that prices threaten to derail industrial strategy as Energy UK calls for charges to be rebalanced'The UK government is being pressed to wipe billions from the energy costs facing households and heavy industry by reforming the high taxes levied on electricity bills.These policy levies mean the UK pays some of the highest energy bills in the world, and are simultaneously disadvantaging British industry and stifling the efforts of households to transition to lower-carbon heating systems, according to industry trade groups. Continue reading...

The memories preserved in countless books, photo albums, documentation - everything is gone,' says village's mayorFor weeks the weight had sat above the village, nine million tonnes of rock precariously resting on an ancient slab of ice. A chunk of the Kleines Nesthorn mountain's peak had crumbled, and its rubble hung over the silent, empty streets of Blatten, held back only by the glacier. The ice groaned beneath the pressure.On Wednesday afternoon, in an instant, it gave way. The ice cracked, then crumbled. The entire mass descended into the valley below, obliterating the village that had been there for more than 800 years. Continue reading...

Wild weather, including Cyclone Alfred and floods in NSW and Queensland, significantly slowed retail trade and household spending

As cities heat up, reflective roofs could lower energy bills and help the climate. But dark-roofing manufacturers are waging a quiet campaign to block new rules

Exclusive: Colin Simpfendorfer's resignation from working group comes as conservationists lash expansion of lethal program they say does nothing to improve beach safety'

Leadbeater's possum spotted in NSW at Kosciuszko national park, at least 250km away from the nearest sighting in Victoria

Visitors lament tremendous shame' as notice withdrawing public access appears after 30m sale of Bridehead EstateFor decades the lake and waterfall on the Bridehead Estate in Dorset have brought joy to visitors who used the permissive path to access a scene of pastoral loveliness that could have come straight from the pages of a Thomas Hardy novel.But there was melancholy - and anger - among the hundreds, possibly thousands, who made final pilgrimages to the village of Littlebredy this week after it was announced that access to the public was being halted from 2 June. Continue reading...

Politicians reviled environmental minister Marina Silva in the senate this week, but new legislation is fuelling the firePolitical bullying is rarely as brutal as it was in Brazil this week when the environment minister Marina Silva was ambushed in a senate meeting. Her thuggish tormentors - all white male politicians on the infrastructure committee - took turns to publicly belittle the 67-year-old black woman, who has done more than anyone to protect the natural wealth of the country - the Amazon rainforest, Pantanal wetlands, Cerrado savannah and other biomes - from rapacious abuse.One by one, they lined up to attack her for these globally important efforts. Decorum gave way to name-calling and sneering: Know your place," roared the committee head, Marcos Rogerio, a Bolsonarist who cut Silva's microphone as she tried to respond. The leader of the centre-rightPSDB, Plinio Valerio, told her she did not deserve respect as a minister. The Amazonas senator Omar Aziz - from the Centrao party and a supporter of president Lula - talked over her repeatedly. Continue reading...

Sprat fishing has disrupted the food chain and diverted humpback, minke and fin whales as well as dolphinsA whale-watching company has abandoned tours off Ireland's southern Atlantic coast and declared the waters an empty, lifeless sea.Colin Barnes, who ran Cork Whale Watch, announced he was closing the company because overfishing of sprat has disrupted the marine food chain and diverted humpback, minke and fin whales as well as dolphins. Continue reading...

Floods, elections and frocks: here is Guardian Australia's pick of the month's most striking images Continue reading...

Greens leader accuses Albanese government of failing two climate tests: pollution on the rise and approving extension for North West Shelf

High-profile Nationals and powerful forces in business and media are pushing back against climate action, posing a test of credibility for the new Liberal leader

Industry figures say allowing poultry imports that do not align with British production standards would be betrayal'

After historic seasons in last two years, blazes continue trend of warm, dry conditions intensified by climate crisisEnormous early-season wildfires have erupted across the prairie provinces of Canada this week, taxing local emergency response and threatening a long stretch of dangerous air quality across eastern North America.The country's largest fires - the Bird River fire and the Border fire - remain completely uncontained in northern Manitoba. In Manitoba alone, wildfires have burned about 200,000 hectares already this year - already about three times the recent full-year average for the province. Continue reading...

Even in the foothills of the Italian Alps, cycling can be a practical alternative to driving, and more enjoyable, tooLiving car-free in a big city is fairly common these days. Yes, it can mean some adaptation, but when so many things are on your doorstep it's not such a big challenge. So how about car-free life in a remote Italian mountain village, with barely any public transport?We have been living in rural Italy without a car for more than five years now. Even though we have always loved bicycles, the decision to sell our car wasn't a particularly considered one. Continue reading...

Academic Neta Crawford warns that if Donald Trump follows through on his threats of war, emissions will soar and the planet will pay the price

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Exclusive: Climate cost of war is more than than the combined 2023 emissions of Costa Rica and Estonia, study finds

Lauren Mason decided to take action after witnessing huge amounts of camping gear abandoned at festivalsWhen Lauren Mason volunteered to help with the cleanup at a festival two years ago, she had no idea it would change the course of her life. She'd heard about the tents being dumped and left behind. Her mother, she says, is an amazing seamstress", so Mason thought she might be able to use some of the material to make clothes.I originally went to clean up with the idea to make my own jacket. But that's when I realised the problem was bigger than we thought." Continue reading...

Industrial pollution has degraded the rock art and will continue to do so until emissions at Murujuga are reduced to zero, experts argue

Exclusive: Trade unions and human rights organisations fear environment and human rights being pushed asideThe UK is on the brink of signing a 1.6bn trade agreement with Gulf states, amid warnings from rights groups that the deal makes no concrete provisions on human rights, modern slavery or the environment.The deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council - which includes the countries Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - is within touching distance, making it a fourth trading agreement by Keir Starmer after pacts were struck with the US, India and the EU. Continue reading...