Efforts to map the Earth’s trees are growing – and could change our understanding of the planet’s healthWhen a team of international scientists set out to count every tree in a large swathe of west Africa using AI, satellite images and one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, their expectations were modest. Previously, the area had registered as having little or no tree cover.The biggest surprise, says Martin Brandt, assistant professor of geography at the University of Copenhagen, is that the part of the Sahara that the study covered, roughly 10%, “where no one would expect to find many trees”, actually had “quite a few hundred million”. Continue reading...

Focus must be on justice for those fleeing impact of extreme weather events, says new scientific adviser to VaticanThe pope’s newly appointed scientific adviser said the coronavirus pandemic has forced world leaders to face up to the “existential risk” of the climate crisis.Prof Ottmar Edenhofer said rich countries now had a moral duty to compensate poor countries already suffering the impacts. Continue reading...

Experts say council funding shortfalls mean many old landfills not being dealt with appropriatelyHundreds of landfills around the UK containing hazardous waste are located beneath green spaces, schools and housing, analysis of official data has found.Experts say authorities are “setting themselves up for a large sequence of nasty surprises” if the toxic substances were to escape, with council funding shortfalls meaning many sites are not being dealt with appropriately. The contents of hundreds of sites remain unknown even to the Environment Agency (EA). Continue reading...

Dogs are able to detect kauri dieback in seconds rather than weeks, greatly speeding up diagnosisNew Zealand is deploying dogs to sniff out a deadly disease that is causing havoc to ancient kauri trees in the North Island.Four-year old English springer spaniel Pip and five-year-old jagdterrier Mawhai have spent over a year training to sniff out kauri dieback, in the hope the Auckland council biosecurity team can stop it spreading to islands off the gulf and the parts of the Waitakere Ranges, which have so far been spared. Continue reading...

Like other Australian ministers, Keith Pitt has been unable to secure a call with his Chinese counterpart amid ongoing tensionsThe Morrison government is appealing to China to rule out discriminating against Australian coal, with the resources minister raising fears about the “human cost” of the standoff as seafarers are stuck aboard more than 70 ships waiting to unload the product.In an interview with Guardian Australia, Keith Pitt said the cost of coal had increased as a result of the impasse but Canberra was “yet to hear anything through official channels” about any change in Beijing’s treatment of the Australian commodity. Continue reading...

Researchers counted particles in seaballs that washed up on beaches in SpainUnderwater seagrass in coastal areas appear to trap plastic pollution in natural bundles of fibre known as “Neptune balls”, researchers have found.With no help from humans, the swaying plants – anchored to shallow seabeds – may collect nearly 900m plastic items in the Mediterranean alone every year, a study reported in the journal Scientific Reports said. Continue reading...

NSW environment minister Matt Kean to declare ‘dinosaur trees’ an asset of international significanceThe world’s only known natural stand of Wollemi pines has become the first site in New South Wales to be given special protected status to try to ensure its survival for future generations.The environment minister, Matt Kean, will declare the so-called “dinosaur trees” an asset of intergenerational significance after heroic efforts by remote area firefighters in the Blue Mountains world heritage area saved the pines during the 2019-20 bushfire disaster. Continue reading...

Due to different methods, US Noaa judged year as fractionally cooler than 2016 while UK Met Office put 2020 in close second placeLast year was by a narrow margin the hottest ever on record, according to Nasa, with the climate crisis stamping its mark on 2020 through soaring temperatures, enormous hurricanes and unprecedented wildfires.The average global land and ocean temperature in 2020 was the highest ever measured, Nasa announced on Thursday, edging out the previous record set in 2016 by less than a tenth of a degree. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Kwasi Kwarteng accepted funding as part of 2019 election bid despite Tories’ green pledges

Environmental groups blast state government for failure to penalise Chevron’s Gorgon plant for increased greenhouse gas emissionsGreenhouse gas emissions from Chevron’s Gorgon LNG facility have increased because the company’s carbon capture system is not working properly, meaning more carbon dioxide is being vented into the atmosphere.Environment groups have blasted the Western Australian government for not imposing penalties on the energy company after documents revealed sand was clogging the injection system designed to bury up to 4m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year under Barrow Island. Continue reading...

An Australian Conservation Foundation report urges an investigation into how ministers treat requests for government documentsAn audit of Australia’s “dysfunctional” freedom of information system has called for an independent investigation into the way the prime minister and ministers treat requests for government documents.The Australian Conservation Foundation audited FOI outcomes for environment-related information over five years, and found the system is increasingly opaque, slow and costly. Continue reading...

Historic court case accuses country of being responsible for ecological damage and its impactsA Paris court has been asked to convict the French state for its alleged failure to act to halt the climate crisis.The legal case, which is being brought by four environmental groups after a petition was signed by more than 2 million citizens, seeks to hold the country responsible for ecological damage and its detrimental health and social effects. Continue reading...

Report says not enough funding is being made available to deal with effects of extreme weather

The opposition calls on the Morrison government to work to repair the relationship with Beijing as exporters face a ‘grim’ yearAustralian exporters face another “grim” year driven by tensions with China while a standoff over more than 70 ships stranded with Australian coal on board threatens to cause an international humanitarian crisis, the opposition has said.While warning of the mounting economic costs to Australia, the shadow trade minister, Madeleine King, called on the Morrison government to take a step towards repairing the relationship by pledging to “eradicate deeply offensive anti-China rhetoric” from some backbench MPs. Continue reading...

More of the insects have emerged this year in NSW, Victoria and South Australia. One reason is rainfallThe buzz call of the cicada is a familiar sound of the Australian summer and this season is what David Emery calls a “super year for our summer chorusing friends”.A veterinary immunologist at the University of Sydney and cicada expert, Emery has been monitoring the insects for decades and, along with many residents of coastal New South Wales and beyond, has registered that the volume is more ear-splitting than usual. Continue reading...

Illustration of activist is part of a series highlighting government’s environmental quality goalsThe environmental activist Greta Thunberg has been featured on a new Swedish postage stamp, in recognition of her work to “preserve Sweden’s unique nature for future generations”.Thunberg, who turned 18 on 3 January, is pictured standing on a rocky cliff top wearing a yellow raincoat, with swifts flying around her, as part of a set by the artist and illustrator Henning Trollbäck titled Valuable Nature. Continue reading...

Project using large beasts to help restore woodland offers unprecedented job opportunityCan you handle a beast as heavy as a small car, that can hurdle high fences from a standing start, and is a peaceful bulldozer for biodiversity?If you’re not intimidated by the weightiest wild land mammal in Europe, you could become Britain’s first ever bison ranger. Continue reading...

Water at critically low levels across Turkey after lack of rainfall leads to most severe drought in a decade

More than 600 environmental, rights and religious groups to present draft order amid widespread shutoffs despite pandemicA broad coalition of organizations is urging Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to mandate a national moratorium on water and other utility shutoffs on day one in the White House, in order to curtail the spread of Covid-19 and ease the financial burden on struggling Americans.More than 600 environmental, rights and religious groups will on Wednesday present the incoming Democratic administration with a draft executive order that would impose an immediate nationwide ban on disconnecting essential utilities like water, gas and electricity until at least 12 months after the coronavirus pandemic ends. Continue reading...

One of these compact little waders has been hanging around my patch for a year, but it’s not easy to spotSome rare birds stay put for just a few hours; others stick around for months, or even years. But that doesn’t always make them easy to see.Since a Kentish plover was first found in Somerset on Boxing Day 2019, it has been seen occasionally on Stert Island, opposite my coastal patch. It disappeared for the summer, then returned in October to spend the winter with a flock of ringed plovers. But at a distance, it can be very hard to pick out. Continue reading...

Sobering new report says world is failing to grasp the extent of threats posed by biodiversity loss and the climate crisis

Loophole means asset manager can hold shares in firms earning less than a quarter of revenues from coalBlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, holds investments worth $85bn in coal companies, a year after it promised to sell most of its shares in producers of the fossil fuel.A loophole in the asset manager’s policy means it is still allowed to hold shares in companies that earn less than a quarter of their revenues from coal, meaning it has held on to shares or bonds from some of the world’s biggest coalminers and polluters. Those companies included the Indian conglomerate Adani, the UK-listed commodities companies BHP and Glencore, and the German energy company RWE, according to research by Reclaim Finance and Urgewald, two campaign groups. Continue reading...

Exclusive: applications to explore Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre basin submitted by energy company last July but previously unreportedThe energy company Origin wants to search for fossil fuels across 225,000 hectares of the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre basin in Queensland’s channel country – part of one of the world’s biggest free-flowing river systems.The company is waiting to hear if the Queensland government will grant the applications for 10 petroleum leases, which were submitted in July last year but have not been previously reported. Continue reading...

WWF report finds area six times the size of Tasmania has been cleared globally since 2004Australia remains one of the world’s hotspots for deforestation according to a new report by WWF, which finds an area six times the size of Tasmania has been cleared globally since 2004.The analysis identifies 24 “deforestation fronts” worldwide where a total of 43 million hectares of forest was destroyed in the period from 2004 until 2017. Continue reading...

A £2.5m scheme in the Skell Valley hopes to protect Fountains Abbey and the city of RiponFountains Abbey, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, was originally set up by 13 Benedictine monks seeking refuge from the more extravagant, rowdy monks in York. Eight hundred years later, the abbey ruins and its gardens face another threat: the climate crisis.The Skell Valley, where the ruins stand, has been flooded several times in recent years, raising fears that the UK’s largest monastic ruins are at risk of irreparable damage. Now a £2.5m National Trust project – aided by a £1.4m lottery grant – has been greenlit to improve the landscape’s resilience to changing weather. Continue reading...

Judges order committee to look into grievances, but unions vow further demonstrations until laws repealedIndia’s supreme court has suspended a series of controversial new agriculture laws that had prompted hundreds of thousands of farmers to stage a months-long protest in Delhi over fears their livelihoods were at stake.Since November, upwards of half a million farmers had marched to the peripheries of Delhi and occupied roads and highways going into the capital, setting up a 24-hour protest camp and refusing to move until the new laws were repealed. Continue reading...

But emissions reductions came at huge cost and will likely rebound as vaccines are distributed, authors of report sayPlanet-heating emissions in the US fell by more than 10% in 2020, a record drop generated by extraordinary reductions in travel and industrial activity in the teeth of the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.The historic jolt to American life, which has resulted in more than 375,000 deaths and a huge surge in joblessness, caused many states to impose travel restrictions and curbs on business activity. This resulted in greenhouse gas emissions dropping by 10.3% last year, according to a new estimate by Rhodium Group. Continue reading...

Polyester fibres that injure marine life were found in sea water across regionThe Arctic is “pervasively” polluted by microplastic fibres that most likely come from the washing of synthetic clothes by people in Europe and North America, research has found.The most comprehensive study to date found the microplastics in 96 of 97 sea water samples taken from across the polar region. More than 92% of the microplastics were fibres, and 73% of these were made of polyester and were the same width and colours as those used in clothes. Most of the samples were taken from 3-8 metres below the surface, where much marine life feeds. Continue reading...

Court says man would face ‘worsening of his respiratory pathology due to air pollution’ in country of originA Bangladeshi man with asthma has avoided deportation from France after his lawyer argued that he risked a severe deterioration in his condition, and possibly premature death, due to the dangerous levels of pollution in his homeland.In a ruling believed to be the first of its kind in France, the appeals court in Bordeaux overturned an expulsion order against the 40-year-old man because he would face “a worsening of his respiratory pathology due to air pollution” in his country of origin. Continue reading...

The Rio Grande used to flow freely, but now in Las Cruces, humans, fish and plants are vying for water in the arid landscapeImagine the world without its most famous rivers: Egypt without the Nile, or London without the Thames. In Las Cruces, New Mexico, residents don’t have to envision the American west without the Rio Grande – it runs dry in their city almost every single year.Related: Hope grows that Biden will restore US national monuments shrunk by Trump Continue reading...

Weaker sharks are less effective hunters, which can upset the balance of the ecosystem, say authors of study into impacts of hotter oceansBaby sharks will emerge from their egg cases earlier and weaker as water temperatures rise, according to a new study that examined the impact of warming oceans on embryos.About 40% of all shark species lay eggs, and the researchers found that one species unique to the Great Barrier Reef spent up to 25 days less in their egg cases under temperatures expected by the end of the century. Continue reading...

Analysts say Origin’s plan for 700MW battery at Lake Macquarie Eraring power station and Neoen’s proposal for a 500MW storage project near Lithgow will accelerate the state’s energy transitionTwo new large-scale batteries that would be Australia’s biggest battery storage projects are proposed in New South Wales in a bid energy analysts say will accelerate the state’s energy transition.Origin Energy is moving forward with its plans for a 700MW battery at its Lake Macquarie Eraring power station, which the company said would be the largest battery project currently under consideration in Australia. Continue reading...

‘Frightening’ global decline is ‘tearing apart tapestry of life’, with climate crisis a critical concernInsect populations are suffering “death by a thousand cuts”, with many falling at “frightening” rates that are “tearing apart the tapestry of life”, according to scientists behind a new volume of studies.The insects face multiple, overlapping threats including the destruction of wild habitats for farming, urbanisation, pesticides and light pollution. Population collapses have been recorded in places where human activities dominate, such as in Germany, but there is little data from outside Europe and North America and in particular from wild, tropical regions where most insects live. Continue reading...

Disposal of radioactive waste is one of six issues to be addressed before plant in Essex can go aheadThe Environment Agency has told the Chinese nuclear developer behind plans to build a new reactor in Essex that it must resolve at least six safety issues before it can move forward.The issues identified by the environment watchdog in its early assessments of the plans for the site in Bradwell include concerns over how China General Nuclear Group (CGN) will dispose of radioactive waste. Continue reading...

Coalition says promise is key to preventing mass extinctions and ensuring clean air and waterA coalition of more than 50 countries has committed to protect almost a third of the planet by 2030 to halt the destruction of the natural world and slow extinctions of wildlife.The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, which includes the UK and countries from six continents, made the pledge to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans before the One Planet summit in Paris on Monday, hosted by the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Continue reading...

In response to articles on the risk of air pollution from wood-burning stoves, Simon Tate tested his own, but was surprised at the resultsAs an owner of a wood burner, your articles (Wood burners triple harmful indoor air pollution, study finds, 18 December; Avoid using wood burning stoves if possible, warn health experts, 1 January) caused great concern. We live in a rural area and would struggle without our stove. But according to a Sheffield University study, we are endangering our health by flooding our lounge with levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that may far exceed the World Health Organization’s safe limit of 25 micrograms per cubic metre. I purchased a £200 air quality monitor, convinced that it would confirm that there was a problem with PM2.5 levels. I was therefore astonished to discover that our wood burner had no effect on PM2.5 levels, even when the door was opened for refuelling. For reference, I lit a match and the PM2.5 level shot up to 165 micrograms per cubic metre.We only burn wood and kindling that contain less than 20% moisture. We operate the stove at optimum temperature by using a stovepipe thermometer and spent as much on the flue as the stove. More in-depth research is needed before conclusions can be drawn about whether all wood burners cause indoor air pollution.

French president vows to overhaul France-Africa event to help mobilise Africa’s young peopleThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, has pledged to invite young Africans rather than their political leaders to a key France-Africa summit in a video call with the actor Idris Elba.The Élysée Palace said Elba, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations’ international fund for agricultural development, had asked to speak to the French leader. The Guardian was the only newspaper invited to attend the discussion at the Élysée, which marked the start of the One Planet biodiversity summit in Paris. Continue reading...

The race is on to find a steady source of lithium, a key component in rechargeable electric car batteries. But while the EU focuses on emissions, the lithium gold rush threatens environmental damage on an industrial scale. By Oliver Balch. Continue reading...

Magna Carta-style project aims to ‘bring prosperity into harmony with nature’Prince Charles is urging businesses to invest in the health of the planet and people at the launch of a sustainable finance charter backed by several international institutions.Evoking the history of Magna Carta, the Prince of Wales is launching the Terra Carta – the Earth charter – that will ask signatories to agree to almost 100 actions to become more sustainable by 2030. Continue reading...

Chinese growth and plans for post-Covid recovery powering commodities boom, say analystsThe global economy could be on the brink of a new commodity “supercycle” as governments prepare to use a green industrial revolution to kickstart growth following the coronavirus pandemic.The price of commodities, such as energy and metals, have reached record highs in recent weeks despite the ongoing spread of Covid-19 and are expected to climb further as countries embark on plans for a green economic recovery. Continue reading...

Europe’s second-largest financier of fossil fuels faces a vote to ramp up its climate commitmentsHSBC could be forced to slash its exposure to fossil fuels – starting with coal – from next year, after an influential group of investors filed a shareholder vote urging the bank to ramp up its climate commitments.Fifteen pension and investment funds are pushing HSBC to reduce the loans and underwriting services offered to clients which rely heavily on fossil fuels within a timeline consistent with Paris climate goals. Continue reading...

Unmanaged animals from Britain’s largest herds for 1,000 years are no longer needed with restaurants in lockdownUnmanaged wild deer herds could soon pose a threat to woodlands and important wildlife habitats in Britain because the commercial market for venison has collapsed during the pandemic.Many in the game industry as well as conservationists fear too few deer are being culled to keep the estimated two-million-strong wild herd, the largest for 1,000 years, at a sustainable size. Continue reading...

Situation in Mead, Nebraska, where AltEn has been processing seed coated with fungicides and insecticides, is a warning sign, experts sayFor the residents of Mead, Nebraska, the first sign of something amiss was the stench, the smell of something rotting. People reported eye and throat irritation and nosebleeds. Then colonies of bees started dying, birds and butterflies appeared disoriented and pet dogs grew ill, staggering about with dilated pupils.There is no mystery as to the cause of the concerns in Mead, a farming community so small that its 500 residents refer to it as a village and not a town. Continue reading...

Farmers ‘relieved’ as chemical sanctioned for emergency use, despite EU-wide ban backed by UKA pesticide believed to kill bees has been authorised for use in England despite an EU-wide ban two years ago and an explicit government pledge to keep the restrictions.Following lobbying from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and British Sugar, a product containing the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam was sanctioned for emergency use on sugar beet seeds this year because of the threat posed by a virus. Continue reading...

Three Percenters and the Oath Keepers have threatened federal employees and institutions that steward public landsWhen the full story of the 6 January storming of the US Capitol building is told, historians will have to make sense of what might seem an odd footnote. The two most prominent rightwing militia groups that participated in the mob onslaught on Congress – the Three Percenters, based in Idaho, and the Oath Keepers, based in Nevada – cut their teeth in obscure corners of the American west, where for close to a decade they have threatened violence against federal employees and institutions that steward the nation’s public lands.Related: 'It was just a free-for-all': my day photographing the Capitol attack Continue reading...

Two-thirds of sales at end of 2020 were battery electric vehicles despite dependence on oil and gas drillingNorway became the first country to sell more electric cars than petrol, hybrid and diesel engines put together last year, new data shows, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounting for two-thirds of sales in the final months of 2020.Norway has one of the world’s most ambitious green targets, planning to phase out sales of all new fossil-fuel vehicles by 2025, five years earlier than the UK. Continue reading...

Report shows US was battered by punishing extreme weather on both the east and west coasts in 2020The US was battered by a record number of weather and climate-driven disasters in 2020 as extensive wildfires scorched the west, hurricanes in quick succession pummeled the east and extreme heat swept across the heart of the country, a new federal government report has shown.A total of 22 major disasters, defined as each causing at least $1bn in damage, swept the US last year, six more than the previous record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

Decision to move business secretary follows pressure from environment experts due to scale of roleBoris Johnson has moved his business secretary, Alok Sharma, to work full-time on preparations for the Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow this November, a change urged by environmental experts given the scale of the role.For the past 11 months, Sharma has combined being Cop26 president with his job as business secretary. He will now undertake the Cop role full-time, with Kwasi Kwarteng taking the business brief. Continue reading...

Firefighters called to 755 animal incidents in 2020, with cats most commonly in need of help