Environment | The Guardian

Once-in-a-century weather extremes could become commonplace by 2080 unless carbon emissions are curbed

Authorities searched Cattai Creek in Glenorie for seven hours before finding the Sydney man’s car with his body inside

Joint investment of up to £16bn tied to industry promise to cut carbon emissions by 50% by end of decadeMinisters will allow oil drillers to keep exploring the North Sea for new reserves, despite the government’s pledge to tackle carbon emissions, as long as they pass a “climate compatibility” test.The government has offered to help the North Sea oil and gas industry cut its carbon emissions through a joint investment of up to £16bn to help support 40,000 North Sea jobs. In return, the industry has promised to cut its carbon emissions by 50% by the end of the decade. Continue reading...

Guardian Australia understands Ben Pennings has rejected the company’s offer to settle the multimillion-dollar lawsuitLawyers for mining giant Adani told a Queensland court they do not know what confidential information – “if any” – about the Carmichael coalmine was obtained by the environmental activist Ben Pennings, who is being sued by the company for breach of confidence.At the centre of Adani’s multimillion-dollar damages claim against Pennings is an allegation that he solicited confidential information about the construction process and used it to harass contractors. Continue reading...

Coal, oil and gas firms have received $3.8tn in finance since the Paris climate deal in 2015The world’s biggest 60 banks have provided $3.8tn of financing for fossil fuel companies since the Paris climate deal in 2015, according to a report by a coalition of NGOs.Despite the Covid-19 pandemic cutting energy use, overall funding remains on an upward trend and the finance provided in 2020 was higher than in 2016 or 2017, a fact the report’s authors and others described as “shocking”. Continue reading...

The British prime minister wrote to his Australian counterpart to explain why he was denied a speaking slot in DecemberBoris Johnson has told Scott Morrison Australia was denied a speaking slot at a leaders’ climate ambition summit in December because his government had not set ambitious commitments to address the climate crisis.In a sign of the growing international pressure over climate, the British prime minister also indicated he expected Australia to this year set a timeframe to meet net zero greenhouse gas emissions and increase its short-term commitments – steps the Morrison government continues to resist. Continue reading...

Fast growth of plant-based alternatives means consumption of conventional meat will start to fallThe fast growth of plant-based alternatives to animal products could mean Europe and North America will reach “peak meat” by 2025, at which point consumption of conventional meat starts to fall, according to a report.The study also forecasts that plant-based meats will match regular meat on price by 2023 and that nine out of 10 of the world’s favourite dishes – from pepperoni pizza to sushi – will have realistic alternatives by 2035. Continue reading...

Extent of devastation wrought on native animals will only become apparent as water recedes

Greenhouse in Melbourne’s Federation Square is forging new ground in low-waste living. But what’s it actually like to live in?We’re accustomed to living our lives publicly, but chefs Jo Barrett and Matt Stone have gone all in. They are living centre stage, in full public view, in Greenhouse by Joost, an 87sqm, zero-waste “future home” in Melbourne’s Federation Square. Goldfish Bowl by Joost could be more apt.“Every time you walk out of the building, there’s people that want to have a chat,” Stone says. “Some are cool, but others get really grumpy when you tell them they can’t just walk through.” Continue reading...

Experimental animal jabs could stop spillover back to humans, says firm behind vaccines for primatesAt the start of 2021, four orangutans and five bonobos became the first great apes at a US zoo to receive Covid-19 vaccinations. An outbreak in San Diego zoo’s western lowland gorilla troop had caused panic among staff after the virus spread to the animals, probably from an asymptomatic zookeeper. Eight gorillas tested positive – with symptoms such as runny noses, lethargy and coughs – and there were fears the virus could spread to other primates.“We were approached by San Diego zoo asking if we had any vaccine because the primates were getting sick. Luckily, we had some that we thought would be appropriate,” recalls Dr Mahesh Kumar, a senior vice-president at the US veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis, which developed the jab. Continue reading...

Addition would displace more than 1,000 disproportionately Black, brown and low-income householdsTexas is crisscrossed by thousands of miles of freeways, but a Houston-area county is suing the state to stop one of them being expanded, arguing the air pollution and displacement will primarily harm minority communities.Advocates say the plans are an example of environmental racism, when harmful infrastructure is built among disadvantaged people. The Biden administration has joined the fight, and the Federal Highway Administration – headed by the transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg – recently sent a letter saying that the plans could violate residents’ civil rights. Continue reading...

Cloud seeding involves adding small particles of silver iodide to clouds to spur rainfall – but will it work?With three-quarters of the US west gripped by a seemingly ceaseless drought, several states are increasingly embracing a drastic intervention – the modification of the weather to spur more rainfall.Related: Climate crisis: recent European droughts 'worst in 2,000 years' Continue reading...

Claims to be fast-tracked as extreme weather events put growing pressure on regional Australia and the insurance industry• Follow the Australia floods liveblog

Climate impact, such as use of biofuels, to be taken into account when calculating charges, says governmentSweden plans to charge airlines more at takeoff and landing if their aircrafts are more polluting, the government has said.The measure is set to go into effect in July and means that newer and more efficient aircraft will benefit from the scheme while older planes will be hit with higher fees. Continue reading...

Drax in Yorkshire burns wood pellets to generate electricity, but forests cannot be replaced quickly enough, say campaignersThe UK’s plan to burn more trees to generate “renewable” electricity has come under fire from green groups and sustainable investment campaigners over the controversial claim that biomass energy is carbon-neutral.A letter to the government signed by more than a dozen green groups including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth warns ministers against relying too heavily on plans to capture carbon emissions to help tackle the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Bylaw supported by David Attenborough protects large area of seabed to allow kelp to regrowDamaging trawl fishing has been banned in more than 100 square miles of seabed off Sussex to help once vast kelp forests recover.A new bylaw has been approved to prohibit trawling year round over large areas along the entire Sussex coast closest to the shore, to help habitats regenerate and improve fisheries, Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) said. Continue reading...

Deep Branch aims to create protein that will replace the use of soy, which has been linked to deforestationA UK company that turns carbon dioxide into protein to be used for animal feed has raised €8m (£6.8m) in funding as it seeks to displace the use of deforestation-linked soy by farmers.Carbon and hydrogen are fed to a microorganism in a fermentation process similar to what you would see in a brewery. But rather than alcohol, the output is a high-value protein that can be dried and converted into pellets to feed animals. Continue reading...

Research in Australian bay shows absence of apex predators can exacerbate extreme climate damage

Family forced to swim to survival from Telegraph Point home while farmer has 85 cattle swept away

Damning assessment of ‘disastrous’ scheme is a blow to plans for reaching net zero emissions

Report reveals more than 250 deals between high-carbon industries and leading sports teams

Distraught pet owners can get permits for creatures including pythons and lizards but state wants trade and breeding to stopFlorida is known as a state with a fondness for the exotic, from its long history of accommodating religious cults to the Bubble Room restaurant where every day is Christmas Day. But now time is running out for one type of eccentric Floridian: those who own or breed exotic and invasive reptiles and other non-native animals.Related: Miami Beach imposes emergency Covid curfew to curb spring break chaos Continue reading...

Inundation in western Sydney reignites debate about the location of the $915m project

A tropical low is colliding with a coastal trough – kept in place by a band of high pressure

Misuse and subsidising of supplies for the rich also causing shortages and high prices for the poor and vulnerableThe failure of governments around the world to place a clear value on water is leading to widespread water waste, shortages and high prices for poor and vulnerable people, the UN has warned.In many countries, water is treated as a low-cost resource for uses such as irrigation, but this is leading some farmers to use too much, causing scarcity for other users. In other places, rich people receive heavily subsidised water to their homes, leading to further waste, while the poor struggle to gain access to water for essential uses. Continue reading...

Minerals Council of Australia has been accused of trying to export its ‘negative approach to climate policy’The Minerals Council of Australia has weighed into a European Commission climate policy debate, urging it to back fossil fuels with carbon capture use and storage (CCS) and nuclear power on a list of environmentally friendly developments.In a written submission to the commission, the minerals council (MCA) said a proposed EU taxonomy for sustainable activities intended to shape investment under a European green deal was inconsistent in how it dealt with clean technologies because it favoured solar, wind and biofuels over nuclear and CCS. Continue reading...

Storks, butterflies and turtle doves could all suffer at the Knepp estate in West SussexIt is a place where rare white storks raise their chicks alongside peregrine falcons and purple emperor butterflies, where the trees are filled with endangered turtle doves and nightingales, and where the population of breeding songbirds is the densest in Britain.For conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts, the Knepp estate in West Sussex is more than just a wildlife sanctuary, it is a symbol of hope: a former arable and dairy farm that is now a world-famous rewilding project, home to some of the rarest birds and insects in the UK. Continue reading...

With the average UK family throwing out £730 of surplus items a year, eco-conscious consumers have found a hi-tech fixThere is such a thing as a free lunch, it turns out, as long as you don’t mind too much what it is. Tamara Wilson found hers a few streets away from her west London home – and as well as picking up some unwanted bread and fruit that would otherwise be thrown away, she made a new friend.Wilson* is one of 3.4 million people around the world using an app designed to encourage people to give away rather than throw away surplus food. “It’s such a small thing, but it makes me feel good and my neighbour feel good. And a lot of small acts can end up making a big difference,” she said. Continue reading...

Move reverses former president’s order to drop all references to the climate emergency on government websitesCanceled four years ago by a president who considered global warming a hoax, climate crisis information has returned to the website of the US government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of Joe Biden’s promise to “bring science back”. Continue reading...

Candidates to succeed Cedric Richmond in a solidly Democratic seat in Saturday’s special election have been obliged to address the toxic effects of the chemical industry in Cancer AlleyIn Ascension parish at a jambalaya cookout, bathed in the afternoon sun, a politician made promises rarely heard in this heavily polluted region of south Louisiana, known colloquially as Cancer Alley.Karen Carter Peterson, a state senator and one of three frontrunners to become the next congressional representative for Louisiana’s second district, told the assembled crowd that she would fight the proliferation of polluting oil, gas and petrochemical plants. Continue reading...

Thousands of blazes in Similipal national park threaten indigenous peoples and wildlife such as tigers, elephants and orchidsAs the flames move fast, snaking quickly upwards in the treacherous terrain of Similipal national park and turning everything on the ground to smoky ash, the women are in hot pursuit. Throwing their dupattas over their shoulders, sweat dripping from their foreheads, they vigorously whack the flames with leafy branches to extinguish them. Nearby, a forest department official armed only with a leaf blower works to move the leaves fuelling the fire out of the way.Finally, as the hills of Similipal, in the Indian state of Odisha, become too steep, the women fall back. “It’s very smoky and hot, but for the past two weeks, we have been helping put out the fires in any way we can,” says Sanjukta Basa, chair of local environmental NGO Sangram. Continue reading...

Project will explore whether perceptions of the turning season have changed since first lockdown

The best of the week’s wildlife pictures, including fighting ponies, a polar bear hotel and pigeons in Syria Continue reading...

Campaigners target Standard Chartered, urging bank to stop funding coal in emerging marketsClimate protesters from as many as 60 countries have gathered in person and online for Fridays for Future, a movement created by the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.Campaigners raised local issues alongside the globally co-ordinated campaign #cleanupStandardChartered, which calls on the London-headquartered Standard Chartered to divest from coal in emerging markets. Continue reading...

Oil companies knew 50 years ago the huge damage they were doing. Their motive to ignore it is the same now as it was then

As environmental agencies reel from a Republican-led assault on regulations, local activists are taking up the fightThe headaches, asthma attacks and serious nosebleeds that plagued Diego Mayens as a child in West Long Beach, California were all triggered by one basic activity – playing outdoors. He suspects the foul emissions from nearby refineries and other heavy industry were behind his problems.“It had to do a lot with the air quality in the area,” Mayens told the Guardian. “I feel particularly bad seeing kids playing outside and people who live here walking around who might not know what they’re breathing in.” Continue reading...

Jacob Fillmore has only had broth and water for 12 days to raise awareness over destruction of eastern forestsA man in the second week of a hunger strike is calling on a provincial government in Canada to halt logging, amid growing fears that clearcutting the country’s eastern forests could prove devastating for endangered species.Jacob Fillmore, a 25-year-old activist in the province of Nova Scotia, has survived on broth and water for 12 days, camping outside the province’s legislative assembly to raise awareness over the destruction of old-growth forest. Continue reading...

Jason Torlano skied upper part of Half Dome – and reports suggest it may be first ever descent to go so far down the mountainThe pair hiked up to a tree near the summit of Yosemite’s Half Dome peak, at almost 9,000ft, and took turns keeping a fire going. The next day they set out just after 3am to avoid the sun warming up the ice and snow, raising the risk of avalanches.Once there was enough daylight to see that conditions were safe, the pair clambered up to the peak, strapped on their skis, and began the perilous glide towards a face that looked almost vertical – and to the “death slabs” below. Continue reading...

Miner’s board also says it supports suspending membership of industry associations that lobby against climate actionThe board of Rio Tinto has backed a shareholders push that would require the company to set emissions targets consistent with the Paris agreement and suspend membership of industry associations that lobby against action on the climate crisis.In a statement to the ASX on Friday afternoon, the mining company recommended shareholders endorse two resolutions brought by activist groups, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) and Market Forces, ahead of Rio’s annual general meeting in May. Continue reading...

The drive to restore ecosystems has resulted in Saturday’s worldwide celebration, with many British habitats to supportLake-wading water buffalo in Suffolk, forests of waist-high “wee trees” on Scottish mountain peaks, and even the idea of lynx roaming Northumberland. These are just a fraction of the nature projects being given a push by the rewilding movement in the UK, and which will be marked by the first Global Rewilding Day on the spring equinox on Saturday.Backed by the Global Rewilding Alliance, an umbrella group for organisations in more than 70 countries that are looking to restore ecosystems by returning land to nature, the day will be celebrated with virtual events to share knowledge, skills and connections. Continue reading...

Australian climate campaigners hail decision: ‘An announcement like this changes the national story’

Covid pandemic continues to hamper plans for key gathering to agree targets on protecting natureA key United Nations summit to negotiate an accord for nature similar to the Paris climate agreement has been postponed for a second time, it has been announced.The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) said in a a statement that Cop15, the biggest biodiversity summit in a decade, had been moved to October due to delays related to the coronavirus pandemic. The negotiations in Kunming, China, had been scheduled for May after they were moved from October 2020. Continue reading...

While Australia has spent US$2bn, France pledged $57bn, the UK $42bn and Japan $24bn, Oxford University study findsAustralia is the worst performer on a list of the world’s 50 largest economies for “green recovery” spending to kickstart economic growth after the Covid pandemic, according to research conducted for the United Nations environment program.The research suggests Australia spent US$2bn on green initiatives during the coronavirus recovery, compared with US$57bn in France, US$54bn in South Korea, US$47bn in Germany, US$42bn in the United Kingdom, US$41bn in China and US$24bn in Japan. Germany spent $9bn on hydrogen alone. Continue reading...

Transport minister cites £2bn fund as evidence of commitment to supporting ‘active travel’The public’s growing enthusiasm for walking and cycling around UK towns and cities must be supported and encouraged as the country emerges from Covid-19 lockdowns, a minister has said.The transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris said there was huge interest in “active travel” in the UK and called on people to walk and cycle wherever possible. Continue reading...

Alok Sharma sets out UK’s aims as host of climate talks, including new emissions targets for 2030

WallStreetBets members spend gains on donations for endangered animals also including elephants and turtlesGorillas, elephants, pangolins and sea turtles have been handed a lifeline by amateur investors who played the stock market at its own game.Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent helping endangered animals by users of a Reddit trading tips community, giving conservation organisations across the world a much-needed financial boost during a difficult year. Continue reading...

Car industry dismayed as green car subsidy cap also lowered with immediate effectThe UK government has cut grants for electric car buyers, to the horror of the automotive industry as it tries to rapidly shift away from fossil fuels.The maximum grant for electric cars has been reduced to £2,500 with immediate effect on Thursday, from £3,000. The government has also lowered the price cap for cars eligible for the subsidy from £50,000 to £35,000. Continue reading...

The chemicals to blame for our reproductive crisis are found everywhere and in everythingThe end of humankind? It may be coming sooner than we think, thanks to hormone-disrupting chemicals that are decimating fertility at an alarming rate around the globe. A new book called Countdown, by Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, finds that sperm counts have dropped almost 60% since 1973. Following the trajectory we are on, Swan’s research suggests sperm counts could reach zero by 2045. Zero. Let that sink in. That would mean no babies. No reproduction. No more humans. Forgive me for asking: why isn’t the UN calling an emergency meeting on this right now?Related: US urged to cut 50% of emissions by 2030 to spur other countries to action Continue reading...

Exclusive: documents seen by Guardian show companies fought clean-air rules despite being aware of harm caused by air pollutionThe oil industry knew at least 50 years ago that air pollution from burning fossil fuels posed serious risks to human health, only to spend decades aggressively lobbying against clean air regulations, a trove of internal documents seen by the Guardian reveal.The documents, which include internal memos and reports, show the industry was long aware that it created large amounts of air pollution, that pollutants could lodge deep in the lungs and be “real villains in health effects”, and even that its own workers may be experiencing birth defects among their children. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson set the goal, but the developers of the Beha had to get private investment for their unique craftIn the shadows of the old Spitfires and Hurricanes that helped win the Battle of Britain, Faradair, a UK startup operating from the historic Duxford airfield, is hoping to help Britain fight the new war against climate change by developing a revolutionary 18-seat bioelectric hybrid plane which will eventually, hopes its designer, be carbon neutral.The plane, currently in development, will use electric motors to power take-off and landing, the part of any flight with the highest noise and carbon emissions. Once cruising, at a speed of about 230mph, the plane will switch to its turbogenerator, powered by biofuel, which will also recharge the motors with assistance from solar panels, ready for the aircraft’s descent. Continue reading...