Environment | The Guardian

Scientists say decline in calves born in past 15 years due to diminishing herring stocks in warming north AtlanticHumpback whales could be struggling to breed due to rapid environmental change in the ocean caused by the climate crisis, a study suggests.Scientists have confirmed a significant decline in the number of calves born to female humpbacks over the past 15 years in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada, an important summer feeding ground for migrating whales. They said the climate crisis has led to rapid sea temperature and sea level rise in this area of the north Atlantic, with knock-on effects for the ecosystem that include decreasing numbers of herring, a vital food source for humpback whales. Continue reading...

Environmental groups in Canada applaud decision, but country’s western provinces left in disbeliefJoe Biden’s move to cancel a controversial pipeline project has hit Canada like “like a gut punch”, according to one political leader, and left the country to weigh the future prospects of its ailing oil and gas industry.On 20 January, one of the US president’s first executive orders was to reverse approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, making good on a campaign promise to kill the project as part of a broader strategy to address the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Cross-party group sign joint letter after inquest into death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-DebrahCity mayors representing more than 17 million people across the UK are urging Boris Johnson to commit to tougher air pollution targets after the inquest into the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah.The cross-party group, including the Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Conservative mayor of the West of England combined authority, Tim Bowles, have signed a joint letter along with city leaders from Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and the North of Tyne to urge Boris Johnson to enshrine in law a commitment to achieve World Health Organization air pollution guidelines by 2030. Continue reading...

These hardy animals, a third the size of a Friesian, are popular in conservation projectsDexters are the smallest breed of cattle in Europe and among the hardiest, which makes them popular in conservation and rewilding projects. They are a third the size of a Friesian milking cow and other European commercial breeds of cattle. All these varieties go by the same Latin name, Bos taurus taurus, to distinguish them from Asiatic and African species.Although they are now bred all over the world, dexters originated in the west of Ireland and are believed to be the domesticated cattle of the Celts. Curiously, about half have a genetic trait that gives them short legs, making them seem even smaller. Continue reading...

Biggest ever survey finds two-thirds of people think climate change is a global emergencyThe biggest ever opinion poll on climate change has found two-thirds of people think it is a “global emergency”.The survey shows people across the world support climate action and gives politicians a clear mandate to take the major action needed, according to the UN organisation that carried out the poll. Continue reading...

Firms including Woodside, Chevron, Shell and Exxon Mobil, told they could be downgraded within weeksRating agency S&P has warned 13 oil and gas companies, including the some of the world’s biggest, that it may downgrade them within weeks because of increasing competition from renewable energy.On notice of a possible downgrade are Australia’s Woodside Petroleum as well as multinationals Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Imperial Oil, Royal Dutch Shell, Shell Energy North America, Canadian Natural Resources, ConocoPhillips and French group Total. Continue reading...

International report attributes spike in deaths in Australia to ‘chance’, saying the country’s 18 unprovoked attacks in 2020 was only slightly above averageUnprovoked shark bites killed 10 people around the world in 2020 with six of the deaths in Australian waters, according to international figures.The number of unprovoked shark bites and encounters in Australia was only slightly above average, with 18 incidents recorded by the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File (Isaf). The average over the last five years is 16. Continue reading...

New Drive Anytime rate bids to mirror rivals’ off-peak tariff with savings of 60% a year, supplier claimsOvo Energy plans to launch an electric vehicle charging tariff, at half the usual price, to compete with typical off-peak rates even when electricity demand is at its highest.The UK’s second-largest energy supplier will set the tariff at a flat rate of 6p per kilowatt-hour no matter what time of day their customers choose to charge their vehicle, in direct competition with suppliers which offer cut-price charging during set hours overnight. Continue reading...

World’s biggest investor vows to support net zero carbon pledge amid pressure to divest from fossil fuelsBlackRock, the world’s biggest investment fund manager, has threatened to sell shares in the worst corporate pollutersin a bid to support the goal of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chief executive, said the investor would ask companies whose shares it holds to disclose their plans to achieve net zero emissions. The new approach is set out in Fink’s annual letter to CEOs around the world. BlackRock could then divest from polluting companies in its actively managed funds – which represent about a tenth of its assets – if they did not improve. Continue reading...

Virginia-based ICF has been awarded more than 80 government contracts in the last five years

Exclusive: firms out of pocket and losing faith in scheme administered by US-based corporation

Green campaigners attack further delay ‘to most important piece of legislation for decades’

Last such event for 15 states including New York, Ohio, Illinois and Georgia occurred in 2004Billions of cicadas that have spent 17 years underground are set to emerge across large areas of the eastern US, bringing swarming numbers and loud mating calls to major towns and cities.The periodic cicadas – bugs with strikingly red eyes, black bodies and orange wings – burrow underground as nymphs and suck fluids from the roots of plants as they grow, eventually bursting into the open as adults in mass synchronized events. Continue reading...

Ten biggest retailers produced 900,000 tonnes of packaging and 2bn plastic bags in 2017

Enforcement of rules and boosting numbers of vets to help with inspections, quarantines and general animal health seen as criticalChina’s attempts to prevent another zoonotic disease outbreak will fail without deep changes in enforcement, oversight, and extensive investment to ramp up veterinary capacity, say experts.

Crowds outside parliament demand government take the same science-led approach on climate as it did on CovidSchool climate strikes have resumed in New Zealand, with young people calling on the government to turn the “can-do Kiwi attitude” that beat Covid-19 towards tackling the climate emergency.A group of about 200 taking part in the School Strike 4 Climate NZ gathered outside parliament on Tuesday afternoon to present a group of politicians with a list of demands for “transformative action” on the climate crisis within the government’s first 100 days. Continue reading...

Regulator says there could be conflict of interest in company also owning energy networksNational Grid could lose its role of keeping Britain’s lights on after the energy regulator called for a new and independent electricity system operator to help steer the UK towards its climate targets.Ofgem has called for National Grid to be stripped of its role after 30 years balancing the electricity grid because the energy company also owns energy networks. Continue reading...

At virtual Global Adaptation summit, John Kerry says ‘we’re proud to be back’ after four-year absence

Committee urges governor to ‘show leadership’ on climate change and forge new path to net zero goal

Rate of loss now in line with worst-case scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeThe melting of ice across the planet is accelerating at a record rate, with the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets speeding up the fastest, research has found.The rate of loss is now in line with the worst-case scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading authority on the climate, according to a paper published on Monday in the journal The Cryosphere. Continue reading...

Paris-based company worth €70bn now seen as world’s most sustainable company on Global 100 indexA Paris-based tech company has seen off competition from the world’s best-known green businesses to be named the most sustainable corporation on the planet.Schneider Electric has climbed the annual Global 100 index, from a ranking of 29 last year, offering the technology and energy solutions needed by the likes of retailer Walmart, hotel group Marriott and steel business ArcelorMittal to meet their climate targets. Continue reading...

BioAmmo aims to make 50m of its plastic-free, biodegradable cartridges this yearOne day a little over 12 years ago a Spanish entrepreneur, Enrique López-Pozas, was playing Airsoft when he was struck not by an opponent’s shot but by an equally uncomfortable realisation.What, he wondered, would become of all the little plastic pellets being fired? And, come to that, what about all the shotgun cartridges discarded by hunters and sports shooters around the world? Continue reading...

Kristalina Georgieva says investing to create resilient economies is a ‘win-win-win-win’ scenarioHelping the most vulnerable people to cope with the climate crisis can boost the global economy during the Covid crisis and governments should make this a priority, the head of the International Monetary Fund has said.Kristalina Georgieva said international responses to the pandemic must urgently take account of the need to adapt to the impacts of extreme weather and other climate shocks, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

Data from Environment Agency shows thousands of people and businesses ‘at risk from ruined assets’Thousands of England’s vital flood defences were in such a state of ruin last year they would fail to protect communities from extreme weather, an investigation has found.More than 3,400 of England’s “high consequence” flood assets, defined as those where there is a high risk to life and property if they fail, were judged by the Environment Agency to be in such a bad condition they were almost useless. Continue reading...

Announcement could inflame tensions between Liberals and Nationals, who have criticised banks for asking businesses for carbon transition plansAustralia will sign up to two international agreements that aim to integrate climate risk into investment decision-making including through pricing risk, Sussan Ley will announce.The environment minister will tell the 2021 Climate Adaptation Summit on Monday that Australia will join the Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment and the Call for Action: Raising Ambition for Climate Adaptation and Resilience. Continue reading...

Community says boom in renewable energy means Bradwell B in Essex is not neededFor the 55 years that Tim Fox has worshipped at St Peter-on-the-Wall, his only neighbours have been a farm and a birdwatchers’ shelter.Now, the tranquil surroundings of the salt marsh and the Essex sea wall at Bradwell-on-Sea are threatened by a new arrival: a sprawling nuclear power station, Bradwell B. Continue reading...

We must do more to combat effects of global heating on housing, says climate expertSubstantial work still needs to be done to protect houses from flood damage and to ensure homes do not dangerously overheat in summer as climate change intensifies storms and heatwaves in the UK. That is the key message from one of the country’s leading experts on climate change adaptation.Speaking on the eve of the Climate Adaptation Summit, which opens tomorrow in the Netherlands, Julia King told the Observer that although some improvements had been made to Britain’s preparations for dealing with global heating, some important protection was still lacking. Continue reading...

New guidelines say pictures posted on social media by primatologists and researchers can inadvertently damage conservation effortsCelebrity primatologists and scientists have been urged not to post selfies with chimpanzees, orangutans and other primates on social media to help conservation efforts for threatened species.Cuddling baby monkeys on camera and sharing Instagram posts interacting with primates at sanctuaries is strongly discouraged under new guidelines aimed at scientists, researchers and TV presenters from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on protecting the natural world. Continue reading...

National government-backed initiative will replace ‘use by’ with ‘best before’ and urge people to judge for themselvesWorried about whether the yoghurt, milk and cheese sitting in your fridge is still safe to eat? Rather than rely on the misleading “best by” date stamped on the side, perhaps its time to “sniff and taste” your staple foods.That’s the aim behind a new initiative to fight the UK food-waste mountain, by reducing the amount thrown away in the home. Continue reading...

Indigenous leaders and human rights groups accuse Brazilian president of crimes against humanityJair Bolsonaro could face charges in the international criminal court (ICC) after being accused of crimes against humanity.Indigenous leaders in Brazil and human rights groups are urging the court to investigate the Brazilian president over his dismantling of environmental policies and violations of indigenous rights, which they say amount to ecocide. Continue reading...

Sweden’s announcement this week that it is to build a series of animal bridges is the latest in global efforts to help wildlife navigate busy roadsEvery April, Sweden’s main highway comes to a periodic standstill. Hundreds of reindeer overseen by indigenous Sami herders shuffle across the asphalt on the E4 as they begin their journey west to the mountains after a winter gorging on the lichen near the city of Umeå. As Sweden’s main arterial road has become busier, the crossings have become increasingly fractious, especially if authorities do not arrive in time to close the road. Sometimes drivers try to overtake the reindeer as they cross – spooking the animals and causing long traffic jams as their Sami owners battle to regain control.“During difficult climate conditions, these lichen lands can be extra important for the reindeer,” says Per Sandström, a landscape ecologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences who works as an intermediary between the Sami and authorities to improve the crossings. Continue reading...

Critics say the costs could have been avoided if ministers had agreed to bring in low-carbon standards sooner

Critics ask if some appointees to the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee have a potential conflict of interestThe Morrison government has quietly appointed fossil fuel industry leaders and a controversial economist to a committee responsible for ensuring the integrity of projects that get climate funding.Critics have raised concerns about whether some appointees to the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee may have a potential conflict of interest that could leave its decisions open to legal challenge. Continue reading...

Global study finds that species numbers reported in the wild fell sharply between 1990 and 2015The number of wild bee species recorded by an international database of life on Earth has declined by a quarter since 1990, according to a global analysis of bee declines.Researchers analysed bee records from museums, universities and citizen scientists collated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, (GBIF) a global, government-funded network providing open-access data on biodiversity. Continue reading...

Global study calls on governments to step up maintenance efforts to prevent failures, overtopping or leaksBy 2050 most people will live downstream of a large dam built in the 20th century, many of which are approaching the limits of the useful lifetime they were designed for, according to global research.To avoid the potential for dam failures, overtopping or leaks, the dams will require increasing maintenance, and some may have to be taken out of service. Many governments have not prepared for these needs, warn the authors of a study by the United Nations University. Continue reading...

Consultation comes after the birds have been successfully rewilded in other parts of the UK

Key operations shut down as Sepa officials say they may never know true extent of data theftOfficials at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) have warned a cyber-attack that led to the theft of thousands of confidential documents and shut down key operations has still not ended.The ransomware attack on Sepa, where criminals seized about 1.2GB of confidential data in an attempt to extort money for its return, began on Christmas Eve. Continue reading...

Electricity cable stretches 149 miles on seafloor between UK and FranceA new high-voltage subsea cable linking the UK to France has begun importing enough electricity to power 1m British homes.The delayed power cable, which is the second interconnector linking the UK to France, will stretch 149 miles along the seafloor between Hampshire in the UK and Normandy in France. Continue reading...

The environment and tourism can benefit from a programme teaching tour guides about returning nature to a wilder stateTour guides across the world are being taught about rewilding as part of a new training programme that aims to create economic opportunities within wilder landscapes.The training is run by not-for-profit organisation Rewilding Europe, which is working to return nature to a wilder state across eight regions of Europe by removing human management and reintroducing certain species. This vision includes rejuvenating the tourism industry by attracting visitors to remote areas, such as the southern Carpathians in Romania or the Velebit mountains on the Croatian coast, with the possibility of encountering wild animals including lynx and wolves – and creating jobs within local communities. Continue reading...

Residents say Dirty Dancing project in Walthamstow could present Covid risk and ‘hijack’ vital green space

Significance of changes are unclear and could reflect various ways in which humans are impacting the environmentRivers may seem like immutable features of the landscape but they are in fact changing color over time, a new study has found.Researchers compiled a database of satellite images of major rivers in the United States from 1984 to 2018 and learned that about a third have significantly changed color in less than 40 years. Continue reading...

Environment secretary says water companies too reliant on overflows discharging pollution after stormsThe environment secretary, George Eustice, has made a commitment to reducing releases of raw sewage by water companies into rivers and coastal waters. Eustice said there was “still too much reliance” by water companies on storm overflows to discharge sewage into waterways.A government taskforce set up following growing pressure over sewage pollution in rivers announced that water companies had agreed to be more transparent about pollution discharges from storm overflows. The taskforce said it had agreed an objective to reduce the harm of sewage releases via storm overflows. Continue reading...

TV presenter says government is reneging on Brexit green pledges by breaking with EU banChris Packham, the naturalist and TV presenter, has accused the government of sending “shivers of fear” through Britain’s environmentalists by backtracking on green pledges since Brexit.The wildlife expert accused the government of “irresponsible and embarrassing” practices on plastic waste, following a report by the Guardian last week that the UK would continue to ship unsorted plastic waste to developing countries, even though the EU has banned the practice since 1 January. Continue reading...

International mining conference among forums involving oil, coal and gas industries approved for subsidies in program touted as boosting events sectorThe Morrison government is offering fossil fuel companies grants of up to $250,000 to attend industry events as part of a program that is supposed to help the Australian conference industry recover from a coronavirus-induced slump.A dozen events involving the oil, coal and gas industries are among 150 so far approved by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission as part of the $50m stimulus package. Continue reading...

World leaders will meet for Climate Adaptation Summit to consider how to adapt to extreme weatherMore than 1 million young people around the world have urged governments to prioritise measures to protect against the ravages of climate breakdown during the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.World leaders are due to meet by video link on Monday to consider how to adapt to the extreme weather, wildfires and floods that have become more common as temperatures rise. Ban Ki-moon, the former UN secretary general, will lead the Climate Adaptation Summit, and leaders including Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel and Narendra Modi are expected to attend. Continue reading...

The new administration shares many of the state’s concerns and has been quick to address Trump’s de-regulation effortsCalifornia has led the resistance to Donald Trump’s efforts to roll back environmental regulations in the past four years, with the state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, filing a whopping 122 lawsuits challenging Trump administration rules, most of them focused on climate and public health.Now, following Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s swearing in on Wednesday, the Golden state once again has allies in the White House when it comes to environmental protections. Continue reading...

Joe Biden’s new climate envoy says: ‘All nations must raise ambition together – or we will all fail, together’The world is lagging behind the pace of change needed to avert catastrophic impacts from the climate crisis, John Kerry has warned in his first remarks as the US’s new climate envoy.Kerry, the former US secretary of state, acknowledged that America had been absent from the international effort to contain dangerous global heating during Donald Trump’s presidency but added that “today no country and no continent is getting the job done”. Continue reading...