Environment | The Guardian

Judges say greater leniency should be shown in cases of non-violent civil disobedienceA fracking protester’s sentence has been reduced by the court of appeal, which said greater leniency should be shown in convictions for non-violent civil disobedience.Katrina Lawrie, 41, was found guilty of contempt of court in June last year for breaching an injunction that banned trespassers blocking access to the energy firm Cuadrilla’s site on Preston New Road in Lancashire. Continue reading...

Brown ants herd and milk giant pale aphids, building barns for them from beetle exoskeletonBritain has a new farmed animal, which is kept in barns, milked and moved between high and low pastures – but not by humans.The giant pale aphid, Stomaphis wojciechowskii, has lived undiscovered for thousands of years on English oak trees, where it has been looked after by brown ants. Continue reading...

Blend of hydrogen and natural gas is being used to heat homes and faculty buildings at Keele UniversityZero-carbon hydrogen has been injected into a UK gas network for the first time in a groundbreaking trial that could help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.The 20% hydrogen and natural gas blend is being used to heat 100 homes and 30 faculty buildings at Keele University in Staffordshire. Unlike natural gas, when hydrogen is burned it produces heat and water as opposed to carbon dioxide. Continue reading...

Climate crisis and socioeconomic factors, combined with critically unprepared governments, bring high risks for some countriesIntense floods and storms around the world could double in frequency within 13 years, as climate breakdown and socioeconomic factors combine, according to a new study.The authors of the analysis say it’s the first to incorporate historical local and global climate data and information about population density, income and poverty to estimate how many hard-hitting disasters to expect. They counted floods and storms that would affect 1,000 people or kill 100 people. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Almost £2bn went to oil and gas despite a UK pledge to support cleaner energy in African countriesMore than 90% of the £2bn in energy deals struck at this week’s UK-Africa investment summit were for fossil fuels, despite a government commitment to “support African countries in their transition to cleaner energy”.Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the summit on Monday, citing the climate emergency: “We all breathe the same air, we live beneath the same sky, and we all suffer when carbon emissions rise and the planet warms.” Continue reading...

Revealed: emails show Trump and appointees tried to craft a narrative that forest protection efforts are responsible for wildfiresPolitical appointees at the interior department have sought to play up climate pollution from California wildfires while downplaying emissions from fossil fuels as a way of promoting more logging in the nation’s forests, internal emails obtained by the Guardian reveal.The messaging plan was crafted in support of Donald Trump’s pro-industry arguments for harvesting more timber in California, which he says would thin forests and prevent fires – a point experts refute. Continue reading...

Mining giant intends to fully take over the mine’s operator, Energy Resources AustraliaThe mining giant Rio Tinto will be able to go ahead with a plan to clean up the Ranger uranium mine after admitting it intends to fully take over the mine’s operator, Energy Resources Australia.The admission fulfils conditions set by the Takeovers Panel, which last month threw Rio Tinto’s plans to help fund the cleanup – estimated to cost $830m – into disarray after a Singapore hedge fund objected to the proposal. Continue reading...

The cold snap that left the reptiles falling catatonic from trees had residents dusting off recipes for an invasive species whose meat sells for $60 a poundIt was an unseasonable cold snap by south Florida standards, a two-day spell of frigid temperatures pushed deep into the sunshine state by wintry conditions further north.But for connoisseurs of exotic iguana meat it was the culinary equivalent of money growing on trees: reptiles whose flesh sells online for $60 a pound literally raining from the branches, frozen, for free. The unexpected harvest had residents dusting off old recipes for iguana tacos, curries, gumbos and soups. Continue reading...

People from across Britain will join TV host to discuss ways to cut emissions to zero by 2050Sir David Attenborough will address members of the public who are taking part in the UK’s first climate assembly this weekend.The TV presenter and naturalist will appear in Birmingham, where the 110 members are meeting to address how to reduce emissions to zero by 2050, to thank them for taking part. Continue reading...

Nitrogen oxide emissions from Bluestar bus, trialled in Southampton, are less than a diesel car

Dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of the former president of Angola, claims to be a self-made businesswoman, but the Luanda Leaks, a cache of 715,000 emails, charts, contracts, audits and accounts, help explain how she actually built her business empire. Plus, why are the world’s oldest trees dying?Isabel dos Santos amassed a fortune estimated at $2.2bn (£1.7bn) while her father, José Eduardo dos Santos, was president of Angola. She is now battling allegations of corruption and nepotism following the publication of Luanda Leaks, an investigation by the Guardian and other media led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Atmospheric concentration of major greenhouse gas forecast to hit 417 parts per million in May with bushfires contributing 2% of increaseAustralia’s bushfire crisis is expected to contribute up to 2% of what scientists forecast will be one of the largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide on record.The atmospheric concentration of the heat-trapping gas is projected to peak at more than 417 parts per million in May, and average about 414.2 parts per million for the year, according to the forecast by the British Met Office. It is a 2.74ppm increase above the 2019 average. Continue reading...

Supermarket chain will remove items packaged in plastic and replace with multi-buy deals

Fires released vast amounts of carbon dioxide and reduced vegetation, pushing planet closer to point of no returnThe devastating bushfires in Australia are likely to cause a jump in carbon concentrations in the atmosphere this year, a forecast suggests, bringing the world closer to 1.5C of global heating.The fires have not only released vast amounts of carbon dioxide and soot, but the unusual extent of the blazes means regrowth is likely to be slower than in previous years. That will reduce the amount of vegetation available to act as a carbon sink, meaning less carbon dioxide is removed from the air. Continue reading...

Conservationists are applauding a ballot measure to reintroduce the gray wolf to the state. But ranchers and hunters are putting up a fightThe gray wolf, once numbering in the tens of thousands throughout North America, have faced public vilification and extermination programs that drove it to near extinction in the US. Now Colorado will vote on whether to reintroduce them into the wild after an 80-year absence, thanks to an effort that has cattle ranchers outraged but which conservationists say could restore an ecosystem that has long suffered without the apex predator.The species was systematically exterminated by controversial, US government-backed programs in the 19th and 20th centuries. This was primarily due to wolves’ attacks on the cattle, a booming industry that has been integral to the expanding west economy. By 1940, wolves were almost completely gone. Continue reading...

Powerful gun lobby group has used connections in Trump administration to influence decisions, messages showIn the fall of 2017, a National Rifle Association lobbyist named Benjamin Cassidy left his job at the influential gun group. His next stop: a top position at the US interior department, which oversees hundreds of millions of acres of federal land across the country.Once in office, it didn’t take Cassidy long to use his new government gig to provide his longtime NRA colleagues with special access to the powerful federal agency, as revealed by previously unreleased communications obtained by the Guardian. Continue reading...

David Malpass spurning event hits efforts to tackle issues of poverty and climate crisis

Letter suggests oil firm pushed for changes whereby fewer projects would need impact assessmentsBP has successfully lobbied US policymakers to weaken a landmark environmental law, clearing the way for major infrastructure projects to bypass checks.US government documents show BP America lobbied in favour of Donald Trump’s decision to dilute legislation, which could make it easier for new projects, such as oil pipelines and power plants, to move forward with far less federal review of their impact on the environment. Continue reading...

Oil companies and airlines could fund 100m trees a year, says Committee on Climate ChangeThe planting of 100m trees a year in the UK to tackle the climate emergency could be paid for by new carbon levies on oil companies and airlines, the government’s official climate adviser has proposed.The Committee on Climate Change also recommends banning the burning of grouse moors and the sale of peat compost to protect the nation’s bogs, which can store huge amounts of carbon. Voluntary measures have failed, it said. Continue reading...

Study finds 29,000 butterflies, compared with 4.5 million during the 1980s, as experts point to habitat destructionThe western monarch butterfly population wintering along California’s coast remains critically low for the second year in a row, a count by an environmental group released Thursday showed.The count of the orange-and-black insects by the Xerces Society, a not-for-profit environmental organization that focuses on the conservation of invertebrates, recorded about 29,000 butterflies in its annual survey. That’s not much different than last year’s tally, when an all-time low 27,000 monarchs were counted. Continue reading...

The weather forecast warned it would be raining reptiles and Floridians recorded encounters with lizards feeling the chillIt truly was the night (and day) of the iguana.After the National Weather Service (NWS) sent an unusual alert to south Florida residents on Tuesday night warning them of possible “falling iguanas” in light of unseasonably low temperatures, residents were indeed treated to a show of rigid reptiles out of the sky (or, actually, the trees). Continue reading...

Former Australian prime minister says the PM did not act in ‘the way a prime minister would and should’The former prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has said he “can’t explain” Scott Morrison’s behaviour during Australia’s unprecedented bushfire crisis and that his successor had “downplayed” the catastrophe and had not behaved the way a prime minister should.Turnbull made the extraordinary criticism of Morrison during an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, in which he also blamed News Corp and rightwing thinktanks in Australia for promoting climate change denialism. Continue reading...

Animal Aid, CND and Extinction Rebellion among those saying rights violatedPeaceful protest groups listed in a counter-terrorism guide used as part of anti-extremism briefings are threatening legal action unless it is withdrawn.The Guardian revealed on Friday that Greenpeace, Peta and other non-violent groups were listed alongside neo-Nazis in the document used as part of training for Prevent, the anti-radicalisation scheme designed to catch those at risk of committing terrorist violence. Continue reading...

Former US presidential candidate tells global elite that crisis is a ‘challenge to our moral imagination’Former US vice-president Al Gore has tried to mobilise the global elite to fight the climate crisis by comparing it to some of history’s greatest battles, from Agincourt to Dunkirk.Gore told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the scale of the climate emergency was much worse than people recognise, and getting worse much faster than people recognise. Continue reading...

Highest levels of PFAS in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, report by environmental watchdog findsThe contamination of US drinking water with manmade “forever chemicals” is far worse than previously estimated with some of the highest levels found in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, said a report on Wednesday by an environmental watchdog group.The chemicals, resistant to breaking down in the environment, are known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Some have been linked to cancers, liver damage, low birth weight and other health problems. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage from the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Prince Charles calls on global elite to build sustainable economies

Bank of England governor backs environmental activist’s stance on global heatingMark Carney has provided backing for Greta Thunberg in her clash with Donald Trump, contrasting the contribution the teenage activist has made towards tackling the climate emergency with the White House’s less helpful approach.Speaking at an event hosted by Bloomberg in Davos, the Bank of England governor said Thunberg was correct to point out that the world was rapidly using up its remaining carbon budget and that the US stance made tackling global heating more difficult. Continue reading...

As the climate crisis worsens, there are currently no federal safety protections for workers in extreme temperaturesIt was more than 100F (38C) in the attic where telephone technician Brent Robinson was working.The 55-year-old, who had worked for 30 years at Verizon, was installing a phone service for a residential customer in Rancho Cucamonga, 40 miles east of Los Angeles in southern California. Continue reading...

Randomly selected 110-strong panel will try to come up with a plan to tackle global heatingOrdinary people from across the UK – potentially including climate deniers – will take part in the first ever citizens’ climate assembly this weekend.Mirroring the model adopted in France by Emmanuel Macron, 110 people from all walks of life will begin deliberations on Saturday to come up with a plan to tackle global heating and meet the government’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Continue reading...

Conservation group say the Norwegian energy giant refused to formally consult with affected groupsThe Wilderness Society has launched legal action challenging the environmental approval granted to Norwegian energy giant Equinor to explore for oil in the Great Australian Bight.The conservation group had flagged a possible court case after the proposal to deepwater drill in the Great Australian Bight Marine Park was approved by the federal offshore petroleum regulator in December. It was the second, and most significant, of four regulatory hurdles Equinor needs to clear before it can drill. Continue reading...

Turnbull says US president is ‘actively working against global action to reduce emissions’Donald Trump is the world’s “leading climate denier”, the former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said.Turnbull, who lost the prime ministership in August 2018 in part because of his own party’s opposition to his plans to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, made the comments to BBC Newsnight on Tuesday (Wednesday morning, Australian time). Continue reading...

Exclusive: Bus company’s CEO Alex de Waal resigns from board of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation after support for coal project declared ‘clear conflict’A Great Barrier Reef conservation organisation has ended its partnership with bus company Greyhound just hours after Guardian Australia revealed the company’s contract at the controversial Adani coal project in Queensland.Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation held an emergency board meeting at 8am today, where its chairman Alex de Waal, who is the chief executive of Greyhound Australia, resigned. Continue reading...

National Weather Service warned of reptiles falling from trees as iguanas are susceptible to freezing once temperatures fall to 40FThe National Weather Service (NWS) took the unusual step on Tuesday of warning that frozen iguanas are expected to shower south Florida as temperatures drop to unusually low levels for the region overnight.Iguanas, as it turns out, are susceptible to freezing once temperatures drop to around 40F (4.44C). When frozen, these cold-blooded creatures lose their grip on the cozy trees they call home and slip. But the experts informed the public to be aware that the chilled reptiles may be stiff and appear lifeless – but they are not dead. Continue reading...

Springwatch presenter laments past failure of environmental shows to spark actionWildlife and environmental TV programmes have “failed wholeheartedly” in the past to spark action on the climate, biodiversity loss and the growing human population, Chris Packham has told an audience of TV executives.The Springwatch presenter said that although recent series had “turned a corner”, programme-makers must “shout more loudly” to tell the truth about environmental crises and call out politicians’ lies. Continue reading...

The first day of the World Economic Forum has been dominated by Donald Trump’s special address, and climate activist Greta Thunberg

Rapidly growing sector could prove lucrative as Britain seeks post-Brexit trade opportunitiesUK investors could seize a $24bn investment opportunity by helping to connect millions of people without access to electricity to off-grid home solar power systems.The market for pay-as-you-go home solar packages is expected to boom in Africa, where millions of homes are using mobile technology to rent low-cost solar panels. Continue reading...

Cabinet remains unified around Coalition emissions reduction target of 26% to 28% of 2005 levels by 2030Scott Morrison’s senior ministers discussed how best to reposition the government’s climate change policies in a cabinet meeting on Monday.After Morrison claimed that there were no members of his frontbench wanting stronger action on climate change policy, sources have told Guardian Australia that ministers discussed the issue at length in the cabinet meeting that followed in Canberra that day. Continue reading...

Exclusive: anti-Adani campaigners may protest bus company’s involvement in controversial mine, email tells workersThe boss of the Australian bus company Greyhound has warned its workers they could be caught “in the crossfire” after signing a contract to help build the Adani coal project in Queensland.The email from the chief executive, Alex de Waal, seen by Guardian Australia, asked staff not to “undermine your colleagues or brand” by sharing internal updates or posting to social media. Continue reading...

Bank vows to create ‘green products and services’ such as energy efficiency mortgagesEnvironmental campaigners have welcomed a pledge by Lloyds Banking Group to halve the amount of carbon emissions it finances through personal and business loans by 2030.The commitment comes as lenders face heightened criticism over their role in fuelling the climate crisis by funding projects and companies that rely heavily on fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Book aims to raise awareness of conservation – and some much-needed fundingFrom stories about capercaillies strutting around like “cocksure” hedge fund managers to corn buntings shrieking like old fruit sellers, Britain’s nature writers, artists and scientists have flocked together to create an illustrated book celebrating 67 of the country’s most endangered birds.Red Sixty Seven is an elegy to the growing number of British birds on the “red list” of highly vulnerable species drawn up by conservation scientists for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Continue reading...

Comment came as Greta Thunberg demanded immediate action in Davos

Transporting more livestock will increase transmission of diseases, including some that could also threaten humans

Rift Valley fever led to temporary block on trade, with devastating impact on farmers and livestock

This year could be crucial in determining the response to the environmental crisesWorld leaders and business chiefs meeting in Davos this week will be confronted for the first time with an agenda on which the climate and ecological crises take top billing. Financial and economic concerns have been shunted down the list of priorities in favour of five environmental issues: climate breakdown and extreme weather; failure to mitigate or adapt to climate change; human-made pollution; biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse; and natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.Green campaigners and social and human rights activists have been raising concerns on all of these for more than two decades, but it seems that finally the world’s powers are paying attention. In some cases it may be too late to act to avoid the consequences of the delay in taking action. Continue reading...

Report highlights financial support given to hydrocarbon sector by 24 institutionsThe world’s leading financial institutions have been accused of hypocrisy over the climate emergency, after providing significant support for the fossil fuel industry over the last five years.A report by Greenpeace, the environmental group, highlights that 24 banks which regularly attend the World Economic Forum in Davos have provided $1.4tn (£1.1tn) of financial support for the hydrocarbon sector since the Paris agreement set new emissions reduction goals in 2015. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

Annual CEO survey found 65% of bosses were worried about climate, even before the bushfire crisis peakedAustralian company bosses are becoming increasingly concerned about the climate crisis and are expecting tough economic times in the year ahead, a new survey shows.Global accounting firm PwC’s annual survey of CEOs shows bosses are preparing to cut jobs and don’t think Australian business and government is doing enough to deal with global heating – a dismal picture that is set to get worse once the effects of the past month’s deadly bushfires take hold. Continue reading...

Sara Khan calls for clarity after non-violent groups feature in counter-terror materialThe government’s chief adviser on extremism has called for a clearer official definition of extremism in the light of revelations that Extinction Rebellion and other non-violent groups have featured in counter-terrorism materials.Against a backdrop of increasing political pressure to investigate the error, Sara Khan, who leads the commission for countering extremism (CCE), said police chiefs were right to recall guidance that batched XR alongside violent neo-Nazis and jihadists. Continue reading...