Withdrawal a blow to Boris Johnson’s desire for UK to achieve first zero-emission long-haul flightShell has pulled out of a joint venture with British Airways and Velocys to build a flagship sustainable jet fuels plant in the UK – in a blow to Boris Johnson’s claims that Britain could deliver the world’s first zero-emission long-haul flight.The oil firm was named last year as one of the top companies set to “turbocharge government plans” for sustainable aviation fuels, the centrepiece of the so-called “jet zero” plan to decarbonise flights. Continue reading...

Some species feed on nectar or honey. Others drink the tears of horses and peopleIn The Writing Life, Annie Dillard is watching a sphinx moth preparing to take off. She is on a ship. On its railing there is “a heavy-bodied moth panting”. Dillard is summoning the strength to continue writing her book. The moth is raising its temperature so that it can fly.

Blazes, intensified by the climate crisis, are reversing decades of gains in cutting air pollution, scientists reportIncreasingly ferocious wildfires in the western US are taking a devastating toll on the region’s air quality, with wildfire smoke now accounting for half of all air pollution during the worst wildfire years, according to a new study.Scientists from Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego, found that toxic plumes of smoke, which can blanket western states for weeks when wildfires are raging, are reversing decades of gains in cutting air pollution. While heat-related deaths have previously been predicted as the worst consequence of the climate crisis, researchers say that air pollution caused by smoke could be just as deadly. Continue reading...

Influential IEA cuts forecasts for rebound in market as new lockdowns biteWorld oil demand will be lower than forecast this year as a surge in new coronavirus cases looks likely to keep restrictions on the global economy in place, the International Energy Agency has said.The agency warned that a string of new lockdowns across big economies will keep a lid on oil demand over the first months of the year, before the impact of Covid-19 vaccines begins to take effect in the second half. Continue reading...

President-elect to block Keystone XL pipeline among other swift environmental moves – but challenges lie aheadJoe Biden is set for a flurry of action to combat the climate crisis on his first day as US president by immediately rejoining the Paris climate agreement and blocking the Keystone XL pipeline, although experts have warned lengthier, and harder, environmental battles lie ahead in his presidency.In a series of plans drawn up by Biden’s incoming administration for his first day in office, the new president will take the resonant step of bringing the US back into the Paris climate accords, an international agreement to curb dangerous global heating that Donald Trump exited. Continue reading...

Birds that became tangled in baited lines appear to be scared off by coloured pipesA cheap and simple change to the equipment used by Namibian fishing boats is saving tens of thousands of vulnerable seabirds annually, researchers have estimated.Some industrial fleets often use long lines fitted with thousands of baited hooks, which attract seabirds. In attempting to snatch away the bait, the birds can become tangled in the lines and die. Continue reading...

Environmental issues are biggest danger in coming years, says international organisation

Gardeners in the UK are doing their bit to expand the range of plant seeds for a richer and more diverse future

Ambition to become the UK’s first carbon-neutral county, by 2037, looks to reduce the impact of visitors, especially in the LakesAcross Cumbria local communities, businesses and grassroots organisations are being mobilised to map out ways that they hope will help it become the UK’s first carbon-neutral county. The county is aiming to decarbonise by 2037, an ambition initially supported by £2.5m of national lottery funding, awarded last August and to be drip-fed over five years starting this month. Tourism will be an area of focus, alongside housing, transport and agriculture.“The national lottery funding is an injection of adrenaline at the beginning of a long journey,” said Karen Mitchell, CEO of Cumbria Action for Sustainability (Cafs). The funding was secured by the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, which was set up by Cafs in 2019 with the help of the county council. The partnership has 68 members tasked with leading the drive to cut emissions, including the Lake District national park authority. Continue reading...

Little humped spider usually found in Sydney is now thriving in Christchurch and is just one of dozens of invasive spider speciesAn Australian spider that crushes its prey in a tightly spun web is one of dozens of new trans-Tasman arrivals making itself at home in New Zealand, where it has few predators and often lives completely undetected.The Philoponella congregabilis, sometimes called the little humped spider, is usually found in Sydney and along the east coast of Australia, but has recently been tracked to the South Island city of Christchurch, where it is thriving. Continue reading...

Kimi weakens from category two system to storm but strong winds and severe weather still pose threat to QueenslandEx-Tropical Cyclone Kimi has weakened to a tropical low off north Queensland but emergency services are warning people the storm is still packing very strong winds and could bring flooding.Coastal residents have been spared the worst after the cyclone weakened from a category two system to a storm, sitting 135km north of Townsville, on Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

Indigenous communities say planned Øyfjellet turbines will interfere with migration pathsIndigenous reindeer herders are bringing a legal action against a proposed wind power project that would be one of the largest in Norway.The Sámi herders from Nordland county are accusing the Øyfjellet windfarm constructors of breaking licensing agreements which stipulated that construction would not interfere with reindeer migration paths. Continue reading...

Plan would open up desert areas to mining projects, eliminating up to 2.2m acres of conservation landsThe outgoing Trump administration is proposing to strip away protections for millions of acres of California desert, threatening damage to Joshua trees, desert tortoises and landmarks.The plan would open up California’s desert areas to mining projects, eliminate up to 2.2m acres of conservation lands, as well as remove 1.8m acres designated as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (Acecs). Continue reading...

Rescinding permit is on list of executive actions thought to be scheduled for first day in office

A new campaign highlights there is no legal obligation to label flake – a common term for shark meat – by species or where it’s fromAustralian consumers will be encouraged not to purchase flake when they shop for seafood and to instead try sustainable alternatives in a new campaign that aims to put a spotlight on laws that permit the harvest of endangered sharks.The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) is asking consumers to “give flake a break” because there is no legal obligation in Australia for retailers to label flake – a common term used for shark meat – by its species or where it’s from. Continue reading...

The winter flowers are having a vintage year in Devon in the unfortunate absence of visitors

Influential four seasons books are revamped to reflect changes in British wildlifeDuring the late 1950s and early 1960s, four slim volumes about the natural world, aimed at children, hit the bookshops. They bore the title What to Look for in… followed by each of the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The books were an instant success and inspired a whole generation of naturalists. Continue reading...

Supporters insist that storage technology is not a costly mistake but the best way for UK to cut emissions from heavy industryEngineers and geologists have strongly criticised green groups who last week claimed that carbon capture and storage schemes – for reducing fossil fuel emissions – are costly mistakes.The scientists insisted that such schemes are vital weapons in the battle against global heating and warn that failure to set up ways to trap carbon dioxide and store it underground would make it almost impossible to hold net emissions to below zero by 2050. Continue reading...

Critics condemn ‘callous betrayal’ after Trump officials set in motion transfer of Oak Flat to Rio Tinto and BHP BillitonAs one of its last acts, the Trump administration has set in motion the transfer of sacred Native American lands to a pair of Anglo-Australian mining conglomerates.The 2,422-acre Arizona parcel called Oak Flat is of enormous significance to the Western Apache and is now on track for destruction by what is slated to be one of the largest copper mining operations in the United States. Continue reading...

Hostile dispute over trophy hunting fuelled by ‘myths driven by emotion and morality that ignore critical facts’Leading scientists have warned that global conservation is being undermined by celebrity power after they suffered death threats and abuse in a hostile dispute over trophy hunting.Groups such as the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting and Born Free are pressuring the UK and US governments to ban trophy hunting, with support from many famous names, much of the public and more than 150 MPs across the political spectrum. Continue reading...

Call for world leaders to act in wake of French extradition case that turned on environmental concernsAir pollution does not respect national boundaries and environmental degradation will lead to mass migration in the future, said a leading barrister in the wake of a landmark migration ruling, as experts warned that government action must be taken as a matter of urgency.Sailesh Mehta, a barrister specialising in environmental cases, said: “The link between migration and environmental degradation is clear. As global warming makes parts of our planet uninhabitable, mass migration will become the norm. Air and water pollution do not respect national boundaries. We can stop a humanitarian and political crisis from becoming an existential one. But our leaders must act now.” Continue reading...

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...