Government vows to unveil climate roadmap next year but critics demand action not more policies and plansThe UK government has vowed to accelerate its climate action for transport sector by drafting new plans to end emissions from trains, planes and cars by 2050.Ministers promised to begin the groundwork on the government’s first detailed plan to decarbonise the transport sector immediately, and unveil the plan in full next year. Continue reading...

While many shires use grants for water infrastructure projects, Labor questions if money should go directly to farmersMusic festivals, cemetery upgrades, public toilets and a virtual gym are among the hundreds of projects to ­receive federal grants under the government’s signature Drought Communities Program.As the government fends off criticism of its national drought response, a Guardian Australia analysis of $100m in grants awarded under the program in 2019 shows that while many shires have used the grant program for water infrastructure projects, much of the funding has been spent on events, the purchase of equipment and maintenance work. Continue reading...

Mark Carney says capital markets are financing projects likely to fuel a catastrophic rise in global heatingThe governor of the Bank of England has warned that the global financial system is backing carbon-producing projects that will raise the temperature of the planet by over 4C – more than double the pledge to limit increases to well below 2C contained in the Paris Agreement.In a stark warning over global heating, Mark Carney said the multitrillion-dollar international capital markets – where companies raise funds by selling shares and bonds to investors – are financing activities that would lift global temperatures to more than 4C above pre-industrial levels. Continue reading...

An EU without farmed animals would see a loss of biodiversity and spark a rural exodus, new campaign group claimsMeat and farmed animals are wrongly blamed for the climate crisis without considering their benefits for society, argues a new campaign launched by the livestock industry in Europe.Billboards appeared this week in Brussels metro stations together with a social media campaign #meatthefacts. The adverts are being funded by European Livestock Voice, which is backed by organisations representing EU farmers, foie gras producers and the fur and leather industry. Continue reading...

Last-minute lobbying forces delay to ambitious move by European Investment BankThe European Investment Bank (EIB) has balked at a proposal to halt new investments in fossil fuels, raising concerns that Germany and other nations are plotting to water down what would be one of the financial sector’s most ambitious climate moves.The EIB, the largest public bank in the world, announced this year that it would end lending to new gas projects, having already curtailed funding for coal and oil. This would free up more money for renewable energy developments. The details of the plan were expected to be confirmed by a board meeting of EU finance ministers on Tuesday but last-minute lobbying has forced a postponement. Continue reading...

Actions continue after Met police order end to protests across the capitalExtinction Rebellion climate protesters have promised to continue their mass civil disobedience campaign in London despite a city-wide ban on their demonstrations announced late on Monday night.Hundreds of police officers moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s camp in Trafalgar Square on Monday night. Continue reading...

John Bird outlines his new bill to tackle the climate crisis, academics call for protection of tropical habitats and Ahmad O Al-Khowaiter defends Saudi Aramco’s record. Plus letters from Wiebina Heesterman, Paul Donovan, Sarah Williamson and Siobhan BenitaThe protests led by Extinction Rebellion remind us that there are more pressing problems than Britain’s withdrawal from the EU (Of course these protests are inconvenient. They are designed to disrupt us, Editorial, 11 October).Exploitative capitalism has sacrificed our wellbeing – and much of the planet’s resources – on the altar of unlimited growth, binding the hands of those yet to be born. Continue reading...

Green campaigners cheered removal of drilling equipment at weekend but firm to press onCuadrilla is not abandoning its fracking ambitions in Lancashire and still plans to apply for an extension to its shale gas campaign, the company has said.The company hopes to apply to Lancashire county council to extend drilling at the Preston New Road site beyond a 30 November cut-off point. Work had been suspended in August after the location recorded its largest ever tremor and Cuadrilla hopes to lodge its appeal once a review of the quake is completed. Continue reading...

Individual action alone won’t solve the climate crisis. So what political changes might help?

Pace of progress raises hope that fossil fuel companies could lose their domination

Dozens detained on ‘day of disruption’ targeting City firms profiting from climate crisisDozens of protesters, including a 77-year-old rabbi, have been arrested while blocking traffic in London’s financial district, as Extinction Rebellion switched its focus towards companies funding and profiting from the climate emergency.Hundreds of demonstrators walked into the roundabout outside the Bank of England in the City and sat down in the road early on Monday morning. Continue reading...

Joel Fitzgibbon’s climate change ‘settlement’ is rejected but Labor will allow the government’s ‘big stick’ energy policy to passJoel Fitzgibbon has copped a blast in the left and right caucus meetings for declaring Labor should adopt the Coalition’s Paris emissions reduction target rather than pursue ambitious cuts to carbon pollution.The internal unrest came as the shadow cabinet was expected to sign off on Monday night on a shift in Labor’s attitude to the controversial “big stick” policy of the Morrison government. Continue reading...

Cornwall council and EU will fund scheme to tap into ‘hot rocks’ beneath attractionA plan to heat the giant biomes of the Eden Project and, eventually, neighbouring communities by tapping into the “hot rocks” beneath the Cornish attraction has moved a step closer.The Eden Project announced on Monday that it had secured the funding to begin drilling for clean energy next summer. Continue reading...

PM gives the United Nations a blast in parliament for trying to ratchet Australia up on climate targetsScott Morrison has identified the United Nations as the multilateral institution responsible for pursuing “negative globalism” – a Trump-like concept the prime minister flagged in a recent foreign policy speech – because the UN wants Australia to increase its ambition on emissions reduction.But while Morrison gave the UN a blast in parliament on Monday for allegedly ratcheting Australia up, it was actually the current government that agreed to an increase in ambition as part of the Paris framework which Tony Abbott signed Australia onto, and Malcolm Turnbull later ratified. Continue reading...

Mussels, the backbone of the river ecosystem because they control silt levels and filter water, are facing a mysterious afflictionEach fall since 2016, wildlife biologist Jordan Richard has returned to the same portion of the Clinch River in Tennessee, braced for the worst – tens of thousands of newly dead mussel shells gleaming from the surface of the water.The mass die-off isn’t recognizable at first. But once Richard sees the first freshwater mussel, which look quite different to their marine cousins of moules frite fame, he scans the river and finds another every five to 10 seconds. Continue reading...

Campaign for Protection of Rural England says brownfield land offers more opportunitiesOnly one in 10 homes built on green belt land in England in the last decade has been classed as affordable, undermining the case for the development of supposedly protected areas, according to countryside campaigners.The Campaign to Protect Rural England also found that only a third of the 266,000 future new homes currently proposed for green belt land around the country are likely to be affordable. In a report published on Monday, called Space to Breathe, the charity said most green belt developments were inefficient, with only 14 homes for each hectare instead of the 31 for each hectare that is the average on other land. Continue reading...

Community tell of devastating environmental impact on land where their animals grazed

An oil fire burned for more than three weeks next to a freshwater lake in Vaca Muerta, Argentina, one of the world’s largest deposits of shale oil and gas and home to the indigenous Mapuche people. In collaboration with Forensic Architecture, this video looks at the local Mapuche community’s claim that the oil and gas industry has irreversibly damaged their ancestral homeland, and with it their traditional ways of life• Indigenous Mapuche pay high price for Argentina's fracking dream Continue reading...

An oil fire burned for more than three weeks next to a freshwater lake in Vaca Muerta, Argentina, one of the world’s largest deposits of shale oil and gas and home to the indigenous Mapuche people. In collaboration with Forensic Architecture, this video looks at the local Mapuche community’s claim that the oil and gas industry has irreversibly damaged their ancestral homeland, and with it their traditional ways of life Continue reading...

Fatbergs clogging city sewers consist of 0.5% fat and 93% wet wipes – so a new campaign encourages people dispose of wipes responsiblyAndy Serkis is familiar with playing malevolent creatures that lurk in the darkness, so it is perhaps fitting that the Lord of the Rings actor is now raising awareness about the unsightly horrors that lie in the UK’s sewers.A new campaign is warning against flushing wet wipes down the toilet. It turns out that the “fatbergs” clogging up our city sewers actually consist of just 0.5% fat and 93% wet wipes. Perhaps we should be calling them “wipebergs”. Continue reading...

Residents warned following discovery of ‘freshly shed’ skin at the Cascades Estate in SilverdaleBiosecurity officers were combing a western Sydney suburb where an adult boa constrictor was believed to be “at large” on Monday after the discovery of a huge, “freshly shed” snake skin.It was feared the dangerous snake was roaming the Cascades Estate residential complex in Silverdale. Continue reading...

UK climate body says policy would target heavy users but not penalise occasional flyersAir miles schemes should be axed as they encourage jetsetters to take extra flights in a bid to maintain “privileged traveller status”, according to a report commissioned by the government’s climate change advisers.An “escalating Air Miles Levy” should also be introduced to rein in the number of trips taken by frequent flyers, without penalising those taking an annual holiday, with the income raised to be invested into low-carbon aviation technology. Continue reading...

New offshore windfarms opening in third quarter mark milestone towards zero carbonRenewable energy sources provided more electricity to UK homes and businesses than fossil fuels for the first time over the last quarter, according to new research.The renewables record was set in the third quarter of this year after its share of the electricity mix rose to 40%. Continue reading...

Party vows to go ahead with climate protest in Canberra despite ‘unprecedented decision to block air traffic’The Greens’ hopes of flying a hot air balloon over Parliament House to protest global heating have been deflated by a last-minute restriction on flights due to security concerns.Despite blocking the balloon plan, parliament’s presiding officers have approved an Extinction Rebellion protest at the authorised assembly area in front of parliament from 14 to 18 October, the Senate president, Scott Ryan, has revealed. Continue reading...

Angry protests follow move to resurface cycle path and refusal to ban 4x4s on farm trails

Europe’s manufacturers face $250m-a-year hit as rising demand drives up price

After almost 1,000 days camping out in a field near Blackpool and obstructing fracking operations, the ‘Nanas’ have seen off energy company Cuadrilla. James Cartwright meets the fearless female activists behind the yellow pinniesWhile the world applauds the child protesters taking to the streets, fewer eyes are on their mums and grandmothers, whose activism is altogether quieter. In August 2014, gangs of older women in yellow tabards and headscarves started to become a common sight on Preston New Road in Lancashire. They call themselves the “Nanas”, though not all are grandmas. They took the name as a nod to trust, family and tea, leaning into stereotypes of northern matriarchy. Their first project was to capture a field under planning application by Cuadrilla, a UK fossil fuels company seeking exploratory drilling rights for shale gas. They hopped over the fence, set up tents and claimed squatters’ rights, staying for three weeks. By the time they left, the Nanas had earned the support of 14,000 local residents and appointments at Manchester’s High Court, and their action, along with that of other campaigners, led to Lancashire County Council rejecting Cuadrilla’s fracking application, a decision later overturned by the then secretary of state, Sajid Javid.In the years since, the Nanas have mounted an often good-humoured war of attrition against Cuadrilla, whose drilling has caused tremors in the area. At the Bell Mouth, the entrance to the Preston New Road site, they sing, dance, knit, pray, read poems and monologues, and obstruct fracking activity wherever possible. They even have their own stage show and samba band. And every Wednesday, dressed in white, they stage a call for calm at a site where tensions between protesters and police often erupt into violence. Continue reading...

Exclusive: analysis reveals lenders provided $700bn to expand sector since Paris climate pactThe world’s largest investment banks have provided more than $700bn of financing for the fossil fuel companies most aggressively expanding in new coal, oil and gas projects since the Paris climate change agreement, figures show.The financing has been led by the Wall Street giant JPMorgan Chase, which has provided $75bn (£61bn) to companies expanding in sectors such as fracking and Arctic oil and gas exploration, according to the analysis. Continue reading...

Bank of England governor warns of financial collapse linked to climate emergency

Met may call on officers from across England and Wales on Saturday 19 October for People’s Vote march and finale of Extinction Rebellion actionPolice forces in England and Wales are on standby for what could be one of the biggest public protests in British history, the anti-Brexit march due to take place in central London on Saturday 19 October.As MPs gather in the House of Commons for an emergency weekend sitting to discuss Brexit, more than a million people are expected to mass outside parliament for a People’s Vote march, while Extinction Rebellion climate campaigners launch the finale to a near fortnight of continuous protest. Continue reading...

Carlton Ward’s photographs chart survival struggle of one of America’s last remaining big catsThe discovery of a female Florida panther lying with a broken leg on a verge outside the town of Naples, south of Tampa, triggered a widespread rescue dash.Conservationists, who had previously fitted a tracking collar to the animal, were aware she had recently given birth. The kittens would not survive long on their own, they realised, and so an urgent search for them was launched. Continue reading...

Conservation groups denounce plan, saying dams don’t provide water security and slashing water allocated to big irrigators is the best way to tackle shortagesThe federal and New South Wales governments are investing $1bn in water infrastructure for rural and regional communities impacted by the devastating drought in NSW.“Our response to the ongoing drought impacting rural and regional communities is comprehensive and committed,” the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said in a statement on Sunday. Continue reading...

The IMF’s proposed $75-per-ton tax would exacerbate rampant inequality. There are better ways to fund decarbonizationA well-circulated statistic this week, from a new book by the University of California, Berkeley, economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, shows that the richest 400 families in the United States now pay a lower tax rate than the bottom 50% of families. Those 400 families – the 0.01% – own more wealth than 60% of households in the US. The top 0.1% own more than 80%. Rates for the top 0.01% and the bottom 50% have been creeping closer since 1960. Also this week, the Guardian’s polluters series found that just 20 private and state-owned fossil fuel producers are responsible for 35% of manmade carbon dioxide and methane emissions over a similar period.On Thursday, the IMF suggested a $75-per-ton global carbon tax is the most efficient way to fight greenhouse gas emissions and keep warming below 2C. The tax is, if anything, far too low. Continue reading...

State Street chief says it could use shareholder powers to force boards to act on climateThe world’s biggest fossil fuel companies must take action on climate change or their directors could face being voted out of their jobs, the head of one of the world’s leading asset managers has warned.In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Ron O’Hanley, the chief executive of State Street, said his firm could consider taking the radical step of voting against the reappointment of entire company boards if they were not taking sufficient action to deal with the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Ambitious plans have not been matched by progress, but there may finally be signs of change

Data reveals crucial role of BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard in climate crisisThe world’s three largest money managers have built a combined $300bn fossil fuel investment portfolio using money from people’s private savings and pension contributions, the Guardian can reveal.BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, which together oversee assets worth more than China’s entire GDP, have continued to grow billion-dollar stakes in some of the most carbon-intensive companies since the Paris agreement, financial data shows. Continue reading...

Four people, all aged 77, among nine protesters arrested and charged at Launceston protestFour Tasmanians aged in their late 70s are among a swag of climate activists charged over a protest in Launceston.About 100 people attended the Extinction Rebellion protest in Launceston on Friday and police say most were well-behaved, but nine refused to move on when the demonstration’s permitted time ran out. Continue reading...

Adam Bandt says every MP ‘capable of supporting this motion’ since it does not condemn the governmentThe Greens have intensified efforts ahead of the return of federal parliament next week to lobby moderate Liberals to break ranks and vote for a motion declaring a climate emergency.With parliament set to resume on Monday, the lower house Greens MP Adam Bandt has written to all parliamentarians in the House urging them to support the climate emergency motion, which would be seconded by independent Zali Steggall, and has the support of most of the crossbench. Continue reading...

In a passionate address to leaders of 94 cities in Copenhagen, the congresswoman called ‘runaway’ pursuit of profit unsustainableUS congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned that tackling the climate crisis will involve making dramatic economic changes in a passionate closing speech at the C40 World Mayors summit in Copenhagen on Friday.In her first overseas appearance as an elected politician, the 29-year-old was invited to speak after the C40, which represents the mayors of 94 cities worldwide, and which this week pledged support for a global version of her flagship Green New Deal policy. Continue reading...

Activists say corporation’s ‘silence is deadly’, while Met commissioner faces criticism of police tacticsCamped outside the main entrance of New Broadcasting House on Friday morning, Extinction Rebellion (XR) supporters called on the broadcaster to “tell the full truth” about the climate crisis, as the number of arrests linked to its protests since Monday rose to more than 1,100.Protesters held a banner stating: “BBC, your silence is deadly”, and chanted: “Whose BBC? Our BBC”, and: “BBC, can’t you see, this is an emergency”. Continue reading...

A stockpiling squirrel, a lolling black bear and a greater bilby returned to the wild Continue reading...

Critics say ethane expansion will not only prolong fracking but could also trigger a public health disaster

Revealed: divide exacerbated by fossil fuel industry’s record contribution to Republicans

Use our interactive tool to explore MPs’ records on 16 climate votes

Report on test areas in England hailed by farmers’ union as proof that badger cull worksThe culling of badgers in two areas of England has been linked to a marked decrease in new cases of bovine TB on farms, research suggests, bolstering farmers who support the culls.In Gloucestershire, the incidence of TB cases in cattle was two thirds lower after four years of badger culling than would have been expected from a comparison of similar unculled sites, while in Somerset the rate was 37% lower. In a third area, in Dorset, there was no significant difference. Continue reading...

Activists block entrance to headquarters of BBC, accusing it of staying silent on crisis

They may not get much media coverage but working-class activists have long been environmental heroesEnvironmental protests are now frequently reported in the media, and the green movement is, at last, getting the attention it deserves. But most of the focus is on the activities of groups, such as Extinction Rebellion, which are not strongly rooted in working-class organisations and communities.This is a problem because, if we want to build the broad-based support necessary for a radical transition to sustainability, we must recognise and build on all strands of environmentalism, especially that of the working class. Continue reading...

Company wants to curry favour with conservatives to protect its ‘section 230’ legal immunity

Treasurer says Australia will meet Paris target without carbon price, despite IMF analysis

Critics say rules give water systems decades more time to replace dangerous pipes and fail to boost urgency for cleaning up leadThe Trump administration is proposing new rules for lead in drinking water, overhauling the regulations for the first time in three decades, following crises in Flint, Michigan, and other US communities, but critics say the changes appear to give water systems decades more time to replace pipes leaching dangerous amounts of toxic lead.The Environmental Protection Agency would require water systems to notify customers if levels exceed 15 parts per billion. And it would require water testing at schools and daycares. Continue reading...