Environment | The Guardian

Wild Justice accuses UK government of breaching duty to protect conservation sitesConservationists are suing the UK government over the release of millions of game birds on to land that is home to rare and threatened species.The campaign group Wild Justice has accused ministers of breaching their legal duties to protect sites of high conservation value in England by failing to control the use of large areas of countryside to shoot pheasant and red-legged partridge for sport. Continue reading...

For decades David Attenborough delighted millions with tales of life on Earth. But now the broadcaster wants us to face up to the state of the planetSir David Attenborough’s soothing, matter-of-fact narrations have brought the natural world to our living rooms for nearly seven decades and counting. From Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to the jungles of central Africa, the 94-year-old broadcaster has dazzled and delighted millions with tales of life on Earth – mostly pristine and untouched, according to the images on our screens. But this autumn Attenborough has returned with a different message: nature is collapsing around us.“We are facing a crisis. One that has consequences for us all. It threatens our ability to feed ourselves, to control our climate. It even puts us at greater risk of pandemic diseases such as Covid-19,” he warned in Extinction: The Facts on BBC One primetime, receiving five-star reviews. Continue reading...

Larch Maxey and Eli Rose’s HS2 Rebellion protest enters its third weekSixteen days ago, two HS2 campaigners climbed the trees in Parliament Square to protest against the controversial high-speed rail project, and their feet haven’t touched the ground since.Larch Maxey, 48, and Eli Rose, 26, sleep, eat and wash 15 metres (50ft) up in the air above the constant stream of buses, cars and lorries that loop around the square in the centre of London at all times of the day. Continue reading...

Councils have put off plans for zones in Birmingham, Leeds and elsewhere owing to Covid

Cities like Los Angeles, Seattle and New Orleans are aiming to tackle another, longer-term emergency – the climate crisisThe cars that typically throng the huge highways weaving through Los Angeles are such an established part of the city’s fabric that when the coronavirus pandemic hit, their sudden absence felt bizarre to locals even eerie. But many Angelenos have now discovered a new sort of relationship with their streets.“People have felt they own their neighborhood again, they feel connected to it again,” Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles’s mayor, told the Guardian in reference to streets that have reduced traffic, or even had it closed off, as offices, retailers and restaurants shut down. Continue reading...

Guafo, a 50,000-acre island, is a hotspot for marine biodiversity and part of the ancestral land of the Mapuche peopleThe island of Guafo sits on the route taken by blue whales heading into the fjords of Chilean Patagonia. It is a hotspot for marine biodiversity, home to rare flora and sacred to the indigenous Mapuche people.And now it is up for sale. Continue reading...

Noxious nettles with venom similar to that of scorpions are helping scientists understand pain and how to control itAustralia is home to some of the world’s most dangerous wildlife. Anyone who spends time outdoors in eastern Australia is wise to keep an eye out for snakes, spiders, swooping birds, crocodiles, deadly cone snails and tiny toxic jellyfish.But what not everybody knows is that even some of the trees will get you. Continue reading...

Clashes between Isis-linked militants, government troops and mercenaries have displaced 200,000 in mineral-rich Cabo DelgadoFor decades a forgotten corner of Mozambique, Cabo Delgado has now become the country’s El Dorado, promising billions in natural gas and gemstones but delivering its population only violence and displacement.An insurgency in the province now threatens to become further entrenched – 50,000 people have fled their homes since March and Mozambique’s neighbours are currently debating sending in regional forces to help defeat militants who seized a strategic port in the town of Mocímboa da Praia last month. Continue reading...

Beach clean organiser wants to assess amount of masks and gloves discarded during coronavirus crisis

Carmaker is to begin testing proposal to fit its Dyna vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells

Mental health impact was greatest among people who recently received a shutoff notice, researchers foundUnaffordable water bills and the threat of disconnection causes significant psychological distress for Americans, according to a new study.A Guardian investigation into 12 American cities found the price of water and sewage increased by an average of 80% between 2010 and 2018, with more than two-fifths of residents in some cities living in neighborhoods with unaffordable bills. Continue reading...

A leaked report has found WaterNSW did not adequately assess how the project could affect iconic species such as the platypus and echidnaThe New South Wales government has been ordered to redo world heritage assessments for its proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall after a federal analysis found it had failed to consider the impact on iconic species including the platypus.A leaked report by federal environment bureaucrats found government agency WaterNSW did not adequately assess how its plan to raise the dam wall by 17m could affect the world heritage values of the Blue Mountains. Continue reading...

World’s largest asset manager reveals votes against directors on environment issuesBlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has disclosed that in the past year it has voted 55 times against directors at 49 companies for failing to make progress on tackling the climate crisis.The firm announced its sustainability focus in January, when it said it would be getting tough on companies that did not meet its expectations on dealing with climate risk, and would vote against them at annual shareholder meetings. Continue reading...

About 40% of the Tiehm’s buckwheat population destroyed, amid fierce dispute over proposed lithium and boron mine nearbyNestled among the slopes of Nevada’s Silver Peak Range are six patches of Tiehm’s buckwheat, a rare flowering plant found nowhere else in the world. Only an estimated 42,000 plants remain on 10 acres. But over the weekend, conservationists discovered that 40% of the total population had been destroyed.Related: Chinese fishing armada plundered waters around Galápagos, data shows Continue reading...

Confidential Chinese report seen by the Guardian intensifies concerns about possible weapons programmeSaudi Arabia likely has enough mineable uranium ore reserves to pave the way for the domestic production of nuclear fuel, according to confidential documents seen by the Guardian.Details of the stocks are contained in reports prepared for the kingdom by Chinese geologists, who have been scrambling to help Riyadh map its uranium reserves at breakneck speed as part of their nuclear energy cooperation agreement. Continue reading...

Veto threat from EU member threatens to derail plans to sanction Belarusian officialsCyprus is threatening to block European Union sanctions on Belarus because the bloc has declined to levy similar measures against Turkey over a long-simmering dispute about maritime rights in the eastern Mediterranean.The collision between two unrelated foreign policy crises on the EU’s doorstep – the standoff between Belarus’s leader Alexander Lukashenko and the people, and rising tensions in the eastern Mediterranean over Turkish drilling – has dismayed EU diplomats. Continue reading...

Hundreds of vessels caught logging 73,000 hours of fishing in just one month in new analysisA vast fishing armada of Chinese vessels just off the Galápagos Islands logged an astounding 73,000 hours of fishing during just one month as it pulled up thousands of tonnes of squid and fish, a new report based on data analysis has found.The discovery of the giant flotilla off the archipelago that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution stirred controversy and outrage in Ecuador and abroad. Continue reading...

Data reveals just 14% of good ecological standard and none of good chemical standard

As forests evolve in the face of climate crisis, some surprising methods are being used to track how species migrateAngelica Patterson is on the lookout, shotgun in hand, as she hikes through New York state’s Black Rock Forest. She focuses on her target high up in the canopy, then bang – a branch falls to the ground. “I can’t climb trees, building scaffolding is expensive, and using a slingshot requires a lot of skill,” she says. “A shotgun is an efficient, cheap and effective way to collect the high-up leaves that have full exposure to the sun.”Patterson puts the northern red oak branch into a bucket of water, cutting the submerged stem to ensure that its leaves continue to function, before walking back to her laboratory in the forest. Continue reading...

Queensland registers one new case of Covid as Scott Morrison announces new energy plan that diverts funding away from renewables. This blog is now closed

NSW premier implores John Barilaro to stick to agreement after he refused to rule out further threats to dismantle the CoalitionThe New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has made it clear she will not tolerate any further public posturing by the Nationals over koala habitat protections or new threats by the junior partner to leave the Coalition.Berejiklian on Thursday also implored her Liberal colleagues to move on and refocus on their jobs following last week’s near split in the government, brought on by the Nationals leader, John Barilaro, threatening to move to the crossbenches with his MPs. Continue reading...

Greens join Labor criticism of overhaul saying it is ‘like taking money from the health budget and giving it to a tobacco company’The Labor leader Anthony Albanese has declared the Morrison government is trying to “emasculate” the Australian Renewable Energy Agency by overhauling the mandate of the organisation so there is less focus on solar and wind, and more investment in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, microgrids and energy efficiency.Responding to the Coalition’s decision, Albanese said the government had never liked Arena or the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. “They have tried to abolish it and now they are trying to emasculate it,” he said. Continue reading...

Wildlife Trusts says designated new areas of protected land is needed to help nature recover

Scott Morrison says solar and wind are commercially viable and do not need subsidies from the $1.43bn funding

Cross-party consultation finds support for ambitious plans on equality, work and environmentThe British public backs an ambitious transformation of the UK into a greener, fairer more equal society as it emerges from the Covid-19 crisis, according to an inquiry by a cross-party group of MPs.The consultation exercise, which involved polling, in-depth workshops and telephone conversations with a representative sample of the public, found support for ambitious plans on equality, the future of work and the environment. Continue reading...

Protesters’ arrest tactic is a ‘pain in the neck’, Sir Stephen House tells committee hearingOne of Britain’s most senior police officers has launched an angry tirade against Extinction Rebellion protesters going “all floppy” when they get arrested.Sir Stephen House, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said the tactic of going limp was a “flipping nuisance” as it required extra officers to drag protesters away. Continue reading...

National security leaders view climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’ that makes the homeland vulnerableClimate change is not a distant problem for future generations to worry about. Instead, the dangers of climate change are touching the lives of more Americans with each passing day. As the historic wildfires, hurricanes, floods, heatwaves and storms hitting the country this summer demonstrate, these crises are getting more frequent and more intense as the global temperature rises. Scientists tell us that the longer we delay transitioning to a clean, renewable economy, the more intense the impacts and the closer we come to reaching dangerous climate tipping points.These risks have a severe impact on the military’s ability to keep Americans safe. We’ve seen the destructive impact that weather disasters are having on US military bases, from the marine corps’ Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to Florida’s Tyndall air force base. They are also striking our neighborhoods, from rural farms to dense cities, requiring heroic rescue operations by the national guard. Climate impacts make the homeland more vulnerable, while also threatening American interests abroad. Because of this, national security leaders see climate change as a “threat multiplier” – increasing and exacerbating all other other risks our nation is already facing, from global terrorism to great power conflict. Continue reading...

Survey by Ramblers finds wealthy, white people live closer to natureWealthy and white people enjoy easier access to local green space than poorer households and people from ethnic minorities, according to new research.While 57% of British adults questioned in a survey for the Ramblers said they lived within five minutes’ stroll of a local park, field or canal path, just 39% of people from ethnic minority backgrounds enjoyed the same proximity to green space. Continue reading...

Shortage of foreign workers behind plan by producers to employ inmates as a stopgap measurePrisoners are expected to be put to work on Malaysia’s giant palm oil plantations to make up for an acute labour shortage heightened by the coronavirus pandemic.But workers’ rights experts have warned that the proposal by the country’s palm oil producers may constitute “institutionalised forced labour” in an industry already accused of widespread abuse and exploitation of workers. Continue reading...

Wildfires and climate crisis cited as possible causes for the deaths of thousands of migrating species heading south for the winterThousands of migrating birds have inexplicably died in south-western US in what ornithologists have described as a national tragedy that is likely to be related to the climate crisis.Flycatchers, swallows and warblers are among the species “falling out of the sky” as part of a mass die-off across New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Arizona and farther north into Nebraska, with growing concerns there could be hundreds of thousands dead already, said Martha Desmond, a professor in the biology department at New Mexico State University (NMSU). Many carcasses have little remaining fat reserves or muscle mass, with some appearing to have nose-dived into the ground mid-flight. Continue reading...

Scrapping of £16bn project on Anglesey down to lack of UK government investment in new nuclear, says unionThe Japanese conglomerate Hitachi has conformed it is abandoning plans to build a new nuclear power station on Anglesey, off the coast of north Wales, dashing hopes for thousands of jobs involved in its construction and knocking the UK’s ambition to become a “net zero carbon” emission country by 2050 off course.The Tokyo-based multinational said Wednesday it was permanently scrapping plans for the £16bn Wylfa power station. Continue reading...

Taskforce study does not back Scott Morrison’s claim that Liddell coal plant needs urgent replacing with 1,000 megawatts of new dispatchable electricity generation capacityA Morrison government claim that new electricity generation is urgently needed to replace New South Wales’s Liddell coal plant is not backed by a taskforce report commissioned to assess the impact of its closure.In a speech on Tuesday, Scott Morrison said the government had estimated 1,000 megawatts of new dispatchable electricity generation capacity would be needed to replace Liddell, which owner AGL has announced will close in early 2023. Continue reading...

Andrew Liveris, one of the architects of Scott Morrison’s ‘gas-led recovery’, says the country burns ‘far too much coal’Corporate heavyweight Andrew Liveris, the Morrison government’s special adviser on manufacturing, has declared Australia and the world can hit net zero emissions by 2050 by significantly expanding the supply and domestic use of gas – despite gas being a fossil fuel with “roughly 60% of the emissions of coal”.Liveris, who is one of the business architects of the Coalition’s much vaunted “gas-led recovery” plan, told the National Press Club on Wednesday Australia burned “far too much coal” and “switching to gas will automatically bring [emissions] down”. Continue reading...

A complaint from Jeff McCloy, a prominent developer in the Hunter, was the only one the NSW National party leader took to the planning ministerThe only complaint John Barilaro has raised with the New South Wales planning minister about the state’s new koala protection laws is from a Newcastle property developer with multiple residential developments on the edges of towns including Maitland, Lismore and Armidale.Jeff McCloy, one of the Hunter region’s most prominent developers, told the Guardian he contacted Barilaro when the National party leader and deputy premier spoke out about the koala state environmental planning policy. He then sent Barilaro a lengthy briefing note he had written in May about it. Continue reading...

Wind and solar farms will produce the gas alongside Scottish Power, ITM Power and BOCScottish Power’s wind and solar farms will soon help produce green hydrogen to run buses, ferries and even trains as part of a pioneering strategic partnership to develop the UK’s nascent hydrogen economy.The renewable energy company, owned by Spain’s Iberdrola, will work alongside companies that specialise in producing and distributing the zero-carbon gas. Hydrogen is expected to play a major role in helping the UK to meet its climate targets. Continue reading...

Fires in Oregon, Washington and California have killed more than 30, burned millions of acres and enveloped region in smokeFirefighters on the US west coast reported more progress in the battle against wildfires that have killed more than 30 people and destroyed entire communities. But much of the region is enveloped in a thick layer of smoke that has now affected large swaths of the country.Aided by better weather, fire crews in Oregon on Tuesday gained more ground against the massive blazes that have scorched 1m acres and destroyed hundreds of homes in the state. Continue reading...

Unprecedented fires have burned some 4.5m acres and smoke has made west coast air quality among the worst in the worldSmoke from wildfires in the western US has drifted as far east as New York and Washington DC, with residents there observing hazy skies and unusual sunrises.Skies above the US capital have taken on a hazy din. New York Metro Weather predicted that murky air seen in New York City this week would become more even pronounced throughout Tuesday. Continue reading...

Review of EPBC Act was delivered to government 11 days after process of drawing up legislation had begunThe Morrison government started preparing controversial legislation to amend Australia’s environmental laws before it had received a report from a formal review into whether the act was working.The environment department instructed the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to begin drafting the changes to the legislation on 19 June, 11 days before the government received the interim report of the review of Australia’s national environment laws. Continue reading...

Oil and gas companies make far more money churning out new plastic than reusing old. Meanwhile, the public gets the blamePlastic recycling is a scam. You diligently sort your rubbish, you dutifully wash your plastic containers, then everything gets tossed in a landfill or thrown in the ocean anyway. OK, maybe not everything – but the vast majority of it. According to one analysis, only 9% of all plastic ever made has likely been recycled. Here’s the kicker: the companies making all that plastic have spent millions on advertising campaigns lecturing us about recycling while knowing full well that most plastic will never be recycled.A new investigation by National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) reports that the large oil and gas companies that manufacture plastics have known for decades that recycling plastic was unlikely to ever happen on a broad scale because of the high costs involved. “They were not interested in putting any real money or effort into recycling because they wanted to sell virgin material,” Larry Thomas, former president of one of the plastic industry’s most powerful trade groups, told NPR. There is a lot more money to be made in selling new plastic than reusing the old stuff. But, in order to keep selling new plastic, the industry had to clean up its wasteful image. “If the public thinks that recycling is working, then they are not going to be as concerned about the environment,” Thomas noted. And so a huge amount of resources were diverted into intricate “sustainability theatre”. Continue reading...

Project championed by Egypt’s powerful military will slice across world heritage siteEgypt is building two highways across the pyramids plateau outside Cairo, reviving and expanding a project that was suspended in the 1990s after an international outcry.The Great Pyramids, Egypt’s top tourist destination, are the sole survivor of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the plateau is a Unesco world heritage site. Continue reading...

‘Humanity at a crossroads’ after a decade in which all of the 2010 Aichi goals to protect wildlife and ecosystems have been missedThe world has failed to meet a single target to stem the destruction of wildlife and life-sustaining ecosystems in the last decade, according to a devastating new report from the UN on the state of nature.From tackling pollution to protecting coral reefs, the international community did not fully achieve any of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets agreed in Japan in 2010 to slow the loss of the natural world. It is the second consecutive decade that governments have failed to meet targets. Continue reading...

Revival prompts calls to divert boats to help protect native Indo-Pacific humpbacks

Toy company says it will invest £310m in sustainability over the next three years

In climate change, the Four Horsemen have a perfect force of destruction. Maybe these fires and floods will be a wake-up call to stop stalling

Deformities point to unsettling sign of extremely low genetic diversity in isolated population in the Santa Monica mountainsMountain lions with crooked tails have been spotted in the Santa Monica mountains, an unsettling sign of extremely low genetic diversity within an isolated population of less than two dozen individuals roaming the rugged canyonlands just north of Los Angeles.In early March, biologists examined a young sedated male mountain lion. The cougar, designated P-81, had a kinked tail shaped like the letter L and only one descended testicle, a condition known as cryptorchidism. Continue reading...

Ageing infrastructure, legacy pollution and emerging contaminants across the US are driving a growing urgency to do something about America’s water crisis

Mock Cop26 set up in frustration at lack of progress due to coronavirus crisisYoung climate activists have begun a parallel process to the UN climate crisis talks, in frustration at the lack of progress they perceive in world governments’ efforts to address the emergency.Crunch negotiations aimed at fulfilling the Paris climate agreement, called Cop26, were to be hosted by the UK this November, but have been delayed by the coronavirus crisis. Activists, participants and observers have told the Guardian they are concerned at a lack of progress so far. Continue reading...

Exclusive: congestion climbed above 2019 levels in August as people went back to using cars after lockdownRoad traffic congestion in outer London is now far higher than it was last year as people have gone back into their cars after lockdown, according to new data.Congestion climbed above 2019 levels in August, and has increased to nearly a fifth on average above last year, in roads outside the capital’s central congestion charging zone, even while it has dropped sharply in the centre of the city. Continue reading...

Aboriginal authority alleges the federal organisation built a walking track near Gunlom Falls in the Northern Territory ‘without permission’Parks Australia, which manages the world-heritage listed Kakadu national park, has been charged under the Northern Territory’s Sacred Sites Act with damaging an area near the spectacular Gunlom Falls, one of Kakadu’s most popular attractions.The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority alleges that Parks Australia built a walking track on a sacred site at Gunlom “without permission, close to a ceremonial feature of the sacred site that is restricted according to Aboriginal tradition”. Continue reading...

Green party makes electoral pledge that would make it mandatory for large financial institutions to reveal exposure to climate-related risksNew Zealand’s left-leaning Green party said it would require the financial sector to make annual disclosures about the impact of the climate crisis on their business, if it once again formed a government after October’s election. The policy would be a world-first, said James Shaw, the climate change minister and co-leader of the party.“Australia, Canada, [the] UK, France, Japan, and the European Union are all working towards some form of climate risk reporting for companies,” said Shaw in a statement. “But New Zealand is moving ahead of them by making disclosures about climate risk mandatory across the financial system.” Continue reading...