Environment | The Guardian

Future of Poland’s Bełchatów power station under scrutiny as grassroots groups and NGOs take radical actionIt is Europe’s biggest coal plant, with annual CO emissions roughly equivalent to those of the whole of New Zealand – but the future of the Bełchatów power station in central Poland has been called into question after a global environmental charity announced a legal challenge designed to eliminate the facility’s carbon footprint by 2035.

Charities warn actor that Cauvery tree-planting scheme could harm endangered waterway and its environsLeonardo DiCaprio has been urged to withdraw support for a controversial tree-planting programme in India, which could result in catastrophic environmental damage.An open letter, signed by more than 90 Indian environmental and rights groups, warned that the Hollywood actor and activist’s endorsement of the Cauvery Calling campaign was ill-advised. The signatories said the campaign could lead to the “drying up of streams and rivulets, and destruction of wildlife habitats”. Continue reading...

Tuntiak Katan emphasized the need for indigenous inclusion and pointed out ‘we protect 80% of the world’s biodiversity’As presidents, prime ministers and corporate executives gathered at the UN climate action summit on Monday, for the first time, an indigenous representative joined the event in a formal capacity.Tuntiak Katan of the Ecuadorian Shuar people spoke on behalf of the International Indigenous People’s Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), a caucus of indigenous rights advocates who, for years, has been working towards more robust participation and inclusion at the UN level in response to the climate crisis – even more so after the importance of traditional knowledge was mentioned in the 2015 Paris accord. Continue reading...

Lease extended on island off Devon – a haven for wildlife and seekers of the quiet lifeThe future of an island off the Devon coast that has been transformed from the haunt of pirates and chancers into a haven for wildlife and seekers of the quiet life has been secured for another half century.A fresh 50-year agreement between the charities that own and run Lundy is being signed that will offer protection for the flora and fauna (and the hardy humans) who live on the weather-battered hunk of granite in the Bristol Channel. Continue reading...

Labor leader declares prime minister ‘is blaming the media for reporting the facts’Anthony Albanese has delivered his strongest criticism of the prime minister yet, declaring Scott Morrison has a habit of being “loose with the truth” and blaming the media for reporting facts when he was uncomfortable with legitimate criticisms and questions.Albanese, who has banned his caucus from using the word “liar” when referring to Morrison or government MPs, said Morrison’s latest deflection of Australia’s climate record was part of a “pattern” he had developed when asked uncomfortable questions. Continue reading...

Study finds 800,000 extra fibres are shed than on standard washing machine settingDelicate wash cycles should be avoided whenever possible, according to scientists who found they can release hundreds of thousands more plastic microfibres into the environment than standard wash cycles.Researchers at Newcastle University ran tests with full-scale machines to show that a delicate wash, which uses up to twice as much water as a standard cycle, releases on average 800,000 more microfibres than less water-hungry cycles. Continue reading...

PM trumpets his country’s achievements in address to UN general assemblyScott Morrison signalled that Australia is unlikely to update its emissions reduction commitments under the Paris agreement before a speech to the UN in which he declared that the media was misrepresenting the country’s climate change record.During a press conference before his UN speech at a recycling facility in Brooklyn, the prime minister said he wouldn’t characterise “misrepresentations” about Australia’s climate stance as fake news. Continue reading...

Image of Elizabeth May manipulated to make it seem as if she was using a reusable cup and metal straw instead of a disposable cupCanada’s Green party has admitted to manipulating a photograph on its website to make it seem as if the party leader was using a reusable plastic cup and metal straw instead of a disposable paper cup.The image shows Elizabeth May, smiling and holding a plastic cup emblazoned with the Green party logo and with a metal straw inserted in its cover. Continue reading...

Nationals MP in his role as drought envoy billed taxpayers for Melbourne-Horsham return flight

Australian government hails its working holiday visa program a success despite problems raised about the industryBackpackers are sharing stories of slave-like conditions while picking produce on Australian farms under a working holiday program the government is hailing a success after a 20% spike in uptake last year.Under the hashtag #88daysaslave on Instagram, backpackers are sharing images and stories of exploitation, including being paid as little as $4 an hour and working in unsafe and gruelling conditions. Continue reading...

The speech draws the battle lines between those of us who want action on climate change and those, like Trump, who only mock it

Storms, drought, beetles and fires have destroyed equivalent of 250,000 football fieldsAngela Merkel’s government has promised more than half a billion euros to revitalise the country’s crisis-hit forests in the fight against climate change.A third of Germany’s landmass is covered in woodland, and forests play an important role in the country’s national folklore, from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm to the poems of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Continue reading...

EDF Energy blames ground conditions for rise but says energy bills will not go upThe cost of building the UK’s first new nuclear power plant in a generation has risen by up to £2.9bn and the total bill could be more than £22bn.EDF Energy said the construction cost for Hinkley Point C in Somerset had climbed by between £1.9bn to £2.9bn from the company’s last estimates and is running the risk of further delays. Continue reading...

Aurelia Skipwith, nominee to lead US Fish and Wildlife Service, linked to groups opposed to protections for endangered speciesDonald Trump’s nominee to lead the US Fish and Wildlife Service has links to powerful agricultural interests opposed to protections for endangered species she would oversee, the Guardian has learned.Aurelia Skipwith, who is already a top official at the interior department, formerly worked at the agrochemical giant Monsanto. Continue reading...

Italian mayor orders roads closed and homes evacuated over fears ice will break awayItalian authorities have closed off roads and evacuated homes after experts warned that a portion of a Mont Blanc glacier is at risk of collapse.Stefano Miserocchi, the mayor of the town of Courmayeur, said “public safety is a priority” after experts from the Fondazione Montagna Sicura (Safe Mountains Foundation) in the Aosta Valley said up to 250,000 cubic metres of ice was in danger of sliding off the Planpincieux glacier on the Grandes Jorasses peak. Continue reading...

Chinese women’s rights advocate Guo Jianmei also among quartet of ‘practical visionaries’ recognised in Right Livelihood awardsDays after her powerful speech to the UN climate action summit reverberated around the world, Greta Thunberg has been named among four winners of an international award dubbed the “alternative Nobels”.The Swedish activist, whose emotional address accusing world leaders of betraying her generation went viral this week, was recognised by the judges of Sweden’s annual Rights Livelihood awards for “inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts”. Continue reading...

Partnership is an attempt by the mining giant to curb its scope 3 emissions – those made by its customersMining giant Rio Tinto has struck a deal with its biggest Chinese iron ore customer, China Baowu Steel Group, to develop ways to reduce carbon emissions pumped into the atmosphere as part of the steelmaking process.The partnership, signed on Wednesday, is an attempt by Rio Tinto to curb its “scope 3” emissions – those made by its customers – and follows a pledge in July by its rival, BHP, to spend $400m as part of a plan to tackle the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Climate report says intense storms and loss of marine life are already inevitableExtreme sea level events that used to occur once a century will strike every year on many coasts by 2050, no matter whether climate heating emissions are curbed or not, according to a landmark report by the world’s scientists.The stark assessment of the climate crisis in the world’s oceans and ice caps concludes that many serious impacts are already inevitable, from more intense storms to melting permafrost and dwindling marine life. Continue reading...

FoI request to DfT reveals 10% most frequent flyers took more than half of flights abroad in 2018Just 1% of English residents are responsible for nearly a fifth of all flights abroad, according to previously unpublished statistics.The figures, published in a Department for Transport survey, also reveal that the 10% most frequent flyers in England took more than half of all international flights in 2018. However, 48% of the population did not take a single flight abroad in the last year. Continue reading...

The climate activist from Sweden was the star of the UN climate summit. Her remarks reminded us what leadership, courage and sacrifice look likeAt the 2019 annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, a 16-year-old climate activist took the mantle of global leadership usually reserved for the US president.Donald Trump’s decision to not participate in the UN climate summit illustrated just how devastatingly Trump’s climate-denying policies have undermined America’s role in the world as a force for good, and how his actions could contribute to the destruction of the futures of countless billions. Meanwhile, Greta Thunberg called him – and other world leaders – out for their malign neglect in failing to address the single most existential threat humanity faces, while revealing the energy with which a new generation of leaders is determined to act. Continue reading...

MSC certificate to be suspended in October just two years after it was awardedSustainably caught North Sea cod could disappear from UK supermarket shelves next year after it was announced that certification is being suspended following a dramatic decline in populations.Cod populations in the sea had been thought to be in good health but the latest scientific advice has revealed much lower amounts of fish, putting the fishery at increased risk of collapse. Continue reading...

Mining billionaire’s initiative would see manufacturers of virgin plastic pay premium for doing soMining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest is launching a business-driven initiative to try to tackle the hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic waste produced every year around the globe.Forrest, through his Minderoo Foundation, is committing US$300m to launch the scheme that proposes manufacturers of fossil-fuel based plastic pay a voluntary financial contribution for doing so. Continue reading...

Andrew Forest’s Sea The Future initiative will call for voluntary contributions to raise money for recycling projectsAn Australian billionaire is asking household brands to reduce plastic waste by paying a premium for virgin plastics, making recycled products cheaper in comparison.Andrew Forrest, a mining magnate turned philanthropist who is one of the 10 richest people in Australia, is setting up a $300m (£240m) initiative to encourage the collection and recycling of plastic waste, through his Minderoo Foundation. Continue reading...

Millions aged under five are particularly at risk from the slash and burn fires due to undeveloped immune systemsIndonesian forest fires are putting nearly 10 million children at risk due to air pollution, the United Nations has warned.The fires have been spewing toxic haze over south-east Asia in recent weeks, closing schools and airports, with people rushing to buy face masks and seek medical treatment for respiratory ailments. Continue reading...

Australian PM says debate replete with disinformation and he wants to give children confidence they will have ‘an economy to live in’Scott Morrison has responded to an impassioned speech by the Swedish teenage climate activistGreta Thunberg at the United Nations by declaring the climate change debate is subjecting Australian children to “needless anxiety”.The Australian prime minister, who will address environmental themes in his address to the UN general assembly on Wednesday, including ocean management, plastics, waste management and illegal fishing, was asked for his response to Thunberg’s excoriation of world leaders at this week’s climate action summit, when she accused the political class of failing the younger generations. Continue reading...

New law will punish unlawful entry on ‘enclosed lands’ with up to three years in jail and fines of $22,000A New South Wales farm trespass bill has been criticised by civil liberties organisations, environment groups and unions for turning into “a crackdown on people’s rights to protest”.The Right to Farm Bill 2019, currently before the NSW parliament, can punish unlawful entry and disruption on “inclosed lands” with up to three years in jail, and increases the fine from $5,500 to $22,000. Continue reading...

Experts at the meeting say Australia is seen as ‘engaging in greenwashing’ and using accounting tricks to meet targetsScott Morrison is increasingly seen as running a “denialist government” that is not serious about finding a global climate solution and uses “greenwash” to meet its emissions commitments, analysts and former diplomats say.Australian observers in New York said Morrison’s failure to attend a UN climate action summit on Monday despite being in the US, and his apparent rejection of the need for Australia to do more to address its rising greenhouse gas emissions, eroded goodwill for the country on the issue. Continue reading...

Travel records emerge as former deputy PM takes to Facebook to defend his work as Scott Morrison’s special envoyBarnaby Joyce spent less than three weeks on the ground in drought-affected communities outside of his electorate while engaged as the government’s special drought envoy, according to MP travel records.And while the government is refusing to release details of how much the position cost taxpayers, the former Nationals leader claimed $675,000 in expenses for the nine months in the role, and was allocated two staff members to conduct his work at a cost of an estimated $200,000. Continue reading...

Thunberg seems to troll Trump with new bio that reads: ‘A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future’

In a combative UN address Bolsonaro denied – contrary to the evidence – that the world’s largest rainforest was being devastatedBrazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has launched a cantankerous and conspiratorial defense of his environmental record, blaming Emmanuel Macron and the “deceitful” media for hyping this year’s fires in the Amazon.In a combative 30-minute address to the UN general assembly, Bolsonaro denied – contrary to the evidence – that the world’s largest rainforest was “being devastated or consumed by fire, as the media deceitfully says”. Continue reading...

Coalition of six nations aims to raise funds and achieve full decarbonisation by 2050A coalition of Pacific island nations wants to raise $500m (£400m) to make all shipping in the Pacific Ocean zero carbon by the middle of the century.The Pacific Blue Shipping Partnership, announced on Tuesday by the governments of Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, has set an emissions reduction target of 40% by 2030, and full decarbonisation by 2050. Continue reading...

Party members back Green New Deal motion including nationalisation of big six energy firms

Environment Agency issued 27 flood alerts across England by 9amFlood alerts have been issued for parts of England as heavy rain continues to cause disruption for commuters.The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for much of England and Wales today, with flooding expected in some areas. Continue reading...

Delegates at party conference to consider two motions on cutting UK carbon emissionsLabour is promising to build dozens of new state-owned offshore windfarms, at a cost of £83bn in public and private money. The plan comes as members prepare to debate the climate emergency at their party conference in what could be a fierce contest between heavyweight unions and grassroots campaigners.On Tuesday, delegates will be asked to vote on the party’s target to cut the UK’s carbon emissions to net zero. Two motions are to be put to members, one with a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030 – which would be much more stringent than the government’s current target of net zero by 2050 – and one backed by the GMB union, which does not set a date. Continue reading...

The party trumpets a ‘green industrial revolution’ that unions back as a ‘just transition’What is the “green industrial revolution”?The Labour party’s answer to the climate emergency is to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investing in new industries and reforms to existing practices, to generate economic opportunities, particularly in areas where old industrial jobs have vanished. The ideas behind it are similar to those of the international move for a Green New Deal, espoused by leading Democrats in the US, but draw on the UK’s specific industrial resources, skills and heritage. Continue reading...

Ministers offered a range of options to keep UK on track to hit carbon reduction targetsFlying will have to become more expensive, especially for frequent flyers, to avoid climate chaos and keep the UK within its carbon targets, the government has been warned, while going ahead with a new runway at Heathrow would all but rule out airport expansion in the rest of the country.Ministers are likely to have to choose among options including hikes to air passenger duty, new levies on frequent flyers and changes to air taxation relative to rail and road in order to limit burgeoning demand for cheap flights in the next few years. Continue reading...

Protesters were characterized as a threat to national security in what one calls an attempt to criminalize their actionsHelen Yost, a 62-year-old environmental educator, has been a committed activist for nearly a decade. She says she spends 60 to 80 hours a week as a community organizer for Wild Idaho Rising Tide; to save money, she lives in an RV. She’s been arrested twice for engaging in non-violent civil disobedience.Yost may not fit the profile of a domestic terrorist, but in 2014 the FBI classified her as a potential threat to national security. According to hundreds of pages of FBI files obtained by the Guardian through a Freedom of Information Act (Foia) lawsuit, and interviews with activists, Yost and more than a dozen other people campaigning against fossil fuel extraction in North America have been identified in domestic terrorism-related investigations. Continue reading...

Teenage climate activists told world leaders ‘you are failing us’ and accused them of ‘betrayal’Donald Trump appears to have taken a swipe at teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, tweeting a video of an emotional Thunberg with an apparently sarcastic comment that she seems to be “very happy” and looking forward to a bright future.“She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” tweeted the US president late on Monday night. Continue reading...

Surreal footage shows Jambi swamped in thick cloud of pollutionIt looks like a scene from a dystopian future, but in reality it is the Indonesian island of Sumatra this week – enveloped in a toxic red haze as hundreds of hectares of virgin rainforest have been burned to the ground.Blanketed in an eerie copper haze, one amateur video has captured skies that would not be out of place in the apocalyptic film, Bladerunner 2049. Continue reading...

If the country doubles its coal production, the Paris climate agreement goals cannot be metAntónio Guterres is this week hosting a major gathering of world leaders in an attempt to accelerate global action on climate change. The UN secretary general has made tackling fossil fuels, and especially coal, central to the summit’s success. He has urged governments to stop permitting new coal-fired power stations to be built and to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels.In this context, the countries that are subsidising and facilitating the expansion of coal, oil and gas production merit just as much critical scrutiny as those that are burning these fuels. Just as it would be wrong to tackle smoking by focusing only on smokers and ignoring the efforts of Big Tobacco, it is wrong to tackle the global fossil fuel addiction by ignoring the countries that deal heavily in the product. Continue reading...

UN climate summit focus is on net zero by 2050 but Australian PM says challenge ‘not just about climate change’Scott Morrison has ducked questions about when his government will develop an emissions reduction strategy for 2050, despite signing on at the Pacific Islands Forum to a communique pledging to develop one next year.The Australian prime minister is also copping flak at home for his decision to signal in a speech in Chicago that China needed to be treated like a developed economy both in global trade and climate change negotiations – meaning Beijing would need to make a significant commitment towards emissions reduction. Continue reading...

Natural historian denounces Scott Morrison’s policies, saying the bleached Great Barrier Reef is ‘a tragic sight’David Attenborough has criticised the Morrison government’s record on climate policy and support for new coalmines.In an interview that will air on Triple J’s Hack on Tuesday, the celebrated broadcaster and natural historian also said visiting coral reefs, such as the Great Barrier Reef, that have bleached due to warming oceans is “a tragic sight”. Continue reading...

The US president ended up skipping the climate summit as the Swedish activist told leaders, ‘you are failing us’Greta Thunberg briefly crossed paths with Donald Trump at the United Nations in New York on Monday.Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, fixed Trump with a steady stare as he arrived at the UN to attend a meeting on religious freedom. The US president decided to snub a major UN climate summit, held on the same day. Continue reading...

The president didn’t stay for Greta Thunberg’s climate speech, preferring the applause of US religious groups at a rival panelIn the UN general assembly chamber, the world’s leaders gathered to share the latest grim news of the planet’s climate crisis, but 100 metres away another meeting had been prepared: a summit of one.Donald Trump had booked a separate venue in the middle of the UN climate action summit, to hold his “global call to protect religious freedom” – an issue close to the heart of the core supporters whose turnout will be critical in next year’s presidential election. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Proposal an expensive gift to irrigators at the expense of coastal communities and the environment, conservationist says

Warning follows joint investigation that uncovered hundreds of regulation breaches by farms, packing stations and wholesalers

Scott Morrison uses keynote speech of US visit to say China should be doing more to combat the climate crisisScott Morrison has challenged China to do more heavy lifting on climate change, saying Australia welcomes its economic growth, but that prosperity and power also come with responsibility.The Australian prime minister used the keynote speech of his US visit, at the Chicago Institute for Global Affairs on Monday, to praise China’s “economic maturity”. Morrison characterised China as a “newly developed” rather than a developing economy, and argued that status conferred developed-world obligations on the Chinese leadership. Continue reading...

Action on capital’s bridges and roads from 7 October expected to be bigger than April protestsThousands of Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists are planning to shut down parts of central London for at least two weeks in October to demand governments take urgent action to tackle the climate crisis.Organisers say the next round of protests, centred around parliament and surrounding government departments, will be bigger than those in April, when Extinction Rebellion activists brought key sites across the capital to a standstill for two weeks and more than 1,000 people were arrested. Continue reading...