Charity says rise in catches putting strain on stocks, but brown crab is back on the menuConsumers are being urged to avoid eating cuttlefish caught by trawlers in the Channel to help alleviate pressure on threatened stocks.A rise in prices has fuelled an increase in catches of the molluscs over the last decade, with landings in the UK in 2018 worth a record £14.9m, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said. Declines in populations in the Channel have led the charity to add cuttlefish caught in the area to its red “fish to avoid” list. Continue reading...

Chief representative of Quechua communities in north Peru urges OECD to support battle against ‘the tainting of land and rivers’An Amazonian leader has travelled from Peru to the Netherlands to lodge a complaint with the global trade watchdog about an Amsterdam-based oil firm, demanding that the company clean up decades of pollution from his people’s lands. .Aurelio Chino has accused Pluspetrol of using “letterbox” holding companies in tax havens like the Netherlands to avoid paying taxes in developing countries such as Peru. Continue reading...

Report raises fresh doubt about viability of Australia’s thermal coal export industryBuilding new wind and solar plants will soon be cheaper in every major market across the globe than running existing coal-fired power stations, according to a new report that raises fresh doubt about the medium-term viability of Australia’s $26bn thermal coal export industry.While some countries are moving faster than others, the analysis by the Carbon Tracker Initiative, a climate finance thinktank, found renewable power was a cheaper option than building new coal plants in all large markets including Australia, and was expected to cost less than electricity from existing coal plants by 2030 at the latest. Continue reading...

Royal expert sounds alarm after Prince Harry seemingly duped into thinking he was talking to Greta ThunbergRussian hoaxers who apparently tricked Prince Harry into offering help to take penguins to the North Pole have raised serious questions over security and screening measures for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they leave the royal fold, a royal expert said.Pretending to be putting through the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and her father, Svante, hoaxers Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov managed to reach Harry on his landline at his rented Vancouver Island mansion on New Year’s Eve and on 22 January, it has been reported. Continue reading...

Protected oil and gas industries and huge road schemes push back net-zero emissions plan

Budget includes billions to clean up heavy industry, transport and heating

Rishi Sunak fails to even mention energy efficiency, the no-brainer climate policyThe road to hell is paved with good intentions, and in his budget the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, headed off down the motorway towards climate catastrophe, all the while proclaiming his intention to protect the environment.“Over £27bn of tarmac,” he announced, for 4,000 miles of major new roads. In stark contrast, low-carbon transport was put in the slow lane, getting £1bn. Continue reading...

Extra £2.6bn is for capital projects, with no new funds for maintaining existing defencesExpenditure on flooding will be doubled, the chancellor has announced in the budget, but analysis has revealed the figure is less generous than it seems. Spending will be increased to £5.2bn for the period from 2015 to 2021, but the extra £2.6bn that includes will be for capital projects only, with no extra funds for maintenance.In the four years from 2015-16 to 2018-19, spending on flood defences was just over £3bn, and a further £815m was allocated for the financial year about to end. That comes to £3.9bn, of which about £1.3bn went on the vital maintenance of existing flood defences and other routine tasks. Continue reading...

Ninety per cent of Bellinger River snapping turtle adult population was wiped out but Australia’s Taronga Zoo is breeding numbers back upThe Bellinger River snapping turtle is one of the rarest turtles on the planet after a virus wiped out more than 90% of the adult population in 2015, but a captive breeding program is bringing hope that a healthy population can be restored in the wild.Thirty-five turtles have hatched at the special breeding facility at Taronga Zoo since the beginning of this year. Continue reading...

Multiple sightings in February and early March in Russia, Finland and the US, raising concerns of increased conflicts with humansAn unusually warm winter has caused bears to stir early from hibernation in several countries, raising concerns of an increased number of conflicts with humans.There have been multiple sightings of bears emerging from hibernation in February and early March in Russia, Finland and the US, a situation apparently triggered by the mild winter experienced in many countries. Continue reading...

Government failing on pledge to plant 30,000 hectares by 2024, says Friends of the EarthTree planting is one of the government’s key strategies for fighting the climate crisis, but ministers have got off to a slow start that shows little sign of speeding up, according to the latest figures: just £5.2m will be spent on new trees in England under the countryside stewardship scheme for the current financial year.That is enough for only 1,260 hectares, according to Friends of the Earth, which is calling for a greater effort on tree-planting to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Australia needs the expertise to predict changes which have a major impact across the country, a review findsA government-backed review of Australia’s climate science capability has identified “critical gaps” in the nation’s ability to understand the processes that underpin climate change, with atmospheric modelling lagging other countries.It found Australia was in danger of losing “critical expertise” needed to predict changes in major climate patterns, such as El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole, that have a major impact across the continent. Continue reading...

Deadly heatwaves, floods and rising hunger far greater threat to world than coronavirus, scientists sayThe world is “way off track” in dealing with the climate emergency and time is fast running out, the UN secretary general has said.António Guterres sounded the alarm at the launch of the UN’s assessment of the global climate in 2019. The report concludes it was a record-breaking year for heat, and there was rising hunger, displacement and loss of life owing to extreme temperatures and floods around the world. Continue reading...

Villagers are downing their weapons and protecting swathes of ancient forest and its wildlife in Nagaland state

Exclusive: carbon from most harvested wood soon ends up back in atmosphere, says studyCommercial tree plantations in Britain do not store carbon to help the climate crisis because more than half of the harvested timber is used for less than 15 years and a quarter is burned, according to a new report.While fast-growing non-native conifers can sequester carbon more quickly than slow-growing broadleaved trees, that carbon is released again if the trees are harvested and the wood is burned or used in products with short lifespans, such as packaging, pallets and fencing. Continue reading...

Traditional owners say deal will provide job security and support families in remote and regional AustraliaThe federal government has committed $102m over the next seven years to support Indigenous rangers, who are playing a “critical role” in protecting our environment, the environment minister, Sussan Ley, says.Indigenous protected areas (IPAs) make up about 45%, or 67m hectares, of Australia’s network of national parks and reserves, and hold some of the most culturally significant and biodiverse lands on the continent. Continue reading...

Riding is way of thumbing the nose at occupation and connecting with the landAre you annoyed by the anti-motorcycle barriers or speed bumps on your local bike path? Spare a thought for Palestinian bicycle advocates. According to the UN, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank imposes 705 obstacles to the free movement of Palestinians.These obstacles include military checkpoints where only those with permits can pass, a 440-mile separation barrier, and roving patrols that can turn a joyous bike ride into humiliating roadside detention. Continue reading...

First seagrass restoration in Britain will capture carbon rapidly and offer habitat for lost marine life“We think this whole bay was once carpeted with seagrass,” says Evie Furness, waving across the sparkling, sunlit waters of Dale Bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales.The underwater meadow is long gone though, a victim of past pollution and shipping. So from a boat half a mile from shore, Furness is feeding a long rope into the water, which carries a little hessian bag of seagrass seeds every metre. “We’ve passed the 800,000 seed mark now,” she says. Continue reading...

Corporation is not renewing its deals with the two leading arts institutions amid climate crisisShell is to end its relationship with two of the UK’s leading arts institutions amid growing concern about big oil’s role in the escalating climate crisis.The fossil fuel corporation has confirmed it is not renewing its corporate membership deals with the Southbank Centre and the British Film Institute (BFI) when they come up for renewal later this year. Continue reading...

Researchers believe the Indian Ocean Dipole is more clearly influenced by climate change than previously thoughtIndian Ocean surface temperatures that helped drive hot and dry conditions in eastern Australia last year were more clearly influenced by climate change than previously thought and are likely to worsen in future, researchers have found.Scientists studying a phenomenon known as the Indian Ocean Dipole say their observations suggest Australia could experience future conditions even more extreme than those that elevated the bushfire risk during the 2019-20 fire season. Continue reading...

Global emissions down by 2% amid mild winter and reduced use of coal-fired power plantsCarbon emissions from the global electricity system fell by 2% last year, the biggest drop in almost 30 years, as countries began to turn their backs on coal-fired power plants.A new report on the world’s electricity generation revealed the steepest cut in carbon emissions since 1990 as the US and the EU turned to cleaner energy sources. Continue reading...

Members of the public vent frustration that it has taken more than three weeks for PM to tour affected areasBoris Johnson has been met with cries of “traitor” after arriving in flood-hit Worcestershire more than three weeks after the crisis began.The prime minister arrived on the banks of the River Severn in Bewdley on Sunday afternoon, and was taken to view flood defences by Environment Agency staff. Continue reading...

Washington DC-based bank grants funds to redraft south American state’s oil laws by lawyers linked to oil giantThe World Bank is to pay for Guyana’s oil laws to be rewritten by a legal firm that has regularly worked for ExxonMobil, just as the US producer prepares to extract as much as 8bn barrels of oil off the country’s coast.The World Bank has pledged not to fund fossil fuel extraction directly, but it is giving Guyana millions of dollars to develop governance in its burgeoning oil sector, as the south American country prepares for an oil rush led by ExxonMobil and its partners. Continue reading...

By using public money to protect California homes from the climate crisis, the state is transferring wealth from working-class people of color to white property owners

With a fuel duty rise expected in this week’s budget, a survey by Centrica finds businesses on course to move to cleaner cars and vansBritish companies are expected to spend more than £12bn switching their fossil fuel vehicles for clean electric versions over the next two years.A survey found that nearly half of UK businesses are planning to invest in chargeable cars and vans in advance of the government’s ban on sales of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. Continue reading...

President of preservation society says councils are failing in duty to protect heritage as craze for exploring derelict buildings growsGriff Rhys Jones, the president of the Victorian Society, has urged councils to protect derelict buildings that are of huge importance to Britain’s industrial heritage. His intervention followed a surge in vandalism at such sites, triggered in part by the new-found popularity of exploring abandoned buildings.Last month it emerged that Shotton steelworks in north Wales – one of the society’s 10 most endangered buildings in 2018 – had been badly damaged. According to reports, vandals had knocked down partition walls, destroyed ornate panelling, and kicked in walls. Several fires had been lit and tiles thrown off the roof. Continue reading...

Changes in rodents’ DNA means they are now prone to similar health threats to humans, scientists discoverHumans are not alone in suffering from the stresses of modern city life. Researchers have found the brown rats of New York are struggling just as hard to adapt to urban existence.Indeed it is possible, they say, that both humans and rats have undergone parallel shifts in their genetic make-up in response to city life, leaving them prone to similar health threats, such as the effects of pollutants and the consumption of highly sugared foods. Continue reading...

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce an increase in spending from £2.6bn to £5.2bn this weekThe government is to double spending on flood defences in this week’s budget after recent storms caused havoc across the country and drove thousands from their homes.The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will announce an increase from £2.6bn to £5.2bn in spending on flood defences between 2015 and 2021. He will tell MPs that the money will give protection to 336,000 homes in England and allow 2,000 new flood and coastal defence schemes to be built. Continue reading...

Report challenges justification for government underwriting of up to five new gas-fired generatorsAustralia’s existing gas power plants are running well below capacity, challenging the justification for a Morrison government program that may support up to five new gas-fired generators, according to a new report.Energy analyst Hugh Saddler, from Australian National University’s Crawford school of public policy, found the combined-cycle gas plants in the national grid – those expected to be available near constantly, sometimes described as “baseload” – ran at just 30% capacity across the past 18 months. Continue reading...

FCA’s proposals would call on companies to fall in line with tough new climate standardsThe City watchdog may soon demand Britain’s top-tier companies come clean on their effect on the environment and disclose the financial risks they face due to the climate crisis.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set out proposals which would call on all companies listed on the UK’s premium stock markets – including most companies listed on the FTSE – to fall in line with tough new climate standards. Continue reading...

Campaigners press chancellor for clear signal UK government is taking Cop26 seriouslyClimate campaigners are urging the government to set out a clear plan for a low-carbon future in next week’s budget, despite the chancellor’s decision to pull a major plank of climate policy at the last minute.The budget will determine much of the government’s work this year, and campaigners fear that a failure to send clear signals on meeting the 2050 net zero emissions target would play badly with other countries looking to the UK for leadership as host of the vital UN climate talks, called Cop26, later this year. Continue reading...

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including swimming cheetahs and an albino orangutan Continue reading...

Freshwater predatory cod species to make comeback after 50-year absenceForget dreams of wolves, bears or lynx – the next animal to be restored to the British countryside could be a river bottom-dwelling fish that resembles a giant tadpole.The burbot, much-maligned for its unprepossessing appearance with a fleshy appendage dangling from its chin, was last sighted in British rivers in 1969. Continue reading...

Accidental ingestion of strychnine believed to be cause of nearly 1,000 deaths in Guinea-BissauNearly 1,000 hooded vultures have died in a mass poisoning in Guinea-Bissau, pushing the endangered species towards the brink of extinction in Africa, according to conservationists.Vultures were seen apparently searching for water and “bubbling from their beaks”, and hundreds were found dead on the outskirts of two towns, Bafatá and Gabú, which are 30 miles apart, over the past two weeks. Continue reading...

Climate lobbying watchdog claims US oil giant met EC officials in run-up to policyThe US oil firm ExxonMobil met key European commission officials in an attempt to water down the European Green Deal in the weeks before it was agreed, according to a climate lobbying watchdog.Documents unearthed by InfluenceMap revealed that Exxon lobbyists met Brussels officials in November to urge the EU to extend its carbon-pricing scheme to “stationary” sources, such as power plants, to include tailpipe emissions from vehicles using petrol or diesel. Continue reading...

Warming springs can cause plants to bloom earlier, alter hibernation times and locations for migrating animals, and increase insect populationsAcross the south-eastern US, trees are unfurling their clouds of leaves after winter. Yet this picturesque and usually welcome development is this year cause for consternation.New data from the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) shows that in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and northern Florida, spring has arrived more than three weeks earlier than average, and earlier than at any point in the last 39 years it has been tracked. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak to delay unveiling strategy for better transport links and net-zero emissionsThe national infrastructure strategy to invest £100bn in boosting the economy and tackling the climate crisis is expected to be delayed until after the budget.The plan to improve transport connectivity and work towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 had been set to be published “alongside” the budget, which is due on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: The five-year Australian-German initiative to transition to new energy and low emissions was due to end in 2022The Morrison government has told researchers at two of Australia’s leading universities it will break a commitment to fund an international collaboration into what is required to shift to a zero emissions future.The Australian-German Energy Transition Hub was announced in 2017 by then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and German chancellor Angela Merkel as a collaboration that would “help the technical, economic and social transition to new energy systems and a low emissions economy”. Continue reading...

A proposed waterway linking the Black Sea and the Baltic has sparked fears of catastrophic biodiversity loss – and raised the spectre of ChernobylAll photographs by Vincent MundyOn the banks of the Pripyat River lies a forest. On a crisp winter afternoon with an expansive blue sky above and hardened snow underfoot, the area is criss-crossed with the tracks of hares, deer and wolves. This is the south-eastern tip of Belarus, home to sleepy villages steeped in tradition, where people hang their Christmas trees upside-down from the ceiling and eat raw pig fat as an afternoon snack.It is also part of Polesia, Europe’s largest wilderness. More than two-thirds the size of the UK (18m hectares) and spread across Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, in spring this brittle landscape blooms into a labyrinth of gigantic bogs and swamps that supports large populations of wolves, bison, lynx and 1.5 million migratory birds. It has been called “the Amazon of Europe” for its extraordinary biodiversity. Continue reading...

Queensland government’s moratorium comes after dozens of bores supplying drinking water to Tamborine Mountain ran dryThe Queensland government has placed a year-long moratorium on new water mines in parts of the Gold Coast hinterland, where drought-hit residents have been campaigning against the impact of the bottled water industry.Late last year, dozens of bores that supply drinking water to Tamborine Mountain schools, businesses and residents ran dry, with many residents having to wait six weeks for deliveries by truck. The area has three commercial water mines with deep bores that send about 100m litres a year for bottling. Continue reading...

Sc’ianew First Nation says climate activist group entered their lands without permission: ‘You have insulted our community’A First Nation in Canada has demanded climate activists at Extinction Rebellion apologize for trespassing on Indigenous territory during a protest last month, calling the group’s actions “disturbing” and in violation of traditional protocol.While Extinction Rebellion has often drawn criticism for its disruptive protests, the letter marks a rare public rebuke of the group from Indigenous leadership. Continue reading...

In first local referendum of its kind, district council proposes being carbon-neutral by 2025A local authority is asking its residents to back an unprecedented 34% increase in its share of council tax bills – equivalent to £52 for a typical household – to fund a radical climate emergency action plan, in what is set to be the first local referendum of its kind.Warwick district council’s proposed green levy would raise £30m over 10 years to invest in making council-owned buildings and vehicles energy efficient, reducing traffic congestion, and improving air quality. The authority aims to be carbon-neutral by 2025. Continue reading...

Vaccination and movement controls will be used instead to tackle bovine TB in EnglandThe controversial cull of badgers across England will begin to be phased out in the next few years, the government has announced, with vaccination of the animals being ramped up instead.The cull is intended to cut tuberculosis in cattle and has killed at least 100,000 badgers since 2013. TB in cattle is a severe problem for farmers and taxpayers, leading to the compulsory slaughter of 30,000 cattle and a cost of £150m every year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: study shows a 75% fall in 18 years in England, with climate a clear factorGlow-worm numbers have plunged by three-quarters since 2001, research in England has revealed, with the climate crisis a clear factor.The larvae feed on damp-loving snails, and increasingly hot and dry summers mean fewer prey and a greater risk of glow-worms becoming desiccated. Continue reading...

Heavy rainfall across New South Wales and Queensland boosts rivers and allow farmers to plant crops for the first time in several seasonsHeavy and widespread rain across three states is bringing joy to parched towns with some farming regions receiving “drought-breaking” rains.Further rainfall from ex-Tropical Cyclone Esther was delivering water into regional water storages and rivers, with farmers able to plant crops for the first time in several seasons. Continue reading...

Funding is intended to help countries protect their people from the climate breakdownPeople in some of the world’s poorest countries are receiving as little as $1 each a year to help them cope with the impacts of the climate crisis, despite rich countries’ promises to provide assistance.Climate finance is intended to help developing countries cut greenhouse gases and protect their people from the consequences of climate breakdown, and forms a core part of the Paris agreement. Rich countries pledged more than 10 years ago to provide £100bn a year to the poor by 2020, but it is not certain that these commitments are being met. Continue reading...

Investment Association gives UK companies three years to explain how they will adaptAn influential group of investors is for the first time demanding that all UK-listed companies disclose how the climate emergency will impact their business.The Investment Association, which represents 250 members with £7.7tn under management, has set a three-year deadline for companies to explain in their annual reports how they plan to measure and manage the threat of global heating. Continue reading...

Engineers to install fastest home car-charger available in exclusive one-stop packageBritish Gas has teamed up with Volkswagen to accelerate the rollout of its electric vehicles (EV) across UK roads by helping drivers to charge up at home at a lower price.The UK’s biggest energy company has agreed a three-year deal with the carmaker to offer owners of new electric VW vehicles a one-stop package to help plug into home charging. Continue reading...

UK water firm will power pumps with renewable energy in attempt to slash emissionsOne of the UK’s biggest water companies plans to spend £1.2bn to help repair the environment and end its contribution to the climate crisis by 2030.Severn Trent plans to cut its emissions to virtually zero within the next decade by using 100% renewable energy to power its water pumps and an all-electric fleet of vehicles. Continue reading...

Leadership contender sets out climate principles she wants to add to party’s constitutionRebecca Long-Bailey would make protecting the environment a core Labour principle by writing it into the party’s constitution, she has said.The shadow business secretary has argued that Labour’s green industrial revolution, which she authored, was not prominent enough in the party’s election campaign last year. Continue reading...