Amazon could turn into source of COin atmosphere by next decade, research suggests

Futaba to reopen for start of Olympic torch relay after being deserted for nine yearsJapan has lifted an evacuation order for parts of a town in the shadow of the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, weeks before the area is to host the start of the Olympic torch relay.Futaba, 2.4 miles (4km) west of the plant, has been almost deserted since the nuclear meltdown nine years ago, while other areas in the region have mounted a partial recovery after the government declared them safe for residents. Continue reading...

Researchers use supercomputer to predict potential breeding areas as food security fears growScientists monitoring the movements of the worst locust outbreak in Kenya in 70 years are hopeful that a new tracking programme they will be able to prevent a second surge of the crop-ravaging insects.The UN has described the locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa, and the widespread breeding of the insects in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia that has followed, as “extremely alarming”. Continue reading...

Parliament House event represents an effort to undermine climate action, environmental group 350 Australia saysEnvironmental campaigners say a cocktail night involving the fossil fuel industry and federal politicians represents an “insidious” lobbying effort to undermine climate action.The pro-coal Liberal MP Craig Kelly and Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon will host a cocktail event at Parliament House to discuss carbon capture and storage with industry leaders on Wednesday night. Continue reading...

Report claims Rishi Sunak has unique opportunity to invest in zero-carbon infrastructureThe author of a groundbreaking report on the economic impact of climate change has called on Rishi Sunak to spend more than £8bn in his first budget next week to kickstart a “massive and long-term” boost to “zero-carbon infrastructure, new skills and sustainable innovation”.Lord Stern said the new chancellor had a unique opportunity to address regional inequalities and invest to meet the government’s target for net-zero emissions with measures already highlighted in the Conservative party manifesto. Continue reading...

Fossil fuel firms are making good use of the many revolving doors available to them in BrusselsPicture the scene: a dinner for MEPs organised by leading fossil fuel firms to explain the lengths to which their industries have gone to combat climate emergency. On the guest list, the environment minister of Croatia, current holders of the EU’s rotating presidency, and Guido Bortoni, an adviser in the European commission’s energy directorate. Nobody at all from civil society or the NGO sector. In other words a perfect Brussels lobbying event.Billed as “Oil and Gas and the Green Deal” this dinner took place on 17 February, just a fortnight before the unveiling of the EU’s first ever climate law. The meal was sponsored by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP), which represents 29 of Europe’s main fossil fuel operators, including Total, Shell, BP and ExxonMobil. Continue reading...

Last week’s Heathrow judgment was a watershed. Now we must target other projects that put profit before life on EarthNo longer should our survival be an afterthought. If we are to withstand the climate crisis, every decision should begin with the question of what the planet can endure. This means that any discussion about new infrastructure should begin with ecological constraints. The figures are stark. A paper published in Nature last year showed that existing energy infrastructure, if it is allowed to run to the end of its natural life, will produce around 660 gigatonnes of CO2. Yet, to stand a reasonable chance of preventing more than 1.5°C of global heating, we can afford to release, in total, no more than 580 gigatonnes.Related: Heathrow third runway ruled illegal over climate change Continue reading...

Exclusive: Marsh chief has defended company’s involvement in coal but says executives are meeting to ‘formulate a position’Senior executives at the world’s largest insurance broker, Marsh, will meet in the US this week to decide a new global position on coal projects, including whether to continue support for the Adani Carmichael coalmine.Marsh has come under pressure, in Australia and overseas, due to its work as a broker for the controversial Adani coal and rail project in north Queensland. Continue reading...

As EU sets out its first ever climate law, critics fear UK may delay or water down green measuresBoris Johnson should publicly declare climate deniers as wrong in order to secure the UK’s standing in vital UN climate talks this year, campaigners have urged, as climate deniers with links to the Tory party prepare for a new battle.As the UK leaves the EU, and its emphatic environmental commitments including the European green deal, those who want to see less action on the climate crisis are hoping Johnson’s government will be more amenable to delaying and watering down green measures. Continue reading...

Odey Asset Management understood to have sizeable stake in Brazilian firm SLC AgricolaCrispin Odey, one of the biggest donors to Boris Johnson’s Conservative party, has invested in a Brazilian company linked to deforestation in the Amazon, the Guardian can reveal.SLC Agricola has been accused of clearing land for soy cultivation, mostly from the Cerrado ecosystem in Brazil, which is rich in wildlife and plant species and is an important carbon sink. It has requested licences to clear thousands of hectares of Cerrado land, on top of at least 30,000 hectares that it cleared between 2011 and 2017, which resulted in the Norwegian government pension fund divesting from the group. Continue reading...

Onshore wind companies can now compete for clean energy contracts. Despite onerous planning barriers, this is a big stepOn Monday, the government did something remarkable. In the windiest country in Europe, it finally ended a five-year block on new onshore wind turbines. It’s a victory for campaigners, and anyone who wants action on the climate crisis and cares about lower energy bills in future.Related: UK government lifts block on new onshore windfarm subsidies Continue reading...

Exclusive: Bushfires likely to have killed about 5,000 koalas in NSW, report findsAbout 5,000 koalas in New South Wales are likely to have died in the bushfires, and their numbers may have dropped by as much as two-thirds in less than 20 years, a new report has found.Conservation groups want the state government to make an emergency endangered species declaration for the koalas. Continue reading...

Jonathan Brearley says Ofgem needs to balance new net-zero carbon goals with protecting consumersJonathan Brearley might be the most important British climate pioneer you’ve never heard of. In the past 10 years, the former civil servant has quietly steered the UK to its first climate legislation, and then to the policy framework responsible for creating Britain’s cleanest electricity system since the 1880s. As the new chief executive of Ofgem, Brearley plans to inject climate action into the core of the UK’s energy regulation, too.This may prove his toughest challenge yet. Continue reading...

Investigation traces meat sold to JBS and rival Marfrig to farm owned by man implicated in Mato Grosso killingsA new investigation has linked the world’s biggest meat company JBS, and its rival Marfrig, to a farm whose owner is implicated in one of the most brutal Amazonian massacres in recent memory.The report by Repórter Brasil comes as JBS faces growing pressure over transparency failings in its Amazon cattle supply chain. Continue reading...

Naturalist says approval of high-speed rail project failed to take account of climate impactA fresh legal challenge to HS2 has been launched by the naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham, arguing that the UK government’s decision to approve the high-speed rail network failed to take account of its carbon emissions and climate impact.Packham and the law firm Leigh Day said the Oakervee review, whose advice to proceed with HS2 in full was followed by Boris Johnson last month, was “compromised, incomplete and flawed”. Continue reading...

To mark the end of The Frontline series a panel of experts answer your questions about the climate crisis and how it is affecting Australia.Ask Prof Lesley Hughes, Greg Mullins, Prof Michael Mann and Assoc Prof Donna Green your questions, and see the answers on our live blog. Email frontline.live@theguardian.com or tweet #frontlinelive4.28am GMTAnd for more on the topics we covered today, read the whole of The frontline:4.23am GMTI’d like to thank all our experts today for their time and incredibly detailed answers. The knowledge you have is astonishing.Thanks to Assoc Prof Donna Green, Prof Michael Mann, Greg Mullins and Prof Lesley Hughes. Continue reading...

Ex-forecaster Francis Wilson says viewers need to be sure presenters are serious expertsThe former weather presenter Francis Wilson has said it is now more important than ever for TV forecasters to be serious experts “in a time of floods and fires” caused by global heating.Wilson, who presented forecasts on BBC Breakfast between 1981 until 1992 and at Sky News from 1993 until 2010, stressed the need to keep audiences engaged and to report accurately as extreme weather becomes more common. Continue reading...

Jupiter Asset Management to back campaign resolution calling for halt to investmentBarclays is facing increasing pressure over its environmental stance after one of its top 25 investors came out in favour of a shareholder resolution urging the bank to stop lending to fossil fuel companies.Jupiter Asset Management, which holds a 1.2% stake, is the largest shareholder to back the resolution, which will be voted on at Barclays’ annual investor meeting on 7 May. Continue reading...

Traditional owners and environmental groups criticise issuing of permit on area of Yorke Peninsula leased to a farmerSouth Australian authorities have been criticised by traditional owners and environmental groups for issuing a permit for the culling of southern hairy-nosed wombats on the Yorke Peninsula.The permit was issued for Aboriginal Lands Trust lands at Point Pearce, which are leased to a farmer, under laws that allow for the culling of “abundant wildlife” that is “causing damage”. Continue reading...

The lifting of a destructive ban on new onshore wind power is a breath of fresh airThe government’s decision to overturn an effective five-year-old ban on new onshore wind power generation is hugely welcome. Wind provides the cheapest energy, with the first subsidy-free contracts for offshore projects awarded last year. Onshore wind is even cheaper. It is also popular, scoring above other infrastructure (including roads and railway stations) in opinion polls despite the efforts of climate denialists to portray it as a public nuisance. Most importantly, it is renewable and very low-carbon. Unlike oil, gas and coal, wind does not produce greenhouse gases (apart from in the initial phase of manufacturing and installation) and is not something we can run out of. Unlike nuclear, it does not produce toxic waste as a byproduct.The government’s climate advisers say that onshore wind power capacity will need to triple in 15 years if the UK is to meet the target of net-zero emissions by 2050. This is a huge challenge, and forms just one part of an even bigger one. The good news is that the UK’s wind sector is already – and despite David Cameron’s foolish decision to stymie it – a world-beating one. While the solar power industry was seriously damaged by the removal of subsidies, with domestic installations collapsing after the withdrawal of feed-in tariffs, wind companies were able to shift resources and expertise offshore. Continue reading...

NGOs express disappointment with ambition of UN talks on global nature agreementWealthy nations could be asked to make significant financial contributions to biodiverse countries such as Brazil under proposals put forward during talks on a global agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity decline.Paying countries with life-sustaining ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest billions of pounds a year for the services those ecosystems provide for the world was proposed during negotiations on a Paris-style UN agreement on nature in Rome last week. Continue reading...

Decision comes four years after ministers scrapped support for new projectsThe UK has abandoned its opposition to subsidising new onshore windfarms, four years after ministers scrapped support for new projects.The government will remove a block against onshore wind projects by allowing schemes to compete for subsidies alongside solar power developments and floating offshore wind projects, in a new auction scheme announced on Monday. Continue reading...

Group of ageing beluga whales and orcas from marine entertainment parks will live out their post-showbiz days in a sheltered bay off Canada

Australia is heating more rapidly than the global average, with a rise of 4C expected by 2100, Bureau of Meteorology says

Bills to meet environmental targets while feeding industry have the right pushing back and experts unconvincedRepublican lawmakers under pressure to address the climate crisis are trying to move beyond denying the problem and start proposing solutions. But they still refuse to commit to what scientists say is necessary if the US is to rapidly cut back on burning fossil fuels.Related: Where do the 2020 Democratic candidates stand on the climate crisis? Continue reading...

Preparations for Glasgow summit already hampered by travel restrictions

Exclusive: Retailer says 25 of 44 products offered loose have outsold packaged equivalentsMarks & Spencer is to extend its trial of a refill scheme that enables shoppers to replenish their own food containers, after its research revealed that more than three-quarters of consumers said they were trying to reduce the amount of packaging they use.The retailer’s initial trial of its “fill your own” scheme at its Hedge End store in Southampton, which offers 44 packaging-free products from coffee to confectionery, will be expanded this month to include a second store in Manchester city centre. Continue reading...

New report from Australia Institute says trend will bring with it longer and hotter bushfires, more heatwaves and crop damageAustralia’s summers are getting longer and winters have become shorter as a result of global heating, according to a new report from the Australia Institute.The discussion paper, to be released on Monday, said that trend was “highly likely” to continue and would bring with it longer and hotter bushfire seasons, more heatwaves, while agricultural crops will be damaged, livestock will suffer and entire ecosystems will be placed at risk. Continue reading...

Temperatures have not fallen far enough for grapes to freeze on the vine as process requiresA warm winter means that for the first time in years Germany’s vineyards will produce no ice wine, an expensive golden nectar made from grapes left to freeze on the vine.The German Wine Institute said on Sunday that temperatures had not dropped to the prerequisite low of -7C (19F) in any of the country’s wine regions. Continue reading...

Government departments will be required to consider recycled content when purchasing goods as environment groups call for 100% recycled mandate for plastic packagingThe prime minister, Scott Morrison, will announce an overhaul of Commonwealth procurement rules to increase demand for recycled products, as the government lays out details of its new recycling policy on Monday.Morrison, who will make the announcement at the national plastics summit in Canberra, has flagged the need to increase demand for recycled product so that “industry will respond”. Continue reading...

Businesses will no longer be allowed to provide or sell plastic bags in third state after California and Oregon to enforce banEvery year, New York state gets through a staggering 23bn plastic bags – the vast majority of which end up in landfill or polluting streets, green spaces and waterways.But it is hoped the single-use carriers will become a relic, now a long-awaited state-wide ban on single use plastic bags has come into force. Continue reading...

Severe weather warnings are downgraded but certain areas remain floodedFlood-hit areas have experienced further disruption after Storm Jorge battered the UK with strong winds and heavy downpours.The latest bout of extreme weather comes after the country experienced the wettest February since records began. Continue reading...

Nasa satellite images show decline as industrial activity slows in effort to limit coronavirus

The environment was the winner in court: but what will happen when No 10 is determined to force a project through?Live by the greenwash, die by it too. Barely six days after Heathrow Airport declared it had been certified carbon neutral, its third-runway ambitions were trapped in a peat bog. The court of appeal decided that UK aviation policy had not sufficiently made reference to the Paris climate change agreement; and the government declared with a straight face that, committed as it was to a greener future, it would simply have to bow to the judge.However much the law has spoken and campaigners have won a famous victory, it is once again opportunistic politics, above legal judgments and environmental concerns, that will doom the scheme. Continue reading...

Labor president says party must work against PM’s PR strategy and get on with ‘solving the bloody problem’

‘Orchids grow where others cannot,’ said Confucius, but as wild plants disappear, botanical institutions are helping to preserve both the flowers and the cultural significance attached to themUnfurling across paintings, poems and carvings, Cymbidium orchids are more than just wild plants in China. They are inextricably linked with the country’s culture. But this rich blooming of human response to orchids that has endured for millennia is fragile, and as Cymbidium orchids increasingly vanish from the wild so too do the words and knowledge that humans have about them.Every year the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the New York Botanical Garden open their doors to thousands of visitors who flock to their orchid shows. Easily grown and long-lasting orchids such as generic Phalaenopsis form the bulk of these temporary displays. But behind the scenes these institutions engage in longer-term work to conserve not just living plants but also records of the culture attached to them. Continue reading...

In California – which hosts its primary on Tuesday – voters are all too familiar with the toll of environmental disastersWith the California Democratic primary taking place on Super Tuesday this presidential season, the most populous, delegate-rich state in the US will have more influence than ever over choosing the party’s nominee. That influence will reflect the particular priorities of California Democratic primary voters, who in a December poll named the climate crisis as their highest priority for the next president.In the Golden state, climate priorities are not just a matter of lowering emissions and preventing further catastrophe, but also planning to adapt for the kinds of disasters Californians have come to know all too well. Rising seas lap at communities up and down the Pacific coast, and devastating wildfires since 2017 have killed more than 150 people and destroyed more than 35,000 structures. Continue reading...

Campaigners hail move against environmentally damaging bags though small-business concerns mean many will remainA plastic bag ban will come into force in New York on Sunday, a moment hailed by environmentalists but marred by last-minute bickering.Related: Is there anything more un-American than New York’s plastic bag ban? | Emma Brockes Continue reading...

Retailer seeks to cut fashion waste with children’s coats featuring reusable name tags

The idea of a new coal-fired power station in the town has been a useful political tool but few experts think it necessary, or viableThe only physical trace of Shine Energy, which wants to build a $2bn coal-fired power station in north Queensland, is a small post office box next to an Asian grocer at a suburban Brisbane shopping complex. The same mailbox is shared by more than a dozen online businesses, including the maker of a metal card that spuriously claims to improve the quality of wine.Related: Queensland energy minister tells Angus Taylor he's 'deeply concerned' about Collinsville coal plans Continue reading...

In Hunter Valley speech, Labor leader says National party denying energy alternatives and will cause Australia to ‘drift back towards the 19th century’Anthony Albanese will travel to New South Wales coal country over the weekend in an effort to persuade regional Australians that net zero by 2050 means opportunity for blue-collar workers and for farmers.In an address to the country Labor conference in Singleton on Saturday, the Labor leader will blast the Nationals for engaging in “lazy cynicism” and for selling out regional communities by opposing action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

Anthony Lynham has written to his federal counterpart, saying no previous studies support the need for more coal generation in QueenslandThe Queensland energy minister, Anthony Lynham, says he is “deeply concerned” that plans for a new coal-fired power station at Collinsville are based on assumptions that existing generators will be closed ahead of schedule, potentially costing the state jobs.In a letter to his federal counterpart, Angus Taylor, Lynham said he was not aware of any study that showed additional coal generation was needed in Queensland, and that he was worried about its impact on other power stations. Continue reading...

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including orphan elephant calves and the ‘Brad Pitt of mountain lions’ Continue reading...

German teenager spoke at an event at US rightwing conference CPACA young campaigner who has been hailed by climate sceptics as the right’s answer to Greta Thunberg has previously described a white nationalist who appeared to promote “white genocide” theories as one of her “inspirations”.Naomi Seibt, a 19-year-old from Münster, Germany, who styles herself as a “climate realist”, has also had to deny she made remarks that could be seen as antisemitic following an attack on a synagogue last year. Continue reading...

Fat from larvae could be a more sustainable alternative to dairy, say researchersScientists at Ghent University in Belgium are experimenting with larva fat to replace butter in waffles, cakes and cookies, saying using grease from insects is more sustainable than dairy produce.The researchers soak black soldier fly larvae in a bowl of water, put it in a blender to create a smooth greyish dollop and then use a kitchen centrifuge to separate out insect butter. Continue reading...

Emmerson Mnangagwa makes passionate plea for support as he targets upper middle-income status by 2030The president of Zimbabwe has appealed for help in pulling his debt-ridden country out of “financial isolation”.Emmerson Mnangagwa made his passionate call for international funding after he failed to secure new loans from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, African Development Bank and the Paris Club due to outstanding foreign debts of $8bn (£6.2bn). Continue reading...

Teams allowed to take beach route to get to Netherlands’ first F1 grand prix in 35 yearsThe return of Formula One to the Netherlands after 35 years has become mired in controversy after two racing teams got the green light to drive on a beach nature reserve to ensure their staff avoid traffic on the way to the circuit.The teams of Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri will be allowed to drive from their hotels along two miles of beach within the Noordvoort reserve, a popular resting spot for seals and breeding birds located between the Zandvoort racetrack and the North Sea. Continue reading...

Drilling in one of the greatest carbon sinks on the planet could release greenhouse gases equivalent to Japan’s annual emissions, experts warnThe world’s largest tropical peatlands could be destroyed if plans go ahead to drill for oil under the Congo basin, according to an investigation that suggests draining the area would release the same amount of carbon dioxide as Japan emits annually.Preserving the Congo’s Cuvette Centrale peatlands, which are the size of England and store 30bn tonnes of carbon, is “absolutely essential” if there is any hope of meeting Paris climate agreement goals, scientists warn. Continue reading...

South-west and north-west of England, Wales and Northern Ireland likely to be worst hitHeavy downpours are expected to cause further flooding to homes and businesses over the weekend, as the latest storm to hit the UK takes hold.Yellow weather warnings are in place for Storm Jorge on Friday, with the south-west and north-west of England, Wales and Northern Ireland expected to experience the worst of the deluge. Continue reading...

Years of pumping, drought and a thirsty agriculture industry have taken a heavy toll on the water supply – and new plans are leaving vulnerable residents behindWhen Carolina Garcia’s well began pumping sand and air instead of water in 2016, she didn’t know where to turn.The Garcias had been living in Tombstone Territory, a quiet four-street community in California’s San Joaquin Valley, for 10 years. In the middle of the state’s historic drought, many of the farms surrounding Tombstone Territory had installed new wells and deepened existing ones. Despite being just two miles from the Kings river, Tombstone was drying up. Continue reading...