Environment | The Guardian

Government hopes to generate $600m in investment and states and territories must match federal contribution to receive funding

Pink snow observed on parts of the Presena glacier believed to be caused by plant that makes the ice darker, causing it to melt fasterScientists in Italy are investigating the mysterious appearance of pink glacial ice in the Alps, caused by algae that accelerate the effects of climate change.There is debate about where the algae come from, but Biagio Di Mauro of Italy’s National Research Council said the pink snow observed on parts of the Presena glacier is likely caused by the same plant found in Greenland. Continue reading...

Steve Robertson received £2m payoff on top of £777,500 for loss of notice despite being sacked over leakagesThe former boss of Thames Water has been handed £2.8m since leaving the company, despite being sacked for leakages and fines while in charge.Steve Robertson, who stopped working for the company in May last year, was given a £2m payoff for losing his job on top of £777,500 paid to cover his 12-month notice period. Continue reading...

Record rainfall triggers landslides in western Kumamoto region, stranding hundredsDeep floodwaters and the risk of further mudslides have hampered search and rescue operations after heavy rain in southern Japan, including at elderly home facilities where more than a dozen residents died and scores were left stranded.Helicopters and boats rescued more people from their homes in the Kumamoto region. More than 40,000 troops, the coastguard and fire brigades took part in the operation. Continue reading...

Resources spokesperson Joel Fitzgibbon says a mid-century target of net zero emissions would now be the opposition’s focusLabor’s resources spokesman, Joel Fitzgibbon, says an emissions reduction target for 2030 has become “irrelevant”. He’s also declined to say whether the opposition should adopt a concrete commitment for 2035.Fitzgibbon told the ABC on Sunday Labor’s climate change policy for the next federal election would be “meaningful”, but he said a mid-century target of net zero emissions would now be the opposition’s focus. Continue reading...

The prime minister’s ‘build, build, build’ strategy could harm habitats and reduce wildlife protection, critics warnThe English countryside and its wildlife are at serious risk because of Boris Johnson’s pledge to revolutionise the planning system, leading green groups warn today.In a joint letter to the Observer, the organisations, which include the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Wildlife Trusts, say wide-scale deregulation leading to lower environmental standards and less protection would be a betrayal of promises by Johnson and Michael Gove to deliver a “green Brexit”. Continue reading...

Theo and Gloria Ferguson have created a garden specially designed to attract hummingbirds – and hundreds visit dailyAt the foot of Theo and Gloria Ferguson’s property stands a giant silk cotton tree. Reminiscent of those enchanted species in children’s fables, this ancient sentinel’s huge varicose limbs yawn upwards and outwards, towards a canopy of leaves that scratch the sky. Eight adults linking arms would struggle to encircle its vast girth, proof of the aeons it has stood guarding the edge of Trinidad’s Maracas valley. Continue reading...

Restoration work and wet winter have led to an explosion of colour and an increase in birdsA well known piece of the British landscape that had become depleted of flora and fauna because of years of intensive farming is alive with wildflowers, butterflies and birds this summer.Since the National Trust acquired fields on top of the white cliffs of Dover two and half years ago after a £1m national appeal championed by Dame Vera Lynn, it has worked to restore the area to rich grassland. Continue reading...

Former reality TV contestants promise ‘instant and long lasting hot water’ in campaign by gas company JemenaThe natural gas giant Jemena has defended paying Instagram influencers, including former contestants of The Block, Married at First Sight and other reality TV shows, to promote the fossil fuel in social media posts.The #GoNaturalGas campaign from the Chinese and Singaporean-owned Jemena, which manages key natural gas pipelines around and out of Australia, appears to have been running for two years online, and comes amid concern liquified natural gas could be as bad for the environment as coal. Continue reading...

Independent advice body says minister should be given emergency powers to protect habitat after natural disastersAustralia has not updated a register of habitat critical for the protection of threatened species for 15 years, prompting experts to call for it to be strengthened to protect more types of land.An independent scientific body that advises the government on threatened species also says the environment minister should be given emergency powers to protect habitat after natural disasters. Continue reading...

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including a hatching crocodile and Mexican grey wolf cubs

Company convicted of trying to export used nappies and other contaminated materials illegallyOne of the UK’s biggest waste firms has lost a case in the court of appeal to overturn a criminal conviction for exporting dirty waste to China.The Environment Agency, which brought a successful criminal prosecution a year ago against Biffa Waste Services Ltd, which was convicted of trying to send used nappies and other contaminated materials illegally to China, welcomed Friday’s ruling and said exports of this kind of illegal waste “blighted the lives and environment of people overseas”. Continue reading...

Scottish court rules that environmental group defied court order banning the protest

Frequency of heatwaves and cumulative intensity has risen through the decades, research finds

Tees Valley mayor hails rental scheme as ‘clean energy, socially distant mode of transport’Residents of Middlesbrough in north-east England will be the first in the UK to legally ride electric scooters on the open road when the law changes on Saturday, as the government struggles to prevent a recovery from coronavirus based on cars.Though e-scooters have been whizzing illegally around many UK cities for the past few years, the pandemic has prompted the government to speed up plans to pilot public rental schemes. Continue reading...

Past presidents used the parks to inspire and unite. Trump sees them as backdrops for self-serving, divisive campaign rallies

Areas with a drier climate have seen greater loss of biodiversity from global warmingDry tropical forests are more vulnerable to the impacts of global heating than had been thought, according to new research, with wildlife and plants at severe risk of harm from human impacts.Some tropical forests are very wet, but others thrive in a drier climate and scientists had thought these drier forests would be better adapted to drought, and therefore more able to cope with the effects of the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Conservationist Sacha Dench will also log marine mammals she sees from her paramotor on the 7,000km journey across Europe and AfricaSacha Dench is not one to sit still. Known to many as “the human swan” for her record-breaking journey tracking migrating swans in a motorised paraglider, the conservationist and adventurer is planning her next aerial mission: to follow ospreys migrating 7,000km across Europe and Africa.“It’s really hard to get people to care about migratory species because they are not the responsibility of any one country,” says Dench, who founded Conservation Without Borders and was named as a UN ambassador for migratory species this year. “Birds often don’t fit within borders so they don’t sit in national action plans unless they breed there. But we need to think of conservation in terms of a species’ entire flyway or migratory track.” Continue reading...

Chancellor urged to prioritise plans to realign spending with cuts to carbon emissions

Warming water temperatures lower water oxygen levels, putting embryos and pregnant fish at risk, researchers saySixty per cent of studied fish species will be unable to survive in their current ranges by 2100 if climate warming reaches a worst-case scenario of 4-5C (7.2-9F) above pre-industrial temperatures, researchers have found.In a study of nearly 700 fresh and saltwater fish species, researchers examined how warming water temperatures lower water oxygen levels, putting embryos and pregnant fish at risk. Continue reading...

Extreme weather has contributed to the vast blazes – with the pandemic complicating the emergency responseFor residents of Tucson in southern Arizona, the Santa Catalina Mountains in the Coronado national forest are known as a hub for hiking, mountain biking and other outdoor recreation.But on 5 June lightning ignited a wildfire that has grown to engulf over 118,000 acres. The fires are still only 58% contained. Called the Bighorn fire, it is the eighth-biggest in state history, and it has transformed the Catalinas into a hub for the study of the impacts of climate change. Nasa satellite photos show large scar marks left by the fire. Continue reading...

A fast growing mountain of toxic e-waste is polluting the planet and damaging health, says new reportAt least $10bn (£7.9bn) worth of gold, platinum and other precious metals are dumped every year in the growing mountain of electronic waste that is polluting the planet, according to a new UN report.A record 54m tonnes of “e-waste” was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21% in five years, the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor report found. The 2019 figure is equivalent to 7.3kg for every man, woman and child on Earth, though use is concentrated in richer nations. The amount of e-waste is rising three times faster than the world’s population, and only 17% of it was recycled in 2019. Continue reading...

Tory Philip Dunne says he wants to ‘introduce water firms to polluter pays’ principle and launches private member’s bill

Thames Water overflow pipe pumped waste for 1,000 hours into London wetlands last year

1.8GW Vanguard project gets greenlight, with approval on 2.4GW Hornsea 3 expected in autumnThe construction of two giant offshore windfarms is poised to go ahead off the Norfolk coast in what the renewable energy industry claims could provide a “huge boost” to the UK economy.The business secretary, Alok Sharma, gave the green light on Wednesday evening to the Norfolk Vanguard project and said he was “minded to approve” the Hornsea 3 proposal later this year. Continue reading...

Letters by key legislators including North Dakota’s governor written by officials of MDU Resources, a subsidiary of WBI Energy

Cattle-feed crops, which end up as beef and dairy products, account for 23% of water consumption in the USAs a fifth-generation rancher in Colorado, Paul Bruchez knows the value of water. Not only does he raise cattle irrigated by the Colorado River and its nearby tributaries, Bruchez runs a fly-fishing business on those same streams.“My income, my life, requires a reliable water resource,” he said. But since moving to northern Colorado two decades ago, the Colorado River has shrunk by an average of 20% compared to last century. Climatic conditions are one culprit – the area is suffering the worst regional dry spell on record. But there’s another big problem. Continue reading...

CDC Group’s climate strategy will stop support for most polluting projects in developing countriesThe UK government’s overseas development bank has bowed to calls to end fossil fuel financing abroad by promising to invest only in companies that align with the Paris climate agreement.The CDC Group revealed its new climate strategy, which will end support for the most polluting fossil fuel projects, including the production of oil and coal, and channel almost a third of its spending towards climate finance. Continue reading...

The NSW independent water regulator has charged Whitehaven Coal over alleged breaches of the Water Management Act at its Maules Creek coalmineA mine operator in north-west New South Wales could be facing a multi-million dollar fine after allegedly taking water without a licence over three years.The state’s independent water regulator on Thursday said it commenced prosecution in the Land and Environment Court against Whitehaven Coal over two alleged breaches of the Water Management Act at its Maules Creek coalmine. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Fiona Kotvojs called on the Eurobodalla shire to approve strategy without further considerationThe Liberal candidate for Eden-Monaro, Fiona Kotvojs, urged her local council to push forward with a new rural land plan, despite numerous Rural Fire Service concerns that it did not “protect life, property and the environment”, documents seen by the Guardian show.Kotvojs, who has waged a war against so-called “green tape”, called for Eurobodalla shire council, where she is a resident, to pass the plan that would have allowed new development in bushfire-prone areas. Continue reading...

New South Wales government data shows 73% of clearing was unexplained, with sharp rises in the state’s north-west and central westLand-clearing in New South Wales has risen nearly 60% since the state relaxed its native vegetation laws in 2017, new government data shows.The report shows 60,800 hectares of woody vegetation was cleared in 2018, up from 58,000 hectares the previous year and an average of 38,800 hectares between 2009 and 2017. Continue reading...

Temperatures will be too hot for the seeds of one in five plants by the year 2070, Australian researcher saysGlobal heating will make it much harder for tropical plants around the world to germinate, with temperatures becoming too hot for the seeds of one in five plants by the year 2070, according to a new study.Global heating will impact the ability of more than half of all tropical plants to germinate if emissions of greenhouse gases remain high. Continue reading...

Critics say utilities borrowing to pay shareholders instead of improving infrastructure

Firms including Anglian Water respond to data on their practices and policiesThames Water: “We invested more than £1bn again in 2019-20, leading to a total of £15bn in the past 15 years, and we will continue to spend wisely on improving resilience, service and efficiency, as well as provide more support for customers in vulnerable circumstances.“Our shareholders are in it for the long term and have not taken a dividend for three years to prioritise investment in improving service for customers and to protect the environment.” Continue reading...

Untreated effluent flowed into waterways for more than 1.5m hours, data shows

Botswana’s government is yet to test the remains of the dead animals in what has been described as a ‘conservation disaster’More than 350 elephants have died in northern Botswana in a mysterious mass die-off described by scientists as a “conservation disaster”.A cluster of elephant deaths was first reported in the Okavango Delta in early May, with 169 individuals dead by the end of the month. By mid June, the number had more than doubled, with 70% of the deaths clustered around waterholes, according to local sources who wish to remain anonymous. Continue reading...

Testing has found positive cases at North Carolina facilities, but officials refuse to release the informationA chicken processing facility in western North Carolina reportedly underwent widespread testing for Covid-19 in early June.Workers at the plant were scared. Several employees had already tested positive and the company, Case Farms – which has been repeatedly condemned for animal treatment and workers’ rights violations – was not providing proper protective equipment. Continue reading...

Samples from illegal refineries in Niger delta found to be of a higher quality than imported petrol in new analysisBlack market fuel made from stolen oil in rudimentary “bush” refineries hidden deep in the creeks and swamps of the Niger delta is less polluting than the highly toxic diesel and petrol that Europe exports to Nigeria, new laboratory analysis has found.Shell, Exxon, Chevron and other major oil companies extract and export up to 2m barrels a day of high quality, low sulphur “Bonny Light” crude from the Niger delta. But very little of this oil is refined in the country because its four state-owned refineries are dysfunctional or have closed. Continue reading...

Chain invokes ‘zero-tolerance approach’ to illegally logged timber after ruling that VicForests was not exempt from national environment lawsBunnings will stop selling timber logged by VicForests after a court found the state government-owned forestry agency breached conservation laws.“Bunnings has a zero-tolerance approach to illegally logged timber that dates back two decades and our commitment is to only source timber products from legal and well managed forest operations,” Bunnings’ director of merchandise, Phil Bishop, said on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Coronavirus lockdown was final straw for fracking pioneer Chesapeake EnergyThe collapse of Chesapeake Energy, one of the pioneers of the US shale industry, took few people by surprise. The embattled fracker slumped into bankruptcy weeks after the darkest month in oil market history, in a financial mess of missed interest payments, looming bond deadlines and crippling debts.Its collapse is not the first bankruptcy to hit the oil industry in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, nor will it be the last. But the fall of a company once considered one of the shale revolution’s brightest stars may mark a crucial watershed for an industry in flux. Continue reading...

Fiona Kotvojs is ‘more conservative’ than Tony Abbott on climate change, one campaigner has warnedClimate and LGBT equality campaigners have rounded on the Liberal candidate for Eden-Monaro, Fiona Kotvojs, in the lead-up to Saturday’s byelection, with one warning she is “more conservative” on climate change than Tony Abbott.Matthew Nott, the founder and president of Clean Energy for Eternity, made the comparison in reference to comments Kotvojs made at a meeting with the local climate group ahead of the 2019 election that Australia’s contribution to global emissions is “minute”. Continue reading...

Land groups say plan could lift economic output by $5.7bn and focus on areas hit hardest by coronavirus shutdownAn alliance of more than 70 conservation, farming and land management organisations is lobbying the Morrison government to dedicate $4bn of stimulus spending to employ more than 50,000 people to help repair the environment.According to a report by professional services firm Ernst & Young commissioned by the groups, it could create 53,000 jobs over four years planting trees, removing weeds and restoring rivers, wetlands and coastal habitats. It is estimated it would reduce welfare costs by about $620m and increase economic output by about $5.7bn. Continue reading...

Green campaigners and housing experts warn Boris Johnson’s recovery plan could swiftly become a liabilityBoris Johnson’s plan to build tens of thousands of new homes risks locking in high carbon emissions for decades to come, if they are built to today’s poor efficiency standards instead of being designed for net zero carbon.The prime minister’s plans to “build, build, build” form the centrepiece of his “new deal” to lift Britain’s economy out of the coronavirus recession. About £12bn will go to building 180,000 new homes to relieve the housing crisis, while new hospitals and schools will be constructed to improve degraded public services. Continue reading...

Plan will be fodder for election-year attacks from Republicans who will frame it as economy-killing and a grab-bag of Democratic social policiesHouse Democrats on Tuesday released an ambitious and wide-ranging climate crisis plan on par with what scientists say the world will have to do to avert catastrophic warming.But the US government remains far from ready to seriously tackle the problem, and the action plan will be fodder for election-year attacks from Republicans who will frame it as economy-killing and a grab-bag of Democratic social policies. Continue reading...

Such deadly heat may become regular occurrence later this century, scientists findThe likelihood of the UK experiencing deadly 40C temperatures for the first time is “rapidly accelerating” due to the climate crisis, scientists have found.The research shows that such searing heat could become a regular occurrence by the end of the century unless carbon emissions are cut to zero. Global heating has already made UK heatwaves 30 times more likely and extreme temperatures led to 3,400 early deaths from 2016-19. Continue reading...

Firm follows BP in facing impact of oil price collapse in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak

Energy provider is first major Australian company to connect executive pay to net-zero goalAustralia’s largest domestic emitter of greenhouse gases, the energy provider AGL, is the first major company in the country to link managers’ bonuses to lowering emissions.AGL announced on Tuesday that metrics including the amount of power the company generated from renewable sources would be linked to the pay incentives of key managers from the next financial year, starting in July 2021. Continue reading...

$100m to be spent on conservation after critics expressed concerns for Kosciuszko national parkScott Morrison has announced federal approval for the Snowy 2.0 project in the closing days of the Eden-Monaro byelection campaign, declaring Snowy Hydro would spend $100m on measures aimed at allaying environmental concerns.The prime minister told reporters on Tuesday he was excited to announce “the thumbs-up, green light for the Snowy 2.0 project to now move to its full implementation phase” with construction to begin over the next two years. Continue reading...

Across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, scientists are developing alternative sustainable solutions to the golden tide of SargassumThe Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, first detected by Nasa observation satellites in 2011 and now known to be the world’s largest bloom of seaweed, stretches for 5,500 miles (8,850km) from the Gulf of Mexico to the western coast of Africa.Millions of tonnes of floating Sargassum seaweed in coastal waters smother fragile seagrass habitats, suffocate coral reefs and harm fisheries. And once washed ashore on Mexican and Caribbean beaches, this foul-smelling, rotting seaweed goes on to devastate the tourist industry, prevent turtles from nesting and damage coastal ecosystems, while releasing hydrogen sulphide and other toxic gases as it decomposes. Continue reading...

Critics say PMs promise to ‘build back greener’ is not delivered by plans revealed so farBoris Johnson is to set out a “new deal” for jobs and infrastructure on Tuesday, painting himself as a “Rooseveltian” prime minister lifting Britain out of the biggest recession in centuries, and a pledge to use the coronavirus crisis to tackle unresolved challenges such as health, education and regional inequalities.“To that end, we will build build build,” he is expected to say. “Build back better, build back greener, build back faster, and to do that at the pace that this moment requires. Continue reading...