Environment | The Guardian

Ernst & Young review finds several factors preventing ‘rapid, targeted and impactful’ fundingProjects aimed at stimulating drought-affected communities are taking almost 18 months to complete, says a review of the Coalition’s drought communities program, raising doubts about the $300m scheme’s effectiveness.As the government announced a shake-up of the funding model to guide a $47m expansion of the program, a review undertaken by Ernst & Young has found that the design of the flagship drought package has so far shown “limited ability to target areas being economically affected because of drought”. Continue reading...

Adaptation to bushfires might not be achievable without stronger action to curb emissions, letter warnsAustralia’s current position as “ground zero” for both the impacts of climate change and policy uncertainty presents an opportunity for the country to emerge as a leader in responding to the climate crisis, according to Australian Research Council laureates.In a letter signed by 80 ARC laureate fellows, some of Australia’s top researchers said claims strong action to cut emissions would be economically destructive have no basis and are not “consistent with Australia’s traditional optimism and ingenuity, nor with historical experience”. Continue reading...

Indigenous leader urges focus on native knowledge as study shows rainforest areas under tribal stewardship manage carbon betterEcosystems will continue to collapse around the world unless humanity listens to the expertise of indigenous communities on how to live alongside nature, a prominent Amazon leader has warned.Tuntiak Katan of the Ecuadorian Shuar people, who is vice-president of the pan-Amazon organisation representing communities in the river basin, said governments were spending millions of dollars on environmental consultants while largely ignoring the land management skills of the planet’s indigenous people that could help combat the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Continue reading...

Amount of clean energy bought by companies triples in two years, with Google biggest buyerThe world’s biggest tech companies fuelled a record surge in the amount of renewable energy sold directly to global corporations last year, according to new figures.The amount of clean energy from renewable energy developers bought by companies has tripled in the past two years, driven by a growing corporate appetite for sustainable energy. Continue reading...

Judge says ‘abject failure’ by CPS left case lacking key prosecution witness as police officer goes on holidayAll charges against five Extinction Rebellion protesters have been dismissed at City of London magistrates court.The deputy district judge, Vincent McDade, said there had been an “abject failure” by the Crown Prosecution Service. A police officer who had been due to be a prosecution witness was not given enough notice about the date of the trial and had booked a holiday. Continue reading...

National Grid and Scottish Power project was two years late and has suffered outagesNational Grid and Scottish Power face an investigation by the energy industry regulator after repeatedly bungling the startup of a £1.3bn subsea power cable which is supported by home energy billpayers.The high-voltage power cable began transmitting renewable electricity from Scottish windfarms to homes and businesses in England and Wales in late 2017, about six months behind schedule. Continue reading...

Proposed new post-Brexit rules may apply only to animals being sent for slaughter and fattening, not breeding stockThe export of tens of millions of chicks every year from the UK may not fall under a promised “ban” on live exports, as the majority of the trade is for breeding stock.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the Guardian that the new rules would include poultry, but specified that they would be applied to animals being sent abroad for slaughter. A spokesperson said: “The government has committed to ending excessively long journeys for live animals, including poultry, going for slaughter and fattening. We will shortly launch a public consultation outlining our plans to improve animal welfare in transport, and encourage as many people as possible to share their views to help shape future policy.” Continue reading...

Around 60 of the brightly coloured Mount Kaputar slugs have been spotted, but fires have burnt their habitatA fluorescent pink slug, found only on a single mountaintop in northern New South Wales, has survived the bushfires that burnt through much of its alpine habitat.Around 60 of the brightly coloured Mount Kaputar slugs, which can grow to a size longer than a human hand, were spotted by National Parks and Wildlife Service rangers after recent rainfall in Mount Kaputar national park. Continue reading...

Report by royal colleges highlights impact of poor air quality on children’s healthMedical experts are calling for councils to be given new powers to tackle indoor air pollution amid mounting evidence it is threatening the health of children in schools, nurseries and homes across the UK.The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the Royal College of Physicians want local authorities to be able to compel schools and other public buildings with poor air quality to make urgent improvements. Continue reading...

The bus company faced a boycott from opponents of the Carmichael coalmine after signing a contract with a firm building a railway for the projectThe bus company Greyhound Australia has ruled out any extension of work on the controversial Adani coal project after a backlash from climate change campaigners.On Sunday the SchoolStrike4Climate group launched a campaign to boycott travel with the company until it publicly ruled out working on the mine. Continue reading...

Retailer’s plans include cutting down on waste and a plastic bottle deposit schemeSainsbury’s has pledged to spend £1bn to become a carbon-neutral business by 2040, 10 years ahead of the government’s target for a net-zero economy.The supermarket chain said the 20-year programme would include cutting its carbon emissions, food waste, plastic packaging and water usage, while increasing recycling, promoting healthy and sustainable eating, and ensuring that its operations are net positive for biodiversity. Continue reading...

National Grid report says target needs to be met if projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions are to go ahead

Rise of 2C would cause 56% loss of vineyard land, while 4C would wipe out 85%From wildfires to rising tides, the climate crisis is already bringing many threats. Now scientists say it may also bring a shortage of many popular wines.Researchers looked at the land suitable for 11 popular varieties of wine grape and found that 2C (3.6F) of warming above pre-industrial levels – a rise the world is on track to exceed – would result in a 56% loss of suitable land within current wine-growing regions compared with the 1970s, before the most serious impacts of global heating. Continue reading...

The festival’s creative producer said limiting the number of artists who fly in to perform was ‘the responsible thing to do’A Scottish festival celebrating international folk, roots and traditional music has said it may have to limit the number of overseas artists it invites to perform in response to the climate crisis.Celtic Connections’ creative producer, Donald Shaw, described the issue as “the biggest challenge” facing the festival. “We cannot bury our head in the sand. It’s not really enough to fly 300 artists from all around the world and justify it on the grounds that art is important. Festivals like this one are going to have to think very seriously about whether we can do that any more.” Continue reading...

Document was sent to several departments, NHS England, Ofsted and 20 councilsControversial guidance that listed Extinction Rebellion as an extremist ideology was sent to a wide range of government departments and local authorities including the Home Office and Counter Terrorism Policing headquarters, the Guardian can reveal.The south-east division of Counter Terrorism Policing was forced to recall the document, which listed the climate crisis group alongside neo-Nazis and jihadists, after it was exposed by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Sir David Attenborough thanked the 110 people gathered in Birmingham for giving up their timeOn the 16th floor of Birmingham’s Park Regis hotel, glass walls provide sweeping views of the city skyline, along with a long backlog of cars on the motorway outside – but transport is just one of many issues the 110 people gathered here will have to grapple with as they decide how the UK should respond to the climate crisis.People travelled from all over the country for the first meeting of the UK climate assembly on Saturday. Over four weekends they will discuss a range of issues with experts and decide on a set of recommendations for how the government can reach its target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Continue reading...

A community in Pennsylvania says clay-colored water appeared during a drilling mud spill, but the pipeline company insists it’s not to blameEvery evening, Erica and Jon Tarr load up their car with towels, toiletries and dirty dishes, before driving their two-year-old daughter to a relative’s home to bathe, wash up and eat a meal cooked in clean water.The Tarrs, who moved into their spacious detached home in semi-rural Pennsylvania last April, have relied upon bottled water and family generosity since June, when their crystalline tap water first turned murky. Continue reading...

Despite their climate pledges, many local authorities do not even know how much carbon they produceMany councils in England don’t know how much energy they use, a new survey reveals. The findings make it “inconceivable” that they will become carbon neutral within 30 years, as the government has mandated.According to the survey, 43% of councils – 93 of the 214 local authorities that responded to a freedom of information request from electrical contractors’ trade body ECA – do not measure the energy they use in council-owned buildings or know how much carbon they produce. Continue reading...

Groups claim that the oil giant has not done enough to tackle climate changeAn alliance of 14 French local authorities and several NGOs will take unprecedented court action this week against the French oil firm Total to try to force the firm to drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.It is the first climate change litigation against a private company in France. Campaigners want the court to ensure Total does more to curb its emissions. Continue reading...

Minister disappointed that New South Wales did not submit Murray-Darling basin resource plansThe federal government is withholding millions of dollars from the New South Wales government for failing to complete water resource plans for the Murray-Darling basin.In a letter to the state’s water minister, Melinda Pavey, the federal water resources minister, David Littleproud, raised concerns the 20 plans had not been submitted. Continue reading...

Brunel Pension Partnership sets 2022 deadline for investment firms to reduce exposureA £30bn British pension fund has threatened to sack investment managers that do not take action on the climate crisis, criticising the sector as “not fit for purpose”.Brunel Pension Partnership, which manages pension money for nine councils in south-west England as well as for the Environment Agency, said it would review the mandates of asset managers that don’t reduce exposure to climate risk by 2022. Continue reading...

More than one in 19 deaths in UK’s largest towns and cities linked to exposure to toxic airMore than one in 19 deaths in Britain’s largest towns and cities are linked to air pollution – with people living in urban areas in south-east England more likely to die from exposure to toxic air, according to a new study.London, Slough, Chatham, Luton and Portsmouth had the highest proportion of deaths attributable to pollution the study found, with around one in 16 in 2017 caused by high levels of harmful particulates in the atmosphere. Continue reading...

Animal welfare put at risk on old and ‘inferior’ converted car carriers and cargo ships that are not built to transport livestockThe live export trade carrying millions of sheep and cattle across the seas each year is plagued by “old” and “inferior” ships that are a threat to animal welfare, claims a leading shipping company.

Residents opposing a new development fear Scotland is becoming a Klondyke for wealthy property speculatorsEven by the aesthetic standards of some rural property developments, the one planned at Loch Long in Argyll and Bute is startlingly nondescript. The site is accessed through virgin woodlands which provide shelter to endangered and protected species, including European long-eared bats, pine martens and tawny owls. This brings you out to the shoreline and a stunning vision across one of Scotland’s grandest sea lochs that hasn’t changed with the passing of aeons and is a designated area of panoramic quality.The tiny hamlet of Portincaple, which sits alongside Loch Long, is facing the prospect of seeing its population of 120 doubled by a luxury housing and hotel project described by local people as “an aggressive major development”. Continue reading...

UN urges immediate action as east African nations already experiencing devastating hunger see large areas of crops destroyedThe worst outbreak of desert locusts in Kenya in 70 years has seen hundreds of millions of the insects swarm into the east African nation from Somalia and Ethiopia. Those two countries have not had an infestation like this in a quarter century, destroying farmland and threatening an already vulnerable region with devastating hunger.“Even cows are wondering what is happening,” said Ndunda Makanga, who spent hours Friday trying to chase the locusts from his farm. “Corn, sorghum, cowpeas, they have eaten everything.” Continue reading...

Exclusive: Helene Marsh backs calls for the creation of national scientific monitoring system to help protect wildlifeA senior adviser to the federal government on threatened species has backed calls for the creation of a national scientific monitoring system after the bushfire crisis to help fix Australia’s “very uneven” record in protecting endangered wildlife.Helene Marsh, chair of the national threatened species scientific committee and an emeritus professor of environmental science at James Cook University, said the scale of the ecological tragedy had made Australians more aware of the risks facing the country’s unique animals and plants and provided an opportunity to improve conservation. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson’s partner and animal rights activist was briefed by Badger Trust weeks before the policy was changedThe influence exerted on the prime minister by his partner, Carrie Symonds, will be explored in court after permission was granted last week for a judicial review into how the government came to pull a cull on badgers in Derbyshire.The case could embarrass Boris Johnson and raise questions about the government’s willingness to listen to its advisers when formulating policy. Continue reading...

New research warns that ‘blue acceleration’ – a global goldrush to claim the ocean floor – is already impacting on the environment.The scaly-foot snail is one of Earth’s strangest creatures. It lives more than 2,300 metres below the surface of the sea on a trio of deep-sea hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Here it has evolved a remarkable form of protection against the crushing, grim conditions found at these Stygian depths. It grows a shell made of iron.Discovered in 1999, the multi-layered iron sulphide armour of Chrysomallon squamiferum – which measures a few centimetres in diameter – has already attracted the interest of the US defence department, whose scientists are now studying its genes in a bid to discover how it grows its own metal armour. Continue reading...

In Brazil’s largest indigenous reserve thousands of saplings have been planted as an alternative to profits from illegal gold miningThe villagers walk down the grassy landing strip, past the wooden hut housing the health post and into the thick forest, pointing out the seedlings they planted along the way. For these Ye’kwana indigenous men, the skinny saplings, less than a metre high, aren’t just baby cacao trees but green shoots of hope in a land scarred by the violence, pollution and destruction wrought by illegal gold prospecting. That hope is chocolate. Continue reading...

Twenty-five years ago, the national park attempted to reintroduce wolves – now scientists are celebrating it as one of the greatest rewilding stories everTwenty-five years ago this month, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, America’s first national park and an ecosystem dangerously out of whack owing to the extirpation of its top predator.This monumental undertaking marked the first deliberate attempt to return a top-level carnivore to a large ecosystem. Now scientists are celebrating the gray wolves’ successful return from the brink of extinction as one of the greatest rewilding stories the world has ever seen. Continue reading...

Young demonstrators aim to make the climate crisis a central issue of the presidential campaignOrganizers in the youth climate movement plan an avalanche of activities beginning next week, determined to make the future of the climate the major issue of the 2020 election.Capitalizing on turnout in the September climate strikes, when 6 million people worldwide turned out to demand urgent action to address the escalating ecological emergency, young US organizers are making the leap from mobilization to demands. They’re planning widespread voter activation in the 2020 US presidential election as well as direct action targeting the fossil fuel industry and the banks and politicians that enable it. Continue reading...

Experts call for sweeping policy changes and warn against Heathrow expansionExpanding Heathrow airport is unlikely to be compatible with the UK’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, leading scientists have said, adding that government policies are lacking in many other key areas from home insulation and transport to carbon capturing.Achieving the net zero goal will require sweeping policy changes, but scientists are concerned that little has so far been forthcoming from ministers. Continue reading...

The pick of the best flora and fauna photos from around the world, including white-tailed eagles and a detained lion cub Continue reading...

Cheaper labour and welfare costs have driven animal exports from Denmark to Poland, but critics fear corners are being cut

Damning assessment by group of leading architects and engineers describes government plan as ‘a step backwards’Proposed changes to building regulations in England and Wales are likely to make buildings less energy efficient not more, a group of leading architects and engineers has warned.

Experts say wildlife sold for human consumption raises risk of new epidemics

Judges say greater leniency should be shown in cases of non-violent civil disobedienceA fracking protester’s sentence has been reduced by the court of appeal, which said greater leniency should be shown in convictions for non-violent civil disobedience.Katrina Lawrie, 41, was found guilty of contempt of court in June last year for breaching an injunction that banned trespassers blocking access to the energy firm Cuadrilla’s site on Preston New Road in Lancashire. Continue reading...

Brown ants herd and milk giant pale aphids, building barns for them from beetle exoskeletonBritain has a new farmed animal, which is kept in barns, milked and moved between high and low pastures – but not by humans.The giant pale aphid, Stomaphis wojciechowskii, has lived undiscovered for thousands of years on English oak trees, where it has been looked after by brown ants. Continue reading...

Blend of hydrogen and natural gas is being used to heat homes and faculty buildings at Keele UniversityZero-carbon hydrogen has been injected into a UK gas network for the first time in a groundbreaking trial that could help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.The 20% hydrogen and natural gas blend is being used to heat 100 homes and 30 faculty buildings at Keele University in Staffordshire. Unlike natural gas, when hydrogen is burned it produces heat and water as opposed to carbon dioxide. Continue reading...

Climate crisis and socioeconomic factors, combined with critically unprepared governments, bring high risks for some countriesIntense floods and storms around the world could double in frequency within 13 years, as climate breakdown and socioeconomic factors combine, according to a new study.The authors of the analysis say it’s the first to incorporate historical local and global climate data and information about population density, income and poverty to estimate how many hard-hitting disasters to expect. They counted floods and storms that would affect 1,000 people or kill 100 people. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Almost £2bn went to oil and gas despite a UK pledge to support cleaner energy in African countriesMore than 90% of the £2bn in energy deals struck at this week’s UK-Africa investment summit were for fossil fuels, despite a government commitment to “support African countries in their transition to cleaner energy”.Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the summit on Monday, citing the climate emergency: “We all breathe the same air, we live beneath the same sky, and we all suffer when carbon emissions rise and the planet warms.” Continue reading...

Revealed: emails show Trump and appointees tried to craft a narrative that forest protection efforts are responsible for wildfiresPolitical appointees at the interior department have sought to play up climate pollution from California wildfires while downplaying emissions from fossil fuels as a way of promoting more logging in the nation’s forests, internal emails obtained by the Guardian reveal.The messaging plan was crafted in support of Donald Trump’s pro-industry arguments for harvesting more timber in California, which he says would thin forests and prevent fires – a point experts refute. Continue reading...

Mining giant intends to fully take over the mine’s operator, Energy Resources AustraliaThe mining giant Rio Tinto will be able to go ahead with a plan to clean up the Ranger uranium mine after admitting it intends to fully take over the mine’s operator, Energy Resources Australia.The admission fulfils conditions set by the Takeovers Panel, which last month threw Rio Tinto’s plans to help fund the cleanup – estimated to cost $830m – into disarray after a Singapore hedge fund objected to the proposal. Continue reading...

The cold snap that left the reptiles falling catatonic from trees had residents dusting off recipes for an invasive species whose meat sells for $60 a poundIt was an unseasonable cold snap by south Florida standards, a two-day spell of frigid temperatures pushed deep into the sunshine state by wintry conditions further north.But for connoisseurs of exotic iguana meat it was the culinary equivalent of money growing on trees: reptiles whose flesh sells online for $60 a pound literally raining from the branches, frozen, for free. The unexpected harvest had residents dusting off old recipes for iguana tacos, curries, gumbos and soups. Continue reading...

People from across Britain will join TV host to discuss ways to cut emissions to zero by 2050Sir David Attenborough will address members of the public who are taking part in the UK’s first climate assembly this weekend.The TV presenter and naturalist will appear in Birmingham, where the 110 members are meeting to address how to reduce emissions to zero by 2050, to thank them for taking part. Continue reading...

Nitrogen oxide emissions from Bluestar bus, trialled in Southampton, are less than a diesel car

Dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of the former president of Angola, claims to be a self-made businesswoman, but the Luanda Leaks, a cache of 715,000 emails, charts, contracts, audits and accounts, help explain how she actually built her business empire. Plus, why are the world’s oldest trees dying?Isabel dos Santos amassed a fortune estimated at $2.2bn (£1.7bn) while her father, José Eduardo dos Santos, was president of Angola. She is now battling allegations of corruption and nepotism following the publication of Luanda Leaks, an investigation by the Guardian and other media led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Atmospheric concentration of major greenhouse gas forecast to hit 417 parts per million in May with bushfires contributing 2% of increaseAustralia’s bushfire crisis is expected to contribute up to 2% of what scientists forecast will be one of the largest annual increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide on record.The atmospheric concentration of the heat-trapping gas is projected to peak at more than 417 parts per million in May, and average about 414.2 parts per million for the year, according to the forecast by the British Met Office. It is a 2.74ppm increase above the 2019 average. Continue reading...

Supermarket chain will remove items packaged in plastic and replace with multi-buy deals

Fires released vast amounts of carbon dioxide and reduced vegetation, pushing planet closer to point of no returnThe devastating bushfires in Australia are likely to cause a jump in carbon concentrations in the atmosphere this year, a forecast suggests, bringing the world closer to 1.5C of global heating.The fires have not only released vast amounts of carbon dioxide and soot, but the unusual extent of the blazes means regrowth is likely to be slower than in previous years. That will reduce the amount of vegetation available to act as a carbon sink, meaning less carbon dioxide is removed from the air. Continue reading...