Environment | The Guardian

Agriculture and forestry union says up to 90% of saplings they have looked at so far have diedUp to 90% of the millions of saplings planted in Turkey as part of a record-breaking mass planting project may have died after just a few months, according to the country’s agriculture and forestry trade union.On 11 November last year, which the government declared National Forestation Day, 11 million trees were planted by volunteers in more than 2,000 sites across the country, including by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the parliament Speaker, Mustafa Şentop. Continue reading...

Three survivors joined Friends of the Earth to accuse ANZ of misleading consumers by investing in fossil fuel projectsThree bushfire survivors have joined environment group Friends of the Earth in a claim against ANZ, accusing it of financing the climate crisis by funding fossil fuel projects.The case, lodged under international guidelines agreed by members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), demands the bank disclose its greenhouse gas emissions, including “scope three” emissions resulting from its business lending and investment portfolio, and set ambitious targets that align with the Paris climate agreement. Continue reading...

Temporary ban to curb coronavirus is not enough, says environmental leader Jinfeng ZhouA temporary ban on wildlife markets in China to curb the spread of coronavirus is “not enough” and should be made permanent, a prominent Chinese environmental leader has told the Guardian.Echoing calls from experts worldwide who have denounced the trade for its damaging impact on biodiversity as well as the spread of disease, Jinfeng Zhou, secretary general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), said the ban failed to address the root cause of the outbreak, which was poor regulation and high levels of illegal trade. Continue reading...

Andrea Leadsom overruled climate aims of government’s own planning authorityThe UK government is being sued for approving a large new gas-fired power plant, overruling the climate change objections of its own planning authority.The plant, being developed by Drax in north Yorkshire, would become the biggest gas power station in Europe and could produce 75% of the UK’s power sector emissions when fully operational, according to the environmental lawyers ClientEarth, who have brought the judicial review. Continue reading...

Conservation group wins case against VicForests to protect threatened species habitat after unprecedented bushfiresVicForests has been forced to immediately stop logging in parts of Victoria’s central highlands after the supreme court granted an injunction to a citizen science group pushing for a stop to logging of unburnt areas in the wake of bushfires.Wildlife of the Central Highlands (Wotch) has launched a fresh case against VicForests in a bid to stop logging of threatened species habitat after the country’s unprecedented fire season. Continue reading...

Binding targets on air, water quality and wildlife proposed to replace EU rulesPowers to prevent the export of plastic waste to developing countries, binding targets on air and water quality and the protection of wildlife will be enshrined in law under the environment bill due to be introduced in parliament on Thursday.The commitments will replace the UK’s current obligations on environmental protection under EU law, and the UK will be able to diverge in future from new requirements in EU regulations. Continue reading...

Whitehall’s spending watchdog says energy regulator not tough enough on companiesElectricity bills sent to UK homes are higher than they should be because the energy regulator has allowed electricity network companies to rake in bigger than expected profits, according to Whitehall’s spending watchdog.Households have paid at least £1bn more than necessary over recent years, according to the National Audit Office, because the regulator, Ofgem, was not tough enough on the electricity network companies. Continue reading...

Climate activist also applied to register name of climate movement Fridays for FutureThe climate activist Greta Thunberg has said she has applied to register her name and that of the Fridays For Future movement she founded in 2018, which has gone global and catapulted her to international fame.The move would allow legal action against persons or companies trying to use her name which are not in line with her values or that of her movement, she said. Continue reading...

Experts call for controversial measures to control numbers, estimated at up to 1 millionAn expert report has called for hundreds of thousands of deer to be culled in Scotland to deal with an unsustainable surge in numbers.The report estimates that up to 1 million wild deer could be roaming Scotland, nearly double some previous estimates, causing significant damage to the landscape and hampering calls to increase tree cover to tackle the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Scientists find increasing levels of harmful chemicals, causing health issues and links to mass mortality events

Exclusive: attempts to tackle crisis fail because gender issues are not addressed, report findsClimate breakdown and the global crisis of environmental degradation are increasing violence against women and girls, while gender-based exploitation is in turn hampering our ability to tackle the crises, a major report has concluded.Attempts to repair environmental degradation and adapt to climate breakdown, particularly in poorer countries, are failing, and resources are being wasted because they do not take gender inequality and the effects on women and girls into account. Continue reading...

Scientists say lions and rhinos among species at risk from breeding of trophy animalsLions, rhinos and cheetahs are among the wild species at risk of irreversible “genetic pollution” from breeding experiments, scientists have warned.South African game farmers have increasingly been breeding novel trophy animals, including some freakishly-coloured varieties such as the black impala, golden wildebeest or pure-white springboks. Continue reading...

Move follows efforts to reduce carbon footprint and increase reporting on climate crisis

This is the single largest loss of clean water protections that America has ever seen – and the timing couldn’t be worseIt may be hard to remember these days, but the nation that led the world on to the stage of modern environmental protection was the United States.Starting in the early 70s, the US Congress enacted bold bipartisan laws to protect America’s wildlife, air and water. America’s skies cleared. Waterfronts across the nation went from blighted dumping grounds into vital civic hearts. Continue reading...

Most analysts expect the Reserve Bank will delay a rate cut next week with inflation just below its preferred rangeInflation figures for the December quarter have nudged higher and most analysts expect the Reserve Bank will delay a rate cut.Annual inflation climbed 0.1% to 1.8%, which the RBA board may consider when it meets on Tuesday. The 1.8% figure is just below the Reserve’s preferred 2.0% to 3.0% range. Continue reading...

Carl Lis OBE, chair of National Parks England, warns young people being priced out of scenic areasMore affordable housing should be built in England’s national parks to help communities excluded by spiralling prices driven by second homes, the new chair for the authorities has said.Carl Lis OBE, chair of National Parks England, has warned that young people and national parks staff are being forced out of some of the most scenic parts of the country by high prices, driven in part by exclusive holiday homes. Continue reading...

A glass of dairy milk produces almost three times more greenhouse gas than any plant-based milk. But vegan options have drawbacks of their own

Iceland, Asda and Aldi lag behind but other major retailers make good progress

Scott Morrison says ‘we are playing our part’, and given climate change cannot be stopped, Australia needs to focus on bushfire resilience and adaptationThe prime minister, Scott Morrison, has rejected suggestions Australia could increase its international advocacy on climate change, saying the country is already “carrying its load” and must adapt to a warmer climate regardless of emissions policy.After indicating that the government would “evolve” its climate change policies to address heightened concerns about the role of global warming in Australia’s ongoing bushfire crisis, Morrison used a keynote speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday to talk up the government’s current policies, including its emission reduction targets. Continue reading...

Damage caused by industrial development could undermine efforts to achieve recognition for WA’s Murujuga cultural landscape, the country’s largest collection of rock artThe decades-long campaign to secure world heritage listing for Australia’s largest collection of rock art has finally been taken to Unesco.The federal government on Friday lodged a submission for the Murujuga cultural landscape on Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula to be included on Australia’s world heritage tentative list, the first formal step toward achieving global recognition for the 50,000-year-old gallery of more than one million petroglyphs. Continue reading...

Acidity is making shells of crab larvae more vulnerable to predators and limiting effectiveness in supporting muscle growth

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...