Ed Miliband visits Beijing as part of plan to create global axis working in favour of climate action

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

I will be the first UK energy secretary since 2017 to visit. It is negligence towards today's and future generations not to engage China on this critical topicThe climate crisis is an existential threat to our way of life in Britain. Extreme weather is already changing the lives of people and communities across the country, from thousands of acres of farmland being submerged due to storms such as Bert and Darragh to record numbers of heat-related deaths in recent summers.The only way to respond to this challenge is with decisive action at home and abroad. Domestically, this government's clean-energy superpower mission is about investing in homegrown clean energy so we can free the UK from dependence on fossil fuel markets while seizing the immense opportunities for jobs and growth. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Officials explore restricting incentive to allocate greater funds to farms with less money and more natureThe richest farmers will not be able to apply for post-Brexit nature funding under plans for England being considered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).Farming groups and climate experts have warned that such a plan would leave farmers in the cold" and make it more difficult for the UK to reach net zero by 2050. Continue reading...

What's happening to our native wildlife across the country is just as horrific as what we witnessed in that video - it's just occurring behind closed doors

Cuttings of tree captured by John Constable being planted on restored Devon floodplainCaptured by John Constable in one of his most celebrated paintings, the black poplar tree was once as common as oak and beech in Britain.Now the rarest and most threatened native species in the country, the National Trust is creating a living gene bank of the black poplar to ensure Constable's The Hay Wain does not become a tribute to an extinct breed. Continue reading...

Montana-based hunting influencer flies out of Australia on Friday after home affairs minister said he couldn't wait to see the back of this individual'A US hunting influencer who caused outrage in Australia after grabbing a baby wombat from its mother has left the country after the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said immigration authorities were checking if she had breached the conditions of her visa.A government source told the Guardian that Montana-based Sam Jones left the country on Friday morning. Continue reading...

Researchers say environmental impact from Kakhovka dam explosion comparable to Chornobyl nuclear disasterThe destruction of a large Ukrainian dam in 2023 triggered a toxic timebomb" of environmental harm, a study has found.Lakebed sediments holding 83,000 tonnes of heavy metals were exposed when the Kakhovka dam was blown up one year into Russia's invasion, researchers found. Continue reading...

Nearly 200 groups urge Congress to reject fossil fuel industry immunity efforts, fearing long-term damage to climate lawsuits

Former hospitality workers reflect on how the pandemic spurred job pivots - and big life changes - five years laterFive years ago on 16 March, the sound of my cellphone buzzing on the nightstand jolted me awake around 8am. Unless you're a morning prep cook or a baker, restaurant workers aren't typically early risers. Sleeping late isn't a luxury when you work in restaurants; it's a necessity - essential to managing the job's rigorous mental and physical demands.I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're laying everyone off at the restaurant," the gravelly voice on the other end said. Someone from HR will be in touch with you shortly." It was the general manager of the midtown Manhattan steakhouse where I had been waiting tables for over two years. Like most hard-nosed restaurant managers, he wasn't known for being very sentimental. But that morning, he seemed genuinely remorseful. Continue reading...

Federal judge Tanya Chutkan issues restraining order pending new filings over billions in axed research grantsA federal judge considering the Trump administration's abrupt cancellation of climate research grants worth billions of dollars told government lawyers they had to produce some kind of evidence" of wrongdoing to back up such drastic actions.Climate United, which coordinates investment in clean energy projects, sued to seek access to $7bn that was frozen before it was cancelled on Tuesday night by Lee Zeldin, the New York Republican congressman turned administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Continue reading...

Noaa, my former employer, is an integral part of our daily lives, tracking hurricanes, supporting safe flights and helping farmersAcross the United States, from rural communities to coastal cities, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) is an integral part of our daily lives, safeguarding communities and fostering economic vitality.Whether it is tracking the path of hurricanes, managing our nation's fisheries, providing critical information to air traffic controllers and airlines, or helping farmers plan for weather extremes, Noaa's science, services and products have a significant impact on every American. Continue reading...

The Guardian's picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

DDT use nearly wiped out the raptor by the 1970s. Now peregrine numbers are collapsing again in many countries and no one is quite sure whyFor the past six years, Gordon Propp, who builds sets for British Columbia's film industry, has kept a close watch over 13 peregrine falcon nests in and around Vancouver, including 10 on the city's bridges.A self-described wildlife enthusiast and citizen scientist, Propp has had a lifelong fascination with these raptors. To see a creature that high up the food chain adapting to an urban environment, to me, that's quite remarkable," says Propp. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Research shows drop in produce prices as households consume more imported and ultra-processed foodFarmers' incomes have remained stagnant since the 1970s despite improvements in productivity and a fall in the workforce, research has found.This has been driven by falling prices for farm produce; as the UK has become more reliant on imports, supermarkets have taken over grocery shopping, and households are eating more ultra-processed food, according to the report by the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Continue reading...

From a high chair to the ocean floor, Can the Seas Survive Us? in Norfolk's Sainsbury Centre explores our watery world and the climate crisisOne of the most striking things that will be on display at an exhibition in Norfolk this weekend is an oak chair. Ordinary enough, except that it is elevated high in the air. Why? Because this is where it will need to be in 2100, given rising sea levels in the Netherlands, where it was made by the artist Boris Maas.Entitled The Urge to Sit Dry (2018), there is another like it in the office of the Dutch environment minister in The Hague, a constant reminder of the real and immediate threat posed to the country by rising sea levels.The Dutch artist Boris Maas with his 2018 work The Urge to Sit Dry, which uses wooden blocks to lift the chair to the height it needs to be to sit above predicted sea levels Continue reading...

Company says new solar agreements will now mean 80% of Boyne smelter's energy needs are covered by renewable sources

Video footage, described as callous' and pretty dreadful', shows Sam Jones grabbing the joey from its mother at nightA US hunting influencer who shared video of herself snatching a baby wombat away from its mother is being investigated for a potential breach of her Australian visa.The footage, with scenes described as callous" by the RSPCA and pretty dreadful" by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, showed the Montana-based influencer Sam Jones grabbing the wombat joey at night as it was walking with its mother.Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Continue reading...

Thunderstorms and high winds forecast for San Francisco Bay while southern California under flood watchA powerful atmospheric river storm was set to wallop California on Wednesday evening, drenching large swaths of the state with rain and bringing several feet of snow to the mountains - the latest in a wave of intense storms that new research shows are getting worse.Much of northern California was under a winter storm warning because of the gusty winds and heavy snow in the forecast that the National Weather Service (NWS) said would lead to difficult to impossible travel conditions". Severe thunderstorms and high winds were predicted across the San Francisco Bay area, according to reports. Continue reading...

South Australia's EPA did not open a formal investigation into the source of the lead poisoning, despite referral from the Department of Primary Industries

EPA takes aim at almost every major pollution rule in what environmentalists call act of malice toward the planet'Donald Trump's administration is to reconsider the official finding that greenhouse gases are harmful to public health, a move that threatens to rip apart the foundation of the US's climate laws, amid a stunning barrage of actions to weaken or repeal a host of pollution limits upon power plants, cars and waterways.Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an extraordinary cavalcade of pollution rule rollbacks on Wednesday, led by the announcement it would potentially scrap a landmark 2009 finding by the US government that planet-heating gases, such carbon dioxide, pose a threat to human health. Continue reading...

Blood tests on migratory chicks fed plastics by their parents show neurodegeneration, as well as cell rupture and stomach lining decayIngesting plastic is leaving seabird chicks with brain damage akin to Alzheimer's disease", according to a new study - adding to growing evidence of the devastating impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife.Analysis of young sable shearwaters, a migratory bird that travels between Australia's Lord Howe Island and Japan, has found that plastic waste is causing damage to seabird chicks not apparent to the naked eye, including decay of the stomach lining, cell rupture and neurodegeneration. Continue reading...

Oil giants retreat on climate pledges, embrace Trump-era fossil fuel policies at CERAWeek in TexasAt a major oil and gas conference in Texas this week, companies publicly retreated from their flashy climate pledges of years past, redoubling their commitment to planet-warming fossil fuels.The withdrawals illustrate the companies' allegiance not to ordinary Americans, but to their shareholders and the climate-skeptical Trump administration, advocates said. Continue reading...

As energy firms race to meet challenges of storing power, critics worry about fluctuations in the depth of the lochBrian Shaw stood at the edge of Loch Ness and pointed to a band of glistening pebbles and damp sand skirting the shore. It seemed as if the tide had gone out.Overnight, Foyers, a small pumped-storage power station, had recharged itself, drawing up millions of litres of water into a reservoir high up on a hill behind it, ready for release through its turbines to boost the UK's electricity supply. That led to the surface of Loch Ness, the largest body of freshwater in the UK, falling by 14cm in a matter of hours. Continue reading...

The US president is making energy deals with Japan and Ukraine, and in Africa has even touted resurrecting coalDonald Trump's repeated mantra of drill, baby, drill" demands that more oil and gas be extracted in the United States, but the president has set his sights on an even broader goal: keeping the world hooked on planet-heating fossil fuels for as long as possible.In deals being formulated with countries such as Japan and Ukraine, Trump is using US leverage in tariffs and military aid to bolster the flow of oil and gas around the world. In Africa, his administration has even touted the resurrection of coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels, to bring energy to the continent. Continue reading...

Campaigners say introduction of feasibility test in England and Wales over bathing status is snub to communities'Rivers are unlikely to be granted the protections of bathing water status under the government's changes to the system, campaigners have said.River activists have reacted with fury as details of the reforms were revealed on Wednesday. Continue reading...

If you don't believe the scientists, will you believe the insurance companies?

My homeplace has experienced four natural disasters in eight years. But I'd never seen the like of this bird before, vibrantly green and startlingly beautifulWe were midway through our cyclone preparation when my mother broke her leg. She stepped into her bedroom to retrieve something, tripped and fell, and that was that. My mother is 74 and hardy, so this sudden break took us by surprise. Once I got her home, leg in brace, we'd lost significant time, and my household was down to one functional human: me.This is the fourth natural disaster I've experienced in the last eight years. One-in-100-year floods (2017), unprecedented bushfires (2019), one-in-1,000-year floods (2022) and now Cyclone Alfred. Cyclones are a new threat. I've lived in my homeplace, in northern New South Wales, for almost 50 years and we've never had a cyclone cross land in our vicinity. We were, as they say, in uncharted waters. Continue reading...

Research shows apex predators are increasing in numbers and excreting important nutrients into Top End waterways

Swings between drought and floods striking from Dallas to Shanghai, while Madrid and Cairo are among cities whose climate has flippedClimate whiplash is already hitting major cities around the world, bringing deadly swings between extreme wet and dry weather as the climate crisis intensifies, a report has revealed.Dozens more cities, including Lucknow, Madrid and Riyadh have suffered a climate flip" in the last 20 years, switching from dry to wet extremes, or vice versa. The report analysed the 100 most populous cities, plus 12 selected ones, and found that 95% of them showed a distinct trend towards wetter or drier weather. Continue reading...

Applications to the sustainable farming initiative no longer accepted but no clarity on what will replace it and whenFarming and countryside groups in England are furious that the government has paused a key post-Brexit farming payments scheme with little information about what will replace it and when.In a statement on Tuesday evening the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the sustainable farming incentive would no longer accept new applications. Continue reading...

In addition to layoffs and hiring freezes, a God squad' can effectively veto ESA protections for endangered speciesDonald Trump's administration, backed by House Republicans and Elon Musk's Doge agency, are carrying out an attack on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and federal wildlife agencies that, if successful, will almost certainly drive numerous species into extinction, environmental advocates warn.The three-pronged attack is designed to freeze endangered wildlife protections to more quickly push through oil, gas and development projects, opponents say. Continue reading...

RFK Jr's Maha' giving fresh momentum to longtime efforts to outlaw additives, which is now a bipartisan movementAt least a dozen US states - from traditionally conservative Oklahoma to liberal-leaning New York - are rushing to pass laws outlawing commonly used dyes and other chemical additives in foods, citing a need to protect public health.In one of the most far-reaching efforts, West Virginia last week advanced a sweeping ban on a range of common food dyes that have been linked to health problems, particularly for children, with overwhelming support from both Republicans and Democrats. Continue reading...

Millions of children could lose free school meals as food costs rise, warns School Nutrition Association presidentThe US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has slashed two programs that provided more than $1bn for schools and food banks to purchase food from local farms and ranchers.About $660m of those funds were contained in the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, which provided funds to schools and child care facilities but is now being eliminated. Continue reading...

Highly toxic jet fuel leaking from oil tanker threatens local ecosystems as investigations begin into collision's causeLeaking fuel from the collision between a cargo ship and oil tanker in the North Sea would have a devastating" impact on marine life, experts have said, as investigations began into the cause of the incident.Fires continued to burn onboard both vessels 24 hours after the Stena Immaculate tanker and cargo ship Solong collided off the coast of Yorkshire on Monday morning. A search for a missing crew member was called off overnight. Continue reading...

Tiny bits of plastic can end up in water and soil at alarming levels, said lead author of University of Missouri paperFertilizers that shed microplastics are increasingly spreading on America's cropland, research shows, raising new worry about the soil contamination and safety of the US food supply.A peer-reviewed University of Missouri paper found common types of controlled-release fertilizers are often encapsulated with plastic and can be so small that they could be considered microplastics. Those are designed to break down into even smaller pieces of plastic once spread in fields. Continue reading...

Staff crisis at Environment Agency, which helps monitor 950 sites, means it is hearing about incidents later than normal, insider saysThe team responsible for preventing environmental risks at England's most hazardous industrial sites is facing a recruitment crisis and one insider has warned environmental incidents are going unchecked.The control of major accident hazards (Comah) regulations cover 950 of England's most hazardous industrial sites - from nuclear power plants to chemical manufacturers - in locations such as Buncefield oil depot near Hemel Hempstead, where, in 2005, the largest explosion in peacetime took place in the UK. Continue reading...

The Guardianas del Conchalito ignored chants of get back to your kitchens', determined to protect the environment and create a sustainable shellfish operationAhead of the small boat, as it bobs on the waters near La Paz in the Mexican state of Baja California, is a long line of old plastic bottles strung together on top of the waves. Underneath them are as many as 100,000 oysters, waiting to be sold to the upmarket hotels down the coast.Cheli Mendez, who oversees the project, pulls a shell up from below, cuts it open with a knife, and gives me the contents to try: a plump, tasty oyster. Mendez is one of a group known as Guardianas del Conchalito, or guardians of the shells, and theirs is the first oyster-growing business in the region run entirely by women, she says.The women dug a channel with shovels and pickaxes to allow seawater to reach the mangroves Continue reading...

Concerns for elderly and vulnerable as some homes in south-east Queensland face days without power

Campaigners to argue in court of appeal that plan is not in public interest and special administration is best optionEnvironmental campaigners will challenge the granting of a high-interest 3bn emergency loan to struggling Thames Water at an appeal on Tuesday, arguing the eye-watering" costs for a short-term fix are not in the public interest.With protests planned outside the court of appeal, Charlie Maynard, a Liberal Democrat MP who represents the campaigners, will argue in a three-day hearing that the public and consumer interest is not served by the debt package, which comes with a bill of almost 1bn in interest payments and financial adviser fees. Continue reading...

Annual survey by IQAir based on toxic PM2.5 particles reveals some progress in pollution levels in India and ChinaNearly every country on Earth has dirtier air than doctors recommend breathing, a report has found.Only seven countries met the World Health Organization's guidelines for tiny toxic particles known as PM2.5 last year, according to analysis from the Swiss air quality technology company IQAir. Continue reading...

'There's good news when it comes to the rivers in the northern rivers - all are receding,' the New South Wales premier says, adding: The immediate threat to the community has been reduced.' State Emergency Service deputy commissioner Damien Johnston says overnight rainfall was not significant enough to affect river systems but warns residents: You do need to be vigilant'

Chris Minns vows to remove overseas visitors, tourists, backpackers' from Lismore houses during ex-Cyclone Alfred cleanup

Authorities warn more fatalities expected as a year's worth of rain falls on Bahia Blanca in eight hoursRescue teams in Argentina are searching for two girls, aged one and five, who were swept away by severe floods that ripped through Buenos Aires province, killing at least 16 people.A year's worth of rain fell on the city of Bahia Blanca and the town of Cerri on Friday, rapidly inundating neighbourhoods and destroying homes, bridges and roads. The rainfall - 400mm (15.7in) recorded in just eight hours - was more than twice the city's previous record of 175mm (6.8in) set in 1930. Continue reading...

Chris Wright signals abandonment of Biden's irrational, quasi-religious' climate policies at industry conferenceThe world needs more planet-heating fossil fuel, not less, Donald Trump's newly appointed energy secretary, Chris Wright, told oil and gas bigwigs on Monday.We are unabashedly pursuing a policy of more American energy production and infrastructure, not less," he said in the opening plenary talk of CERAWeek, a swanky annual conference in Houston, Texas, led by the financial firm S&P Global. Continue reading...

Regional voters are often stereotyped so I propose a new demographic category ahead of the election: conservative, uncommitted rural voters with environmental sympathies

Laura Leaf had a sick possum for company when she spent three nights in a spare room at Mallory Wilson's Nerang home

Number of animals affected by neurological toxin increases in past week as experts warn of impact from climate crisisThe number of marine mammals in California affected by a neurological toxin from algae has surged in the past week, in what could be another deadly year for animals such as sea lions, seals, dolphins and larger whales.According to the Marine Mammal Care Center, a rescue facility based in Sausalito, California, the facility is treating more than 30 animals affected by a toxic algal bloom, with eight animals admitted on Wednesday. The algae bloom off the California coast has been on the rise in recent years, producing a neurological toxin called domoic acid. Continue reading...

They prefer to carry branches in their teeth, like dogs. And when they swim, they hold their front paws to their chests, like a severe governess in a Victorian novelThe heads of beavers, large rodents known for building dams, are their own kind of highly complex dam structure, with various retractable walls that let water in or keep it out. They can close valves in their nostrils and ears and a special membrane over their eyes; their epiglottis, the flap that stops water entering the lungs, is inside their nose instead of their throat; they use their tongue to shield their throats from water; and their lips to shield their mouths - their lips can close behind their front teeth. Their teeth are rust-orange, because they are strengthened with iron.Their back feet are webbed like a duck's; on land, their front feet act like hands, digging, grasping and carrying things from the riverbed to the surface - rocks, for example, tucked under their chins and cradled by their arms. When they swim, they do so while holding their front paws to their chests, like a severe governess in a Victorian novel, or a child pretending to be a rabbit. They prefer to carry branches in their teeth, like dogs. The biggest beavers weigh 50kg.As boats will sometimes lie along the shore,

Biodiversity is great in theory, but there are reasons to fend off invasive species and the knock-on effect of their presenceBritain would be a wasteland if it weren't for immigration. Fifteen thousand years ago, most of the country was buried a kilometre deep in ice - not ideal conditions for life. That all changed as we moved out of the last ice age into the current, milder climate phase. The ice sheets retreated, leaving an empty landscape for anything with the wherewithal to seize the opportunity and move in. Tens of thousands of species did, mainly heading north from the European continent to which Britain was then joined. The result was a native biota where almost every species is an immigrant. Our ancestors were among them.Immigration is a natural process, but it's one that has been fundamentally changed thanks to humanity's wanderlust. As we've moved around the world we have taken many other species along with us - some deliberately, some accidentally - to areas they couldn't have reached without our assistance. These include many of the most familiar denizens of the British countryside. Grey squirrel, ring-necked parakeet, horse chestnut, rhododendron - none of these would be in Britain if they hadn't been brought by people. They are what ecologists call aliens. Anywhere people live you'll also find aliens.Tim Blackburn is professor of invasion biology at University College London and author of The Jewel Box: How Moths Illuminate Nature's Hidden Rules