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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Activists hope appeal court’s decision will mean death of third runway expansion planIn the bar of the Five Bells pub, campaigners against a third runway at Heathrow were celebrating.The 400-year-old establishment in Harmondsworth has been at the centre of the fight against the airport’s expansion for nearly 20 years. Under the plans, half of the ancient village would be destroyed, including a number of listed buildings and a small housing estate. The rest would be at the perimeter fence of the new runway, and would be, residents say, uninhabitable due to the thunderous noise and pollution. Continue reading...

Scheme provides clean water and helps foster trust between indigenous groupsRomelia Mendúa was handing out plantain drinks served in aluminium bowls. Guests were seated in a hammock and on the bare wooden floor. Beyond the window was the lush vegetation of Ecuador’s north-eastern Amazon.Chocula, as the drink is called, is made by mashing plantains into water, and is a common refreshment in the Amazon. But the water in Mendúa’s chocula was no ordinary water. It came through a tap in her kitchen connected to two tanks outside collecting and filtering rainfall. Continue reading...

Coastline that has been up for Unesco listing has been in poor condition for yearsItalian lawyers have seized control of the famous Scala dei Turchi limestone coastline, one of the Mediterranean’s main tourist attractions, citing poor handling of the cliff’s preservation.For years, the site of the Scala dei Turchi – meaning Turkish steps or stairs of the Turks – a candidate for Unesco heritage, has been in a state of degradation. It is subject to constant erosion and theft by visitors who detach pieces of marl, the white sedimentary rock that gives the steps their distinctive appearance. Continue reading...

Demand for bigger cars drives increase in greenhouse gas emissions, says Which?New cars sold in the UK produce more carbon dioxide than older models, according to new research that suggests the industry is going backwards in tackling the climate crisis.Cars that reach the latest standards of emissions use cleaner internal combustion engine technology to combat air pollution, but the relentless rise in demand for bigger, heavier models meant that average emissions of the greenhouse gas rose, according to the consumer group Which? Continue reading...

New Zealand PM wants Canberra to change position on ‘corrosive’ issue which has seen hundreds of Kiwis deported from AustraliaNew Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern won’t raise climate change when she meets with Scott Morrison in Sydney but will push for a change in Canberra’s position on forced deportations.Ardern was scheduled to hold talks with Morrison in the harbour city on Friday after briefly meeting with New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian in the morning. Continue reading...

George Eustice is whisked in and out of fenced-off compound in Ironbridge

Bank of England governor warns City about need for businesses to fully disclose climate impact

Hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, lithium and advanced livestock feed supplements to be at heart of Coalition’s technology roadmapThe Morrison government will on Friday signal plans to shift investment from wind and solar to hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, lithium and advanced livestock feed supplements, as part of a “bottom up” strategy to reduce emissions by 2050.Angus Taylor will use a speech to an economic thinktank to put some flesh on the bones of the Coalition’s much-vaunted technology roadmap. The emissions reduction minister will also declare Australia will take a technology-based long-term emissions reduction “strategy” to the United Nations-led climate talks in Glasgow at the end of this year. Continue reading...

Cyclone is temporarily cooling distressed corals but experts say parts of reef that previously escaped bleaching are at riskThe Great Barrier Reef is still at risk of a widespread outbreak of coral bleaching despite a cyclone to the far west helping to temporarily cool stressed corals, according to US and Australian science agencies.Clearer skies, weak tides and above-average ocean temperatures are combining to create stressful conditions for corals along much of the world’s largest reef system. Continue reading...

Greta Thunberg effect behind sales boom in books on everything from plastic waste to endangered wildlifeI’m reading one of a small forest’s-worth of beautiful new picture books about the environment with my eight-year-old twins. The Sea, by Miranda Krestovnikoff and Jill Calder, takes us into mangrove swamps and kelp forests and coral reefs. We learn about goblin sharks and vampire squids and a poisonous creature called a nudibranch. Then we reach the final chapter on ocean plastics. When we learn that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish, Esme bursts into inconsolable tears. Continue reading...

Pilot project will offer people vouchers for public transport, taxis or car clubsDrivers in Coventry could be paid up to £3,000 a year in transport vouchers to ditch their cars under a UK-first scheme.The Transport for the West Midlands (TfWM) pilot project is designed to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality in the city. Continue reading...

For the first time in history, the state is regulating the groundwater that fuels its massive agriculture industry. Now the smallest farms face the biggest threatNikiko Masumoto began her farming career in the summer of 2011, just as California was entering its worst drought in recorded history.Masumoto is the fourth generation of her family to farm this land in Del Rey: 80 organic acres of stone fruit in eastern Fresno county in California’s fertile Central Valley, its most perfect peaches bound for the epicurean Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley. Continue reading...

Regulation will have significant impacts on the state’s $50bn agriculture industry, rural communities and endangered wetlands

The 2021 plan for Yorkshire site will be four years ahead of government deadlineThe Drax power plant in Yorkshire will end all coal generation by next year after almost five decades as one of western Europe’s most polluting power plants.Drax Group will stop burning coal at Britain’s biggest power plant in March 2021, four years ahead of the government’s ban on coal-fired electricity, which comes into force in 2025. Continue reading...

John Barilaro says ‘irrigators are at breaking point’ but federal water minister says there have been enough reviewsThe NSW Nationals leader, John Barilaro, has called for a royal commission into the Murray-Darling Basin plan following a meeting with irrigators on Thursday – a move set to reignite concerns about NSW’s commitment to the four-state and federal compact.The release on Nationals’ letterhead, which also quotes the NSW water minister, Melinda Pavey, is understood not to have the backing of the state cabinet. Continue reading...

Report also calls for ban on black plastic and an end to bottom trawling at sea

Campaigners say move is ‘blatant contradiction’ of lender’s climate commitmentsThe World Bank has been criticised for providing $55m (£43m) to aid fossil fuel extraction in Guyana, at the same time that it has pledged to stop direct funding of oil and gas production.The Washington-based institution, which provides loans and grants to aid the development of poorer countries, will provide $20m to pay for the training of Guyanese oil and gas officials, including those involved in the marketing of oil. Continue reading...

Evacuation in Ironbridge, Shropshire, as Environment Agency warns of continued flooding until at least Sunday

Failure to fully implement 14 of 16 recommendations to regulate CSG extraction could lead to more support for moratorium across NSWSantos’s coal seam gas project near Narrabri could face further obstacles after a parliamentary inquiry delivered a scathing assessment of the state government’s progress in implementing recommendations to regulate coal seam gas extraction.A New South Wales legislative council inquiry found that 14 of 16 recommendations from the 2014 report by the chief scientist have not been implemented in full. Half were found to have not been implemented at all. Continue reading...

Russian scientists record more cases of bear-on-bear attacks amid food scarcity and sea ice meltCases of polar bears killing and eating each other are on the rise in the Arctic as melting ice and human activity erode their habitat, according to a Russian expert.“Cases of cannibalism among polar bears are a long-established fact, but we’re worried that such cases used to be found rarely while now they are recorded quite often,” said Ilya Mordvintsev, a polar bear expert, quoted by Interfax news agency. Continue reading...

OGA faces tough balancing act of sustaining industry while helping to meet climate goals

Wild Justice takes legal action, citing ‘ecological assault’ and harm to rare wildlife from mass release of birds for shooting

George Eustice rejects need for inquiry as NFU president calls for ‘seismic investment’The government has rejected calls for a public inquiry into the UK flooding disaster, arguing that it has the crisis under control.The environment secretary, George Eustice, came under sustained attack at the National Farmers’ Union annual conference, but said the government had already saved thousands of homes from flooding and would be spending “record” amounts on future defences. Continue reading...

UK oil firm withdraws from energy organisations as it pursues net zero ambitionsBP is to sever links with three US-based trade associations, including the country’s main refining lobby, because of disagreements over their climate-related policies and activities.The decision comes after the UK oil corporation’s new chief executive, Bernard Looney, set an ambitious target to shrink its carbon footprint to net zero by 2050. To achieve this it will have to cut more greenhouse gas emissions every year than the amount produced by the whole of the UK. Continue reading...

A ‘punk’ mollusc named after Joe Strummer and a snail with a bright orange shell are among the creatures at risk from deep sea miningIt takes an hour from the surface of the Indian Ocean, descending 3,000 metres in a submersible research pod, to reach the bizarre creatures that cluster around hydrothermal vents on the seabed. “You’re in a titanium sphere that is about two metres in diameter,” says evolutionary biologist Julia Sigwart, describing her voyage to Kairei hydrothermal vent field, east of Madagascar. Continue reading...

The toxin has endangered hundreds of thousands of kids. But parents in the hardest-hit neighborhoods may never be warned of the threatShanaya Ball did everything right during her pregnancy: she attended check-ups, ate well, and kitted out the nursery for her son Amari, who was born in March 2017.But by his first birthday, Amari had failed to meet almost every developmental milestone, and was unable to play, communicate or move like other infants. Continue reading...

World’s second biggest miner says it will reduce emissions by 15% by 2030, but ‘will not set targets for our customers’Mining giant Rio Tinto says it wants its globe-spanning operations to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will spend US$1bn over the next five years to reduce its carbon footprint.The second biggest miner in the world has also committed to reducing its emissions by 15% by 2030. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese accuses Scott Morrison of misleading parliament over his involvement in the scheme. This blog is now closed

Homes 500km west of Brisbane at risk of flooding with water levels expected to rise in coming daysFlood waters in a rural Queensland town have shut a main highway and are expected to continue rising throughout the week.About 35 homes were threatened by flood waters in the town of St George, about 500km west of Brisbane, on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Himalayan tahr numbers reach 35,000 despite controversial culling aimed at limiting them to 10,000A non-native goat-like animal is destroying New Zealand’s fragile alpine regions, and government culling has been unable to keep up with its population booms.The Himalayan tahr was introduced to New Zealand in 1904 as hunting game for sports shooters, and has thrived in the rugged, alpine environment of the South Island. Continue reading...

Nathusius’ pipistrelle sightings reported from as far apart as Cornwall and ScotlandAn elusive British mammal, the tiny bat Nathusius’ pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusii), may be more widespread and numerous than previously thought.Sometimes described as a rare visitor or a new coloniser because of climate change, it may have been here decades but had gone undetected. Continue reading...

Naomi Seibt, who tells YouTube followers that Thunberg and other climate activists are whipping up hysteria, to speak at CPACA German teenager dubbed the “anti-Greta” – climate sceptics’ answer to the schoolgirl activist Greta Thunberg – is set to address the biggest annual gathering of US grassroots conservatives.Related: Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai meet at Oxford University Continue reading...

MPs urge review of housing policy as Environment Agency warns against developments on floodplainsThe building of tens of thousands of homes on flood-prone land is worsening the damage to surrounding areas, Conservative MPs have said, as the head of the Environment Agency warned against new developments on floodplains.Tory backbenchers called on Boris Johnson to review the government’s housing policy over concerns that new homes were either not flood-proof or were exacerbating issues in neighbouring communities. Continue reading...

Claim that celebrity campaigns cause ‘enormous damage’ draws ire from animal rights groupsHe has been called a diva and pretentious, and there are even those who don’t like his acting – but never before has Joaquin Phoenix been accused of causing mental health problems for British livestock farmers.On Tuesday, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president, Minette Batters, changed all that, opening a new front against the US actor by claiming that he and other celebrity campaigners for veganism had played a part in demonising the UK’s meat producers and doing “enormous damage” to their wellbeing. Continue reading...

Money will go to Eastern Australia Agriculture – founded by energy minister Angus Taylor – for additional water to save rare wetlandsThe federal government is spending up to $2m buying water from Queensland agribusiness Eastern Australia Agriculture in a bid to keep an internationally significant wetlands from dying, despite paying $80m to the same company three years ago for water rights for the same purpose.The $80m purchase of overland flows from Eastern Australia Agriculture has been controversial and is now under scrutiny by Australian National Audit Office. Continue reading...

Protecting against coastal flooding, boosting recycling and ensuring water security are now high priority initiativesRising sea levels, water security and waste management are among the environmental challenges that Infrastructure Australia has, for the first time, elevated to the top tier of its priorities list.In its latest list, to be released on Wednesday, Infrastructure Australia said it was elevating environmental concerns because climate change was altering the water cycle and was projected to cause sea level rises of 0.4 to 0.6 metres. It also cited a renewed focus on “resilience” in the face of natural disasters. Continue reading...

Industry’s largest financier pledges to end loans to Arctic oil drillers and coalminersJP Morgan Chase is to end fossil fuel loans for Arctic oil drilling and phase out loans for coal mining under new climate initiatives.The world’s largest financier of fossil fuels set out its plans at an investor event on Tuesday, days after the bank’s economists warned that the climate crisis threatened the survival of humanity. Continue reading...