Environment | The Guardian

Animal Aid, CND and Extinction Rebellion among those saying rights violatedPeaceful protest groups listed in a counter-terrorism guide used as part of anti-extremism briefings are threatening legal action unless it is withdrawn.The Guardian revealed on Friday that Greenpeace, Peta and other non-violent groups were listed alongside neo-Nazis in the document used as part of training for Prevent, the anti-radicalisation scheme designed to catch those at risk of committing terrorist violence. Continue reading...

Former US presidential candidate tells global elite that crisis is a ‘challenge to our moral imagination’Former US vice-president Al Gore has tried to mobilise the global elite to fight the climate crisis by comparing it to some of history’s greatest battles, from Agincourt to Dunkirk.Gore told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the scale of the climate emergency was much worse than people recognise, and getting worse much faster than people recognise. Continue reading...

Highest levels of PFAS in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, report by environmental watchdog findsThe contamination of US drinking water with manmade “forever chemicals” is far worse than previously estimated with some of the highest levels found in Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans, said a report on Wednesday by an environmental watchdog group.The chemicals, resistant to breaking down in the environment, are known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Some have been linked to cancers, liver damage, low birth weight and other health problems. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage from the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Prince Charles calls on global elite to build sustainable economies

Bank of England governor backs environmental activist’s stance on global heatingMark Carney has provided backing for Greta Thunberg in her clash with Donald Trump, contrasting the contribution the teenage activist has made towards tackling the climate emergency with the White House’s less helpful approach.Speaking at an event hosted by Bloomberg in Davos, the Bank of England governor said Thunberg was correct to point out that the world was rapidly using up its remaining carbon budget and that the US stance made tackling global heating more difficult. Continue reading...

As the climate crisis worsens, there are currently no federal safety protections for workers in extreme temperaturesIt was more than 100F (38C) in the attic where telephone technician Brent Robinson was working.The 55-year-old, who had worked for 30 years at Verizon, was installing a phone service for a residential customer in Rancho Cucamonga, 40 miles east of Los Angeles in southern California. Continue reading...

Randomly selected 110-strong panel will try to come up with a plan to tackle global heatingOrdinary people from across the UK – potentially including climate deniers – will take part in the first ever citizens’ climate assembly this weekend.Mirroring the model adopted in France by Emmanuel Macron, 110 people from all walks of life will begin deliberations on Saturday to come up with a plan to tackle global heating and meet the government’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Continue reading...

Conservation group say the Norwegian energy giant refused to formally consult with affected groupsThe Wilderness Society has launched legal action challenging the environmental approval granted to Norwegian energy giant Equinor to explore for oil in the Great Australian Bight.The conservation group had flagged a possible court case after the proposal to deepwater drill in the Great Australian Bight Marine Park was approved by the federal offshore petroleum regulator in December. It was the second, and most significant, of four regulatory hurdles Equinor needs to clear before it can drill. Continue reading...

Turnbull says US president is ‘actively working against global action to reduce emissions’Donald Trump is the world’s “leading climate denier”, the former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said.Turnbull, who lost the prime ministership in August 2018 in part because of his own party’s opposition to his plans to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, made the comments to BBC Newsnight on Tuesday (Wednesday morning, Australian time). Continue reading...

Exclusive: Bus company’s CEO Alex de Waal resigns from board of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation after support for coal project declared ‘clear conflict’A Great Barrier Reef conservation organisation has ended its partnership with bus company Greyhound just hours after Guardian Australia revealed the company’s contract at the controversial Adani coal project in Queensland.Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation held an emergency board meeting at 8am today, where its chairman Alex de Waal, who is the chief executive of Greyhound Australia, resigned. Continue reading...

National Weather Service warned of reptiles falling from trees as iguanas are susceptible to freezing once temperatures fall to 40FThe National Weather Service (NWS) took the unusual step on Tuesday of warning that frozen iguanas are expected to shower south Florida as temperatures drop to unusually low levels for the region overnight.Iguanas, as it turns out, are susceptible to freezing once temperatures drop to around 40F (4.44C). When frozen, these cold-blooded creatures lose their grip on the cozy trees they call home and slip. But the experts informed the public to be aware that the chilled reptiles may be stiff and appear lifeless – but they are not dead. Continue reading...

Springwatch presenter laments past failure of environmental shows to spark actionWildlife and environmental TV programmes have “failed wholeheartedly” in the past to spark action on the climate, biodiversity loss and the growing human population, Chris Packham has told an audience of TV executives.The Springwatch presenter said that although recent series had “turned a corner”, programme-makers must “shout more loudly” to tell the truth about environmental crises and call out politicians’ lies. Continue reading...

The first day of the World Economic Forum has been dominated by Donald Trump’s special address, and climate activist Greta Thunberg

Rapidly growing sector could prove lucrative as Britain seeks post-Brexit trade opportunitiesUK investors could seize a $24bn investment opportunity by helping to connect millions of people without access to electricity to off-grid home solar power systems.The market for pay-as-you-go home solar packages is expected to boom in Africa, where millions of homes are using mobile technology to rent low-cost solar panels. Continue reading...

Cabinet remains unified around Coalition emissions reduction target of 26% to 28% of 2005 levels by 2030Scott Morrison’s senior ministers discussed how best to reposition the government’s climate change policies in a cabinet meeting on Monday.After Morrison claimed that there were no members of his frontbench wanting stronger action on climate change policy, sources have told Guardian Australia that ministers discussed the issue at length in the cabinet meeting that followed in Canberra that day. Continue reading...

Exclusive: anti-Adani campaigners may protest bus company’s involvement in controversial mine, email tells workersThe boss of the Australian bus company Greyhound has warned its workers they could be caught “in the crossfire” after signing a contract to help build the Adani coal project in Queensland.The email from the chief executive, Alex de Waal, seen by Guardian Australia, asked staff not to “undermine your colleagues or brand” by sharing internal updates or posting to social media. Continue reading...

Bank vows to create ‘green products and services’ such as energy efficiency mortgagesEnvironmental campaigners have welcomed a pledge by Lloyds Banking Group to halve the amount of carbon emissions it finances through personal and business loans by 2030.The commitment comes as lenders face heightened criticism over their role in fuelling the climate crisis by funding projects and companies that rely heavily on fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Book aims to raise awareness of conservation – and some much-needed fundingFrom stories about capercaillies strutting around like “cocksure” hedge fund managers to corn buntings shrieking like old fruit sellers, Britain’s nature writers, artists and scientists have flocked together to create an illustrated book celebrating 67 of the country’s most endangered birds.Red Sixty Seven is an elegy to the growing number of British birds on the “red list” of highly vulnerable species drawn up by conservation scientists for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Continue reading...

Comment came as Greta Thunberg demanded immediate action in Davos

Transporting more livestock will increase transmission of diseases, including some that could also threaten humans

Rift Valley fever led to temporary block on trade, with devastating impact on farmers and livestock

This year could be crucial in determining the response to the environmental crisesWorld leaders and business chiefs meeting in Davos this week will be confronted for the first time with an agenda on which the climate and ecological crises take top billing. Financial and economic concerns have been shunted down the list of priorities in favour of five environmental issues: climate breakdown and extreme weather; failure to mitigate or adapt to climate change; human-made pollution; biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse; and natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.Green campaigners and social and human rights activists have been raising concerns on all of these for more than two decades, but it seems that finally the world’s powers are paying attention. In some cases it may be too late to act to avoid the consequences of the delay in taking action. Continue reading...

Report highlights financial support given to hydrocarbon sector by 24 institutionsThe world’s leading financial institutions have been accused of hypocrisy over the climate emergency, after providing significant support for the fossil fuel industry over the last five years.A report by Greenpeace, the environmental group, highlights that 24 banks which regularly attend the World Economic Forum in Davos have provided $1.4tn (£1.1tn) of financial support for the hydrocarbon sector since the Paris agreement set new emissions reduction goals in 2015. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

Annual CEO survey found 65% of bosses were worried about climate, even before the bushfire crisis peakedAustralian company bosses are becoming increasingly concerned about the climate crisis and are expecting tough economic times in the year ahead, a new survey shows.Global accounting firm PwC’s annual survey of CEOs shows bosses are preparing to cut jobs and don’t think Australian business and government is doing enough to deal with global heating – a dismal picture that is set to get worse once the effects of the past month’s deadly bushfires take hold. Continue reading...

Sara Khan calls for clarity after non-violent groups feature in counter-terror materialThe government’s chief adviser on extremism has called for a clearer official definition of extremism in the light of revelations that Extinction Rebellion and other non-violent groups have featured in counter-terrorism materials.Against a backdrop of increasing political pressure to investigate the error, Sara Khan, who leads the commission for countering extremism (CCE), said police chiefs were right to recall guidance that batched XR alongside violent neo-Nazis and jihadists. Continue reading...

Environmentalists say incinerating a vast stockpile of firefighting foam containing harmful PFAS is putting communities at riskThe Department of Defense is polluting the environment with toxic chemicals by continuing to incinerate a vast stockpile of firefighting foam in a move environmentalists say is in breach of new regulations.In a letter sent last week to the secretary of defense, Mark Esper, several environmental organizations argue the defense department is already out of compliance with new provisions regulating the disposal of the material and insist that it “immediately cease” incineration of the foam – called AFFF – which puts communities at risk. Continue reading...

Sainsbury’s, Lego and H&M feature on list that rewards shift to renewable energy and reducing emissions

Hail smashes into Parliament House and brings down trees in the ACT, with heavy rainfall hitting NSW, Queensland and VictoriaAustralia’s south-east has been lashed by severe thunderstorms and large hailstones that destroyed buildings and cars in Canberra and left two tourists in hospital after they were injured by lightning.Two supercell thunderstorms brought hail and heavy rain to cities and towns across the east coast on Monday, battering the outer suburbs of Sydney about 3pm, with 4.5cm hailstones recorded and strong winds bringing trees down over cars in the Sutherland area. Continue reading...

Yorkshire campaigners shine spotlight on water firms’ practice of discharging untreated sewage into riversLocal people in a Yorkshire town are pressing for their river to become the first in the UK to be designated as a bathing area to force the authorities to clean up the water they say is being used as an open sewer.In the spa town of Ilkley a grassroots campaign has uncovered the regular and routine dumping of untreated sewage by Yorkshire Water – with the approval of the Environment Agency – into the River Wharfe. Continue reading...

Ahead of the World Economic Forum, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema urges governments to take definitive action on climate, deforestation and pollutionHumanity will have given up on planet Earth if world leaders cannot reach an agreement this year to stop the mass extinction of wildlife and destruction of life-supporting ecosystems, the United Nation’s new biodiversity chief has warned.Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the acting executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, has implored governments to ensure 2020 is not just another “year of conferences” on the ongoing ecological destruction of the planet, urging countries to take definitive action on deforestation, pollution and the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Nearly 50 threatened species believed to have had more than 80% of their area affected, including seven critically endangered plantsNearly 50 nationally threatened animal and plant species are believed to have had at least 80% of the area in which they live affected by bushfire, a federal environment department analysis has found.Another 65 have had more than half their area in the fire zone. Scientists have warned some affected species could be pushed to extinction. Continue reading...

32 schemes eligible for funding despite being unnecessary under move from fossil fuels

Some companies have taken steps to combat crisis but report says more could be doneThe world’s energy watchdog has warned the oil and gas industry that it risks a public backlash by failing to act on the climate crisis in favour of making short-term profits.The International Energy Agency (IEA) said oil companies must balance their desire for near-term returns and a long-term future by playing a much more significant role in combating the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Videos posted to social media show the clouds turning day into night in some areasDamaging winds produced by thunderstorms across central New South Wales have whipped up dust storms that turned daytime into night in some towns.The Bureau of Meteorology issued a series of severe thunderstorm warnings on Sunday evening for inland NSW with the associated winds generating massive dust clouds. Continue reading...

PM rebukes NSW environment minister over call to review emissions policy, saying most of the federal cabinet wouldn’t know who Kean wasScott Morrison has issued an extraordinary rebuke of the New South Wales environment minister, Matt Kean, for suggesting federal Liberals are pushing the government to increase its ambition on emissions reduction.Asked about Kean’s call for the federal government to abandon its use of Kyoto carryover credits to meet its 2030 emissions target, Morrison told ABC’s AM that “Matt Kean doesn’t know what he’s talking about, he doesn’t know what’s going on in the federal cabinet [and] most of the federal cabinet wouldn’t even know who Matt Kean was”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: New documents raise further questions about deal with company founded by energy minister Angus TaylorThe government rejected several offers from Eastern Australia Agriculture over the past decade to sell its overland-flow water rights because the deals were “not value for money”, before paying $80m for the same rights, new documents show.The water purchase in the Condamine Balonne catchment has been controversial because it cost taxpayers $80m, was concluded without tender and the company was founded by the energy minister, Angus Taylor. Continue reading...

Awareness training across London led to ‘intelligence’ tip-offs, according to reportA police force in London labelled Extinction Rebellion one of its “key threats” in a counter-terrorism assessment and provided awareness training on the climate crisis group across the capital, resulting in “intelligence” tip-offs.City of London police grouped the environmental protest movement alongside “far-right organisations” in an assessment of its counter-terrorism operations seen by the Guardian. Continue reading...

East Yorkshire councillors bemoan lack of national guidance and funding

Plastic bags to be banned in all major cities by end of 2020, says state plannerChina is stepping up restrictions on the production, sale and use of single-use plastic products, according to the state planner, as it seeks to tackle one of the country’s biggest environmental problems.Vast amounts of untreated plastic waste are buried in landfills or dumped in rivers. The United Nations has identified single-use plastics as one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges. Continue reading...

The population is down to six. But the community believes its radical experiment could be the key to the Hebrides’ futureAt Scotland’s western edge, made jagged by ancient elements, a new model for living is taking shape. Ulva, a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Mull, is beginning to reverse decades of population decline.The island’s current population is six but before another generation has passed it’s expected to grow tenfold. Once, it had a population of more than 800 but many were driven out, their homes set alight by brutal landowners who replaced them with more economically sound sheep. Continue reading...

The lions, which live on the edge of the national park, will be moved to avoid conflicts with people and livestockTanzania will find a new home for 36 lions following a slew of attacks by the big cats on people and cattle.The lions, an increasingly endangered species, live on the edge of the safari mecca of the Serengeti national park, but have been affected by encroaching human activity. Continue reading...

Planning experts call for state governments to buy back land from people in most bushfire-prone areasState governments have been warned against promising to recreate some communities destroyed by the bushfire crisis and urged to consider preventing homeowners from rebuilding their homes in the riskiest areas.Three planning experts, including two who appeared on a planning panel convened for the Victorian Black Saturday royal commission, told Guardian Australia to avoid repeating what they considered the mistakes of past bushfire recoveries. Continue reading...

Despite the climate crisis, ‘no emission spared’ round-the-world holidays in private jets are selling outForget cruises. The super-rich have found a new way to see the world in the luxurious style of an ocean liner but taking a fraction of the time: private jet round-the-world tours.This week, 50 members of the wealthy elite will board a privately chartered Boeing 757 to begin a 24-day guided tour of the globe, taking in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, the Galápagos islands and mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Continue reading...

Giant sequoias were thought to be immune to insects, drought and wildfires. Then the unthinkable happened: trees started to die – and scientists began the search for answers

Deadly interaction between insects, drought and fire damage have forced California’s park officials to trigger climate crisis plans intended for the 2050s

Jane Shepherdson introduces her new fashion rental site My Wardrobe HQ as shoppers warm to hiring other people’s outfitsJane Shepherdson was once named the most powerful woman in British fashion. As the boss of Topshop when it ruled the high street and delivered £100m in profit a year for Philip Green’s Arcadia retail empire, she was the high priestess of fast fashion. But times have changed: Shepherdson now wants us to ditch the shopping bags and get our style fix by renting everything from dresses to sunglasses and shoes instead.Related: Is fast fashion giving way to the sustainable wardrobe? Continue reading...

Residents on fastest-eroding coastline in northern Europe told of ‘imminent risk’For those who long to live by the sea, the thought of gently breaking waves and waking by the beach sums up the irresistible charm of coastal life. But not, perhaps, in the Yorkshire village of Skipsea.Residents in the tiny seaside parish were warned this week that a large number of homes are at “imminent risk” of tumbling into the North Sea within 12 months because of the rapid erosion of the East Yorkshire coast. Continue reading...

Ecologist fears the Macleay River may take decades to recover, with heavy rains likely to affect other waterwaysHundreds of thousands of native fish are estimated to have died in northern New South Wales after rains washed ash and sludge from bushfires into the Macleay River.Parts of the Macleay River – favoured by recreational fishers – have been turned into what locals described as “runny cake mix” that stank of rotting vegetation and dead fish. Continue reading...