Data shows while emissions from electricity sector are in decline, gains have been wiped out by increases from other industriesAustralia’s annual carbon emissions have reached a new high and drops in emissions from the electricity sector have been wiped out by increases from other industries, according to new data.Ndevr Environmental, an emissions-tracking organisation that releases quarterly greenhouse gas emissions data, said on Thursday that annual emissions for the year up to December 2018 increased to 558.4m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. It was the highest level on record when excluding unreliable land use data. Continue reading...

Toxic fumes blamed for making more than 500 people ill near the industrial town of Pasir GudangMore than 100 schools in Malaysia have been closed after the dumping of toxic waste into a river caused hundreds of people to fall ill, including many children, authorities said.A lorry is believed to have dumped the waste in southern Johor state last week, sending hazardous fumes across a wide area and causing those affected to display symptoms of poisoning such as nausea and vomiting. Continue reading...

Environment department ‘cherry picked’ data to claim clearing has decreased, but figures show recent steady increaseTwo of Australia’s largest environment groups have accused the federal environment department of providing inaccurate information about land clearing to the Senate, and of not acting to reduce habitat loss.The Australian Conservation Foundation and WWF Australia say the department has “cherry picked” data to claim that land clearing in Queensland has decreased, when national figures on land clearing rates in that state in fact show increases since 2011. Continue reading...

A Senate committee has been told water buybacks are cost effective and savings should go to creating jobs in rural areasA Senate committee examining whether to lift the current cap on water buybacks has heard evidence that it would be cheaper to buy more water from farmers and then inject savings into rural communities to create other types of jobs than opt for water-savings projects – but the federal government has never explored the option.The committee is examining legislation, backed by Labor, the Greens and independents to repeal the cap that prevents more than 1,500 gigalitres of water being bought back from agriculture to assist the environment. Continue reading...

Young activists and our columnist answer your questions as pupils around the world stage climate strikes

Temperatures likely to rise by 3-5C above pre-industrial levels even if Paris goals metSharp and potentially devastating temperature rises of 3C to 5C in the Arctic are now inevitable even if the world succeeds in cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris agreement, research has found.Winter temperatures at the north pole are likely to rise by at least 3C above pre-industrial levels by mid-century, and there could be further rises to between 5C and 9C above the recent average for the region, according to the UN. Continue reading...

Environmental groups say chancellor’s climate change pledges do not go far enoughGas boilers will be replaced by low-carbon heating systems in all new homes built after 2025 in an attempt to tackle the escalating climate crisis, Philip Hammond has said.In his spring statement, the chancellor said new properties would use alternative systems, such as heat pumps, to help the UK reduce its carbon emissions. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Aurizon, which is in negotiations with Adani, accused of bullying ‘concerned citizens’The freight rail operator Aurizon has launched legal action against five environmental activists and is seeking $375,000 in compensation for a series of recent protests that stopped coal trains.Aurizon lodged a statement of claim in the Queensland supreme court in January against the group Frontline Action on Coal (Flac) Incorporated, seeking “user-rent” from the organisation as damages for five separate protests in December and January that blocked the rail line. Continue reading...

Ten models found to be emitting more greenhouse gases than certified initiallyJaguar Land Rover has been forced to recall more than 44,000 cars for repairs after UK regulators found some models were emitting more carbon dioxide than previously thought.The Vehicle Certification Agency found 10 models for the Land Rover and Jaguar brands were emitting more greenhouse gases than had been certified initially. JLR then informed the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which handles recalls, of the findings. Continue reading...

Environment groups, councils and London mayor challenge airport expansion in high courtThe decision to expand Heathrow airport with a third runway was unlawful because it failed to consider the full impacts of climate change and the need for more stringent targets to avoid catastrophic global warming, the high court has been told.Friends of the Earth on Wednesday accused the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, of acting unlawfully when he agreed to the expansion, which is contained in the government’s airports national policy statement. Continue reading...

Reports have emerged that Daniel Craig will get behind the wheel of a zero-emissions motor in his latest adventure – only £250,000 to dedicated fansLong-haul flights, tons of guns and a bagpipe flamethrower: such are the special demands of his career that James Bond has never been considered a poster boy for an eco-friendly lifestyle. But next year’s 25th Bond film looks set to have Ian Fleming’s hero make his first concession to climate change, by driving an electric Aston Martin – albeit one which retails at £250,000.According to reports, the film – whose working title of Shatterhand was recently debunked – will see Daniel Craig’s 007 behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Rapide E, one of only 155 electric cars being built by the British manufacturer. Continue reading...

Air quality has become a key political issue after record pollution levels hit the country last weekSouth Korea has passed emergency measures to tackle the “social disaster” being unleashed by air pollution, after record levels of fine dust blanketed most of the country in recent weeks.The national assembly passed a series of bills on Wednesday giving authorities access to emergency funds for measures that include the mandatory installation of high-capacity air purifiers in classrooms and encouraging sales of liquified petroleum gas vehicles, which produce lower emissions than those that run on petrol and diesel. Continue reading...

State Labor leader says education is ‘bigger than the classroom’ as he applauds students for ‘standing up and taking action’The New South Wales opposition leader, Michael Daley, has backed the state’s schoolchildren striking and attending rallies on climate change, saying it was a democratic right to protest and “an important way to realise their own personal power”.Speaking at a National Press Club event in Sydney, Daley said he supported the rallies on Friday, even though he might soon be the premier and responsible for ensuring children attend school. Continue reading...

Environmentalists ‘stoked’ by expansion they say will protect blue duck, native kaka bird, bats and giant land snailsA national park in New Zealand has been expanded by 64,000 hectares – the largest gain for a national park in the country’s history.Kahurangi national park is situated in the north-west corner of New Zealand’s South Island, and is already the second-largest national park in the country. Continue reading...

Scientists map out threats faced by thousands of species of birds, mammals and amphibiansMore than 1,200 species globally face threats to their survival in more than 90% of their habitat and “will almost certainly face extinction” without conservation intervention, according to new research.Scientists working with Australia’s University of Queensland and the Wildlife Conservation Society have mapped threats faced by 5,457 species of birds, mammals and amphibians to determine which parts of a species’ habitat range are most affected by known drivers of biodiversity loss. Continue reading...

At this point of crisis we must bypass rhetoric and political posturing

Our wide brown land series is coming to an end. As we launch the editorial appeal for The Frontline: Australia and the climate emergency, we look back at the impact it made

The new sites created by a sweeping public lands bill have been years in the making – here’s our guide

Foreign influence register reveals Bindi Gove lobbying for Equinor, which is wanting to drill in Great Australian BightThe chief of staff to the former Labor resources minister Martin Ferguson is lobbying for a Norwegian oil giant seeking to drill in the Great Australian Bight.The release of the government’s new foreign influence register has revealed the lobbying activities of individuals and companies who are otherwise hidden by Australia’s deeply flawed, decade-old lobbyist transparency regime. Continue reading...

Extraction also causes 80% of biodiversity loss, according to comprehensive UN studyExtraction industries are responsible for half of the world’s carbon emissions and more than 80% of biodiversity loss, according to the most comprehensive environmental tally undertaken of mining and farming.While this is crucial for food, fuel and minerals, the study by UN Environment warns the increasing material weight of the world’s economies is putting a more dangerous level of stress on the climate and natural life-support systems than previously thought. Continue reading...

Researchers say dirty air is killing 800,000 people a year in Europe, and urge the phasing out of fossil fuel burningThe number of early deaths caused by air pollution is double previous estimates, according to research, meaning toxic air is killing more people than tobacco smoking.The scientists used new data to estimate that nearly 800,000 people die prematurely each year in Europe because of dirty air, and that each life is cut short by an average of more than two years. The health damage caused by air pollution in Europe is higher than the global average. Its dense population and poor air results in exposure that is among the highest in the world. Continue reading...

Environmental groups oppose the underwater pipeline that would bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New YorkA battle is erupting over a proposed gas pipeline on the doorstep of New York City, with environmental groups claiming the project is unnecessary and would lock in planet-warming emissions for decades to come.Energy company Williams, based in Oklahoma, plans to build a 23-mile-long underwater pipeline through New York’s lower bay to bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New York. The $1bn project would link existing infrastructure in New Jersey, to the Rockaways in the New York borough of Queens. Continue reading...

Angus Taylor says Coalition assessing new projects despite pushback from moderate Liberals, but says taxpayers will only support ‘viable’ projectsThe energy minister Angus Taylor has confirmed the Morrison government is continuing to assess new coal generation projects despite pushback from moderate Liberals, but he says taxpayers will only support projects that are “viable”.In a statement to Guardian Australia, Taylor confirmed the government was continuing to consider 10 coal projects through its power generation underwriting program, as well as new gas and pumped hydro proposals. Continue reading...

UN warns of global failure to tackle hazards – with risks ranging from cancer to coral damage

Alexandria Villasenor is among the American student activists joining the global fray and helping to organize the first nationwide strike on 15 MarchAlexandria Villasenor looks a slightly incongruous figure to stage a lengthy protest over the perils of catastrophic global warming. The 13-year-old, wrapped in a coat and a woolen hat, has spent every Friday since December seated on a frigid bench outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City with signs warning of climate change’s dire consequences.Most passersby, probably hardened to confronting New York street scenes, scurry past, eyes diverted downwards. But some mutter words of support, while the odd passing driver rolls down their window to offer a thumbs up. Continue reading...

The legislation, if signed, would see the state become the first in the US to legalize the alternative to cremation and burialWhen Briar Bates was dying she made a request to her friend, Katrina Morgan: bury me in my garden.As a 42-year-old artist and landscape designer, Bates had spent years tending to her garden on Vashon Island, Washington, and didn’t want to leave it behind when she died, according to Morgan. Continue reading...

It is no surprise that the government’s strategy on fracking has been deemed unlawful, write Robin Russell-Jones and Geraint Davies. Carbon emissions will be even lower if the gas boiler is run on hydrogen gas, writes Carl Arntzen. And Stephen Martin and Stephen Sterling say wealth redistribution is needed to reduce global warmingIt is no surprise that the government’s strategy on fracking has been deemed unlawful (Fracking guidance illegally ignores climate change, 7 March). Gas may be more fuel efficient than coal when burnt, but shale gas is 95% methane, and methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. According to the IPCC it has a global warming potential (GWP) 85 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe. Misleadingly, HMG have relied on an obsolete figure of 36 for the GWP of methane, dating back to 2013.Methane levels plateaued in the late 1990s, but have started to increase again over the past decade and have now reached 1,900 parts per billion, against a pre-industrial level of 700. Fracking is the obvious culprit. Satellite data over the US has shown that methane leakage exceeds 5% of shale gas production, an observation that fits with more recent studies by Nasa showing that fossil fuels are the major contributor to the continuing rise in atmospheric methane. Continue reading...

High court to hear five challenges to plans for UK’s biggest aviation hubFive judicial reviews challenging the legality of the government’s decision to allow a third runway at Heathrow airport have begun in the high court.Protesters against the decision by the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, to approve the expansion demonstrated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday before the start of the hearing. Continue reading...

Australian Electoral Commission unable to take further action as Facebook page carried an authorisationElectoral authorities say they are powerless to take further action over a lack of transparency on pro-coal Facebook advertisements linked to a secret Glencore-funded campaign.Last week, the Guardian revealed that Glencore, the multinational mining giant, had funded a vast, covert campaign to bolster support for coal, run by political operatives at the C|T Group. Continue reading...

Rainer Schimpf got swept into the mouth of a Bryde’s whale off coast of Port ElizabethLike the Bible’s Jonah, a South African marine conservationist has narrowly survived after being caught in the jaws of a whale.Rainer Schimpf, 51, was swept into the mouth of a large Bryde’s whale off the coast of the South African town of Port Elizabeth while snorkelling and filming a sardine run last month. Continue reading...

Family escapes unhurt after research station burns down on remote Shetland islandThe directors of a world-renowned bird observatory on the remote island of Fair Isle, which was destroyed by fire on Sunday, hope to quickly rebuild the research station.The observatory, based in a two-storey wooden lodge that opened to visitors in 2011, was razed to the ground after a fire broke out on Sunday morning and quickly took hold. Continue reading...

Mesophotic underwater ecosystem off Puglia could be tens of kilometres longThe first coral reef in Italy has been identified, according to researchers.The underwater ecosystem extends for at least two and a half kilometres on the Adriatic coast near Monopoli, in Puglia. Continue reading...

Research finds ‘nurdles’ washed up on Scottish beaches tainted with E coli, with potentially far-reaching health implicationsDangerous sewage pathogens have been found “hitch-hiking” on plastic litter washed up on some of Scotland’s finest bathing beaches, raising concerns from scientists the phenomenon could have far-reaching implications for human health worldwide.The findings, by the University of Stirling, have confirmed environmentalists’ fears that ubiquitous, persistent and tiny plastic beads, or “nurdles”, found on beaches and in rivers and seas around the world, act as rafts for harmful bacteria, transporting them from sewage outfalls and agricultural runoff to bathing waters and shellfish beds. Continue reading...

Public Health England calls for raft of urgent measures to tackle air pollutionCars should be banned from idling near schools and congestioncharges imposed across the UK as part of measures recommended by the government public health agency.In a report on Monday, Public Health England (PHE) said up to 36,000 people were dying each year from human-made air pollution. Continue reading...

Eight years after the disaster, not a single location will take the millions of cubic metres of radioactive soil that remainNot even the icy wind blowing in from the coast seems to bother the men in protective masks, helmets and gloves, playing their part in the world’s biggest nuclear cleanup.Related: Eight years after Fukushima, what has made evacuees come home? Continue reading...

The inhabitants of a remote village at the heart of India’s coal industry brave deadly sinkholes and toxic gases simply to surviveIn the village of Liloripathra, in a remote corner of India’s eastern Jharkhand state, mother-of-three Sushila Devi grips the hands of two women sitting on either side of her. Coal fires spew clouds of smoke into the already heavy, polluted air.At about 8pm, a policeman cradling a small body wrapped in black plastic bags emerges through the smoke and the crowds that have gathered around her home. He has come to deliver the body of her 13-year-old daughter Chanda, killed along with two others from the village when a coal mine caved in on top of them. They had been scavenging in a colliery operated by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), a subsidiary of state-owned Coal India. Continue reading...

In November, Scott Morrison told the striking students to ‘go to school’ – this time even more of them will strikeFour months on, 17-year-old Doha Khan says the school climate strikers have learned a lot.On Friday, thousands of primary and high school students are again planning to walk out of class across the country, protesting against the government’s inaction on climate change, and what they see as the destruction of their future. Continue reading...

Bid to keep the spotlight on the Coalition and on Labor which is yet to decide if it will follow suitThe Greens will use the resumption of parliament for the looming budget session to try to extract documents associated with the Morrison government’s decision to use carry-over credits from the Kyoto period to meet the Paris 2030 target.The move by the Greens to extract documents relevant to the decision is an effort to keep the spotlight both on the Coalition’s decision to count a 367-megatonne contribution from carry-over credits, and also on Labor, with the opposition yet to take a decision on whether it will follow suit. Continue reading...

Tens of thousands were evacuated after the tsunami and nuclear meltdown in March 2011. Less than a quarter have returned. Some of those who did explain whyOn 11 March 2011, one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded struck Japan’s north-east coast, triggering a tsunami that killed almost 19,000 people. In Fukushima, the waves’ destructive power unleashed another menace – a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.Radiation forced tens of thousands to evacuate, turning towns and villages into no-go zones. Today, neighbourhoods closest to the plant are trapped in time. Homes have fallen into disrepair and weeds and other plants have been left to swallow up pavements, roads and once well-tended gardens, while boar and other wild animals roam the streets. Continue reading...

Nationals leader talks tough on energy in face of demoralised party room, saying he stands for affordable powerThe deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, has suggested renewable energy will eliminate night sport in Australia, declaring voters can “forget night footy” and “forget night cricket” if Labor wins the election and legislates a 45% emissions reduction target, or if Australia moves in the direction of an electricity grid powered by renewables.McCormack, who heads a demoralised party room, and has had the former party leader Barnaby Joyce signalling in recent days he wants to return to the top job, claimed on Sunday it was “nonsense claptrap”, “rubbish” and “absolute garbage” that Australia could provide its energy needs from 100% renewables. Continue reading...

The two groups are affected the most by environmental degradation and pollution, but they often feel left out of the movementBernadette Demientieff, a representative for the indigenous Gwich’in nation, finds Washington DC anxiety-inducing, especially compared to the wide open spaces and tall mountains of Alaska.She makes frequent trips to the US capital to fight oil drilling in what she considers sacred caribou calving grounds in the Arctic. But Demientieff is an outsider in the nation’s capital, where her concerns have fallen on deaf ears with the Trump administration. She’s also a bit of an outsider to the national environmental movement, too. Continue reading...

Government has failed to live up to its protection standards promise, say green organisationsFive leading green organisations have called on Theresa May to delay Brexit to avoid losing environmental protections created by “decades of campaigning”.Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace UK, Green Alliance, E3G and ChemTrust have said the prime minister should try to extend article 50 because the government has failed to live up to its promise that existing environmental standards would be maintained or even enhanced. Continue reading...

The Kent foodie town will harvest three million rock oysters this year, but some say local waters have now become a danger-zoneThe harvesting of oysters on the mudflats of the Thames estuary has helped transform Whitstable, the quaint seaside town on the north-east Kent coast, from a neglected backwater into a foodie mecca.At weekends its narrow pavements are packed with day trippers beating a path to one of its many shellfish shacks or restaurants where half a dozen freshly shucked native oysters, the local, highly prized, wild variety, will set you back £15. Continue reading...

Hyke gin is part of effort to drive down UK’s annual £20bn food waste billA major British fruit supplier and a craft spirits producer have teamed up to find a way to prevent an estimated 166m surplus supermarket grapes from going to waste every year – by turning them into gin.The new Hyke gin – the first in the UK to be made from grapes grown to be eaten fresh – goes on sale at 300 Tesco branches later this month. Continue reading...

The canyon, which turns 100 this year, sees 6 million annual visitors. An Arizona travel writer reveals how to get off the beaten trackThe Grand Canyon is already a pretty famous hole in the ground in Arizona. Now, with Grand Canyon national park celebrating its centennial in 2019, it’s receiving an additional jolt of publicity. Six million people visit each year, and if you happen to be there on a holiday weekend, it feels like you’re stuck behind all of them.Yet here’s the thing – Grand Canyon is big, an immense tear in the earth’s fabric 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep. So it’s not hard to find privacy if you know where to look. Here are some tips to get you started. Continue reading...

Park in DRC was shut last year for more than eight months after series of attacks on staffA forest ranger has been killed in Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, weeks after the reserve was reopened to tourists.Virunga, home to critically endangered mountain gorillas as well as hundreds of other rare species, was shut for more than eight months for a review of security after a series of attacks on staff last year. Continue reading...

World’s largest sovereign wealth fund was created to invest North Sea oil profitsThe world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, which manages $1tn (£770bn) of Norway’s assets, is to dump investments in firms that explore for oil and gas, but will still hold stakes in firms such as BP and Shell that have renewable energy divisions.The Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), whose assets exceed those of rival sovereign wealth funds such as China’s, said it would phase out oil exploration from its “investment universe”. Continue reading...

Bison in snow, a wolf puppy and the world’s only alpine parrot in this week’s gallery Continue reading...

Days before Brexit vote, Labour leader says party not ‘obsessed by constitutional questions’Jeremy Corbyn has downplayed the Brexit crisis by claiming poverty and climate change are far greater priorities for Labour and the country.Addressing Scottish Labour’s annual conference, Corbyn said his party was not “obsessed by constitutional questions, like the others are. We’re obsessed, absolutely obsessed, with tackling the problems people face in their daily lives”. Continue reading...

EDF Energy says cracks in offline Hunterston B reactor growing faster than expectedFootage has been released of cracks found inside a reactor at a nuclear plant in Scotland.The unit at Hunterston B in North Ayrshire has not been operating after the cracks were found to be growing faster than expected. Continue reading...