Environment | The Guardian

Damage to environment could wipe £368bn a year from growth by 2050 and UK will be hard hit, WWF warnsLoss of nature will wipe £368bn a year off global economic growth by 2050 and the UK will be the third-worst hit, with a £16bn annual loss, according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund.Without urgent action to protect nature, the environmental charity warned that the worldwide impact of coastal erosion, species loss and the decline of natural assets from forests to fisheries could cost a total of almost £8tn over the next 30 years. Continue reading...

Menindee’s Graeme McCrabb, who raised awareness of mass fish kills, says he is heartbroken by the state government’s decisionThe New South Wales government has given the green light to irrigation farmers in the north-west of the state to harvest the recent rainfall, pleasing some but causing anger in towns such as Menindee and Wilcannia and on the lower Darling where the river has not flowed for a year.The lifting of the embargo for three days will be welcomed particularly by cotton farmers who have lobbied the NSW water minister, Melinda Pavey, warning that unless they are able to harvest the water their infrastructure will be damaged. Continue reading...

In the wake of destruction caused by wildfires, most recently in Australia, experts are seeking ways of limiting their impact by managing forests betterVast waves of fire have torn through Australia in recent months, leaving forests of skinned trees in their wake. The wildfires have been one of the most damaging in the country’s history – more than 11m hectares (27m acres) have burned, killing 33 people and decimating wildlife populations.But they are just the latest in a succession of destructive blazes that have been flaring across the planet – even in the Arctic circle – in the past five years. The response from authorities, in Australia, the Americas and the Mediterranean often seems scrambled and ineffective. Continue reading...

Power baron questions whether there is sound business case for project, saying government would need to indemnify itPolitically connected power baron Trevor St Baker says there is no way a new coal-fired power plant will proceed at Collinsville unless the Morrison government agrees to shield the project from a change of climate policy.A day after Scott Morrison left open the option of his government indemnifying a new coal plant in Collinsville from future carbon risk, St Baker told Guardian Australia no project at that scale could proceed without an indemnity from the commonwealth. Continue reading...

Burning gas, coal and oil costs global economy $8bn a day and particularly harms childrenAir pollution from burning fossil fuels is responsible for more than 4m premature deaths around the world each year and costs the global economy about $8bn a day, according to a study.The report, from Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, found that burning gas, coal and oil causes three times the number of deaths as road traffic accidents globally. Continue reading...

PM brushes off Tory objections and says work on laying track could begin in AprilBoris Johnson has staked his political reputation on delivering a “new anatomy of British transport” that will boost capacity and cut fares and journey times, as Downing Street seized control of the HS2 project and promised massive new spending on infrastructure.Brushing off the objections of Tory MPs who warned him that the rail scheme would become an albatross around the government’s neck, the prime minister announced on Tuesday that work on laying the track could start as soon as April. Continue reading...

Campaigners concerned about lack of urgency over talks due to be hosted in GlasgowClimate protesters and youth activists must play a leading role in the UN climate talks to be hosted in Glasgow this year, Nicola Sturgeon has said, as she vowed to find ways to include civil society more fully in the negotiations.“It’s very important that we make sure COP26 is inclusive. I want a broad range of events to help ensure that everyone feels they have a part to play in this,” Scotland’s first minister said at a conference in London. “That’s the kind of movement we need to create around this, that can be a hugely powerful voice for change.” Continue reading...

The 93-year-old naturalist will look at how forces including weather, volcanoes sunlight and human activity shape the worldDavid Attenborough will host a “super-landmark” series for the BBC, A Perfect Planet, examining how forces including oceans and volcanoes shape the world’s ecosystems. The 93-year-old – who recently warned that humans had “overrun the world” while promoting another upcoming project, A Life on Our Planet, with Netflix and the WWF – will look at phenomena including the Indian monsoon and Arctic winters in the five-part series.The series will explore how weather, oceans, volcanoes and sunlight shape the natural world, from a weather system that effectively distributes water to “marine currents [which] deliver nutrients to even the deepest reaches of the ocean”. It will also focus on animals and how they react to their ecosystems, including the white wolves of Ellesmere Island in Canada and Chinese golden snub-nosed monkeys. Continue reading...

The hike in industrial carbon pollution over the past 15 years sets Australia on a path to missing its Paris targetIndustrial greenhouse gas emissions in Australia have risen 60% in the past 15 years, putting the country on a path that, if it continues, will lead to it missing the target set at the Paris climate conference.That is the conclusion of an analysis by energy and carbon consultants RepuTex, which examined the rise in industrial carbon pollution – including from oil and gas extraction, mining and large-scale transport – in the period covered by Australia’s 2030 emissions target, starting in 2005. Continue reading...

Stress, financial hardship and ill-health among lasting effects, researchers findChronic ill-health, loss of financial stability and anxiety brought on by heavy rainfall are just some of the enduring effects of flooding on individuals, according to the first UK study to examine the long-term impact on communities.As the aftermath of Storm Ciara brings disruption to Scotland and the north of England, the report highlights the importance of ongoing support for flooded households and communities. Continue reading...

At least 250 unaccounted for after heavy rainfall across Pacific north-west overwhelmed cage of fish waiting to be releasedA pioneering tribal biodiversity project to restore the sacred Pacific lamprey population has been dealt a major blow after huge floods washed away hundreds of fish before they could be released into the wild.The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) have spent two decades reintroducing the lamprey into tributaries of the Columbia River after US government dams and industrial fishing wiped out the endemic species. Continue reading...

Breathe GB warns of damage to lungs and performance in survey of training groundsBritain’s future sporting performance could be hampered by air pollution because some training grounds are in areas with dangerously high pollution levels, a report has revealed.The Breathe GB study analysed pollution levels at 94 sporting sites, with one of the highest recorded levels at Birmingham’s Perry Park, host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Continue reading...

Dozens of flood warnings still in place with heavy wind and rain due on SaturdayMPs have condemned the “completely unacceptable” failure of flood defences after parts of Yorkshire were under water for the second time in four years, with further downpours forecast.A second person died following Storm Ciara’s passage through Britain when a dog walker in his 60s was hit by a falling tree branch in Liverpool on Tuesday. Continue reading...

The Kangaroo Island dunnart is among the animals most in need of assistance, a government analysis has foundThe Kangaroo Island dunnart, the northern corroboree frog and the Blue Mountains water skink are among 113 species that need urgent attention after the bushfire crisis, according to a government analysis.Nineteen mammals, 13 birds, 20 reptiles, 17 frogs, five invertebrates, 22 crayfish and 17 fish species have been identified as the animals most in need of assistance in coming weeks and months. Continue reading...

PM says government is ‘not currently’ considering taxpayer indemnity from carbon risk, estimated at $17.5bnScott Morrison has left open the option of his government indemnifying a new coal plant in Collinsville from future carbon risk, despite moderate Liberals declaring there should be zero taxpayer support for the project.With Nationals and Liberals publicly at odds over new coal investments, and whether the government’s current climate change policies need a reboot, Labor asked the prime minister in question time whether the government was prepared to give the Collinsville project a taxpayer indemnity from carbon risk. Continue reading...

Co-chair of all-party parliamentary group on cycling and walking sets out a manifesto for active travelThe all-party parliamentary group for cycling and walking has, in collaboration with its 80 member groups, set out a manifesto for cycling and walking. The economic case for investment in these modes of travel is strong. We get £5.50 for every £1 we invest and the benefits are cross-cutting: a healthier population; stronger, safer local communities; better access to jobs and education; and lower levels of pollution.Almost three years ago the government committed to a cycling and walking investment strategy for England, with a stated aim to return walking levels to 300 stages (ie part of a journey) per person per year, double cycling stages by 2025 and increase walking to school. As many people pointed out at the time, the investment strategy had little in the way of actual investment. Indeed, dedicated funding for cycling from government since then has been sporadic and meagre, with only a handful of cities investing at the levels required to catch up with the level we see in neighbouring, successful countries for active travel such as the Netherlands. Continue reading...

Lost paths must be identified by government deadline to be added to official recordWalkers are being urged to help identify 10,000 miles of historic footpaths that are missing from the map in England and Wales and could be lost for ever.All rights of way must be identified before a government deadline of 2026, after which it will no longer be possible to add old paths to the official record. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Atlassian co-founder says the MP’s bill is the exact type of action we need and deserves bipartisan supportAtlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has thrown his support behind a climate action bill proposed by the independent Zali Steggall and has urged the major parties to put down the cudgels and support it.And the Australian Energy Council, representing major electricity and gas businesses, said the Steggall bill deserved to be seriously considered as it had the potential to deliver certainty and a path forward for the national economy. Continue reading...

Rainfall across the east coast is welcome news for the water grid as Sydney’s Warragamba dam levels reach 69% and continue to riseQueensland is bracing for more wild weather with storms forecast to lash the state’s southeast.Heavy falls are expected daily this week before becoming isolated to the state’s south-east corner into the weekend, bureau forecaster Kimba Wong said. Continue reading...

Global heating suspected to be behind sharp decline in populations across Antarctic islandsColonies of chinstrap penguins have fallen by more than half across islands in Antarctica, prompting scientific concern that “something is broken” in the world’s wildest ecosystem.After more than a month counting chicks in the South Shetland Islands, researchers suspect global heating is behind the sharp fall in numbers of the distinctive birds, which get their name from a black line that runs below the beak from cheek to cheek. Continue reading...

Jennifer Westacott, the BCA chief, tells audience Australia should aim to meet 2030 targets without using Kyoto carryover creditsAustralia should legislate a target of net zero emissions by 2050, the chief executive of the Business Council of Australia has said.Appearing on Monday night’s Q&A panel, Jennifer Westacott told the audience “we have to do net zero by 2050”. Continue reading...

The series will follow the teenage climate activist on her international crusade, giving an ‘inside view on what it’s like being a global icon’BBC Studios has announced a documentary series about the teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. The new show will follow Thunberg’s “international crusade” against the climate emergency, focusing on her campaign work as well as her “journey into adulthood”. It will also see Thunberg meet with scientists, politicians and businesspeople to explore the evidence around rising global temperatures.

Mytholmroyd community members say slow progress left properties unprotectedSue Slater has been cutting hair at Headquarters on Mytholmroyd’s main street for 38 years. For the first three decades the only real drama came from the gossip at the sink.Then in the summer of 2012 the village flooded, along with nearby Hebden Bridge and much of West Yorkshire’s Calder valley. It was a “one-in-100-years” freak occurrence, residents were told. The community was largely ignored by the government while London prepared to host the Olympics. Continue reading...

Torrential rain over three days has already put out one megablaze, the Gospers Mountain fireA deluge of rain and wild weather could extinguish all remaining fires in New South Wales by the end of the week, the Rural Fire Service hopes.Torrential rain over three days in the state, which has been ravaged by bushfires and endured a prolonged period of drought, has already extinguished one megablaze, with the Gospers Mountain fire that has burned for months in the Hawkesbury declared out on Monday. Continue reading...

A rash of newly approved mines could destroy swathes of the Hasdeo Arand forest – and with it the biodiversity local villagers depend on for survivalWords and photographs by Brian CasseyLaksmi Shankar Porte emerged from the forest. In his hands were an axe, a small scythe and a large crop of grass. Like many of the Gond people living in India’s Hasdeo Arand forest, he will use the grass to make ropes, brooms and mats.The Hasdeo Arand is one of the largest contiguous stretches of dense forest in central India, covering about 170,000 hectares (420,080 acres) of the state of Chhattisgarh. It is rich in biodiversity, contains many threatened species and is home to elephants, leopards and sloth bears. Continue reading...

Experts concerned young people’s mental health particularly hit by reality of the climate crisisOver the past few weeks Clover Hogan has found herself crying during the day and waking up at night gripped by panic. The 20-year-old, who now lives in London, grew up in Queensland, Australia, cheekbyjowl with the country’s wildlife, fishing frogs out of the toilet and dodging snakes hanging from the ceiling.The bushfires ravaging her homeland over the past few weeks have taken their toll. “I’ve found myself bursting into tears … just seeing the absolutely harrowing images of what’s happening in Australia – it is overwhelming and terrifying.” Continue reading...

Northern English towns inundated again as transport systems struggle to cope, but snow expected on Monday as temperatures dropHurricane-force winds and flooding have caused severe disruption across much of Britain, including damage to hundreds of properties and the cancellation of trains, flights and ferries.Storm Ciara brought heavy rain and winds of more than 90mph, knocking out power to homes in some areas. The upheaval is likely to last into the start of the working week and there is more bad weather to come. Continue reading...

512,452 megalitre deluge across all the city’s catchments equivalent of nine months’ worth of water in less than a week• NSW floods and weather: rain eases but chaos continues – live

Now is the time for ‘modern Liberals’ to speak for their community rather than toe the party line, independent MP saysThe woman who toppled Tony Abbott in Warringah at the last election on a platform of climate change action now has the whole parliament in her sights as she seeks bipartisan support for a climate change framework bill aimed at transitioning Australia to a decarbonised economy.Zali Steggall – along with her fellow crossbenchers Rebekah Sharkie, Helen Haines and Andrew Wilkie – will release the climate change national framework for adaption and mitigation bill on Monday, ahead of its introduction to the parliament in March. Continue reading...

Deputy leader says market should be allowed to make its own decisions and coal will play a part in the economy for decadesLabor’s deputy leader has not ruled out the party supporting new coal developments, saying it would be a decision for the markets despite previously declaring it would be a “good thing” if the thermal coal market collapsed.In a somewhat difficult and at times awkward interview with David Speers on the ABC’s Insiders program, Richard Marles struggled to articulate the difference between Labor’s coal policy and the Coalition’s, stating “coal will continue to play a part within our economy for decades to come”, while demanding the government do more on climate policy. Continue reading...

The UK must lead the ‘globalisation of the green new deal’ and a first step would be to build a Severn tidal barrageThe phrase “a stitch in time saves nine” dates back to the 18th century, near the start of the Industrial Revolution, from which point global warming has escalated to today’s levels, with the last five years the hottest on record worldwide.New Labour used a more prosaic phrase – “invest to save” – to describe the concept of spending money now to avoid the much higher costs and potential damage we would face if we waited until a problem reached its peak. Continue reading...

Environmental group puts pressure on museum to end its partnership with oil companyDozens of activists have coated themselves in plaster and are trying to occupy the British Museum overnight in a bid to pressure the institution to cut ties with oil corporation BP.About 60 protesters were taking part in the defiant act of impromptu sculpture making as the museum in London attempted to close its doors at 5pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

The deaths of two butterfly conservationists have drawn focus to a troubling tangle of disputes, resentments and violenceThe annual migration of monarch butterflies from the US and Canada is one of the most resplendent sights in the natural world – a rippling orange-and-black wave containing millions of butterflies fluttering instinctively southward to escape the winter cold.The spectacle when they reach their destination in central Mexico is perhaps even more astonishing. Patches of alpine forest turn from green to orange as the monarchs roost in the fir trees, the sheer weight of butterflies causing branches to sag to the point of snapping. Tens of thousands of the insects bounce haphazardly overhead, searching replenishment from nearby plants. Continue reading...

Businesses are still struggling months after a massive wildfire hit Sonoma county and prompted widespread evacuations and panicLike so many other wine country towns dependent on tourism and out-of-town visitors, the California resort community of Guerneville typically experiences a winter downturn.Business owners know to prepare for it. Restaurant owners scale back seasonal staff. Hotels offer discounted rates. Continue reading...

Progressive policies help get people on their bike, even in below-freezing conditionsIn London, where I live, the idea of winter cycling generally involves little more than remembering some gloves and making sure your bike lights are charged. In Joensuu, the compact city in eastern Finland, where I am now, it’s arguably a more serious business.When I got off the train from Helsinki the temperature was -16C (3F), and hasn’t yet risen higher than -6C. Every roadway, pavement and cycle route is covered in a layer of compacted snow. Continue reading...

Although shiny on the red carpet they ‘hide serious socio-environmental impacts’Fashion insiders are warning the great and the good of Hollywood not to wear sequins on the Academy Awards red carpet because of their terrible environmental impact.Last Sunday at the Baftas, despite guests being urged to opt for more planet-friendly fashion choices, Scarlett Johansson wore a sequinned pink Versace dress, Rebel Wilson was wrapped in a red sequin custom-made Prabal Gurung gown and Naomie Harris shone in silver sequinned Michael Kors. At the Grammys and Golden Globes last month, the red carpets were similarly awash with sequins. Continue reading...

The ‘safeguard mechanism’ promised to limit industry’s carbon pollution, but in two years has approved more than 7m tonnes of extra emissionsMining and heavy industry companies, including BHP and Alcoa, have again been allowed to lift their greenhouse gas emissions without penalty under a climate change policy that the Australian government promised would prevent national pollution increasing.Under changes posted online on Thursday, BHP coal and iron ore mines in Western Australia and Queensland, Alcoa’s Portland aluminium smelter in Victoria and a Boggabri coalmine in New South Wales were each given the green light to emit more under the scheme known as the “safeguard mechanism”. Continue reading...

The pick of the world’s best flora and fauna photos, including a baboon with a lion cub and Devon beavers Continue reading...

Gilbert Khoo transported endangered ‘glass eels’ to Hong Kong hidden beneath other fishA seafood salesman has been found guilty of smuggling more than £53m worth of endangered live eels out of the UK.Gilbert Khoo, 66, transported the rare elvers from London to Hong Kong hidden underneath other fish between 2015 and 2017. Continue reading...

Varieties of corn, beans and squash seen as central to Cherokee identity will be deposited in Norway’s Svalbard seed bankThe Cherokee Nation will bank corn, bean and squash seeds in the Arctic “doomsday vault”, becoming the first US-based tribe to safeguard culturally emblematic crops for future generations.The Svalbard seed vault, the world’s most sheltered storage facility, currently holds 992,039 crop seeds from across the world. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Inquiry into $21.4m conservation project reports ‘credible’ evidence of abuseArmed ecoguards partly funded by the conservation group WWF to protect wildlife in the Republic of the Congo beat up and intimidated hundreds of Baka pygmies living deep in the rainforests, an investigation into a landmark global conservation project has heard.A team of investigators sent to northern Congo by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to assess allegations of human rights abuses gathered “credible” evidence from different sources that hunter-gatherer Baka tribespeople living close to a proposed national park had been subjected to violence and physical abuse from the guards over years, according to a leaked draft of the report. Continue reading...

He has a history of ‘not getting’ global heating but his desire for Britain to be a world leader could be the planet’s hopeWill Boris Johnson please listen to his own father, rather than Jeremy Corbyn’s climate sceptic brother, on the subject of climate change? It may go against the prime minister’s instincts, but it is the best hope for Britain to live up to its responsibilities in a crucial year for our species.Johnson cannot do this on his own. That much was clear this week during the shambolic London launch of the COP 26 UN climate summit, which will take place in Glasgow in November. This will be the most important international conference in five years and as host the UK will play a leading role in deciding whether it ends in success or failure. Continue reading...

Activists dressed as warriors protest against corporate sponsorship deal with oil firmActivists have taken a Trojan horse into the grounds of the British Museum to protest against its sponsorship deal with the oil corporation BP.Protesters dressed as ancient Greek warriors snuck their 13ft-tall wooden horse through a side gate at 7.30am on Friday and pulled it on to the forecourt in front of the museum’s entrance. Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen’s signature proposal co-opts the slogans of climate activism, but has none of the substanceEmergencies tend to reveal our true priorities. When our house is burning down or the storm waters are flooding in, we hold on to what we value most, and leave the rest behind.A decade ago, the leaders of the European Union found themselves facing such a moment. With the French and German banks falling into a black hole, they did whatever it took to save them. Between 2009 and 2013, European governments channelled €1.6tn (£1.36tn) to Europe’s bankers, while imposing stringent austerity upon the European citizens they pledged to serve. When in 2015 they realised that more support was necessary, the European Central Bank printed €2.6tn over just four years. Continue reading...

A new record set so soon after the previous record of 17.5C in March 2015 is a sign warming in Antarctica is happening much faster than global averageAntarctica has logged its hottest temperature on record, with an Argentinian research station thermometer reading 18.3C, beating the previous record by 0.8C.The reading, taken at Esperanza on the northern tip of the continent’s peninsula, beats Antarctica’s previous record of 17.5C, set in March 2015. Continue reading...

Gradual phaseout will begin in March as part of government plan to outlaw all single-use bags by 2021Tunisia has announced plans to stop its supermarkets and pharmacies from using single-use plastic bags from next month before phasing them out completely in 2021.Plastic pollution has been a growing problem in the north African country in recent years, along with the challenges presented by its ancient industrial plants and barely managed household waste. Continue reading...

Millions swim in open water and outdoor pools in the UK and we must press for better water standardsWhy would you even want to swim in a UK river? It’s cold, it’s a bit mucky and yes, it comes with risk.I may well die of some hideous waterborne flesh-eating virus that entered the water on the wing of a migrating bird, but I love river swimming. Perhaps the duck poo between the toes or the fact that it’s “dirty” is what’s discouraging you from leaping into your local river, but when was the last time you went for a swim in a pool and didn’t have someone else’s hair wrap around your fingers? Continue reading...

In the face of the climate disaster it helped create, the Australian government has given us only lies and denialUnprecedented wildfires have recently devastated California, the Amazon, southern Europe, Siberia and Australia. It’s safe to say that we’ve entered the era of the climate-fuelled megafire. But because fire conditions depend on local vegetation, topography and climate, each of these great conflagrations is different.Australia’s bushfires of the last four months have been true megafires, creating their own weather and becoming so vast in their impact that more than half of all Australians have been directly affected by them. As I write, fires continue to burn around Canberra, and though rain has begun to fall in northern New South Wales, 17 are “yet to be contained” according to the fire service. Meanwhile, what is traditionally the worst part of the fire season for Victoria and South Australia is just commencing. Conditions have been so severe that firefighters have often been unable to stop fires joining up, generating massive dry thunderstorms that spread fire with thousands of lightning strikes. Continue reading...

Lawsuits are pending from groups who have challenged the constitutionality of shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-EscalantePlans finalized on Thursday for two national monuments in Utah downsized by Donald Trump would ensure that lands previously off-limits to energy development will be open to mining and drilling.