Environment | The Guardian

The birds are severely at risk, but there is little public awareness or sympathy for their plightSquawking, chip-stealing seagulls are under threat in New Zealand, with some colonies experiencing “unbelievable declines”, and others disappearing altogether over the past few decades.New Zealand is home to three species of seagull but the native red-billed seagull – the beady-eyed interloper who makes an appearance at every beach picnic up and down the country – is the most common. Continue reading...

Four Nigerian women bring landmark case over state executions of nine activists in a military courtFour Nigerian women at the centre of a long-running legal battle against oil giant Royal Dutch Shell saw their historic case reach the Hague on Tuesday.The company is accused of complicity in the state execution of nine Ogoni protesters and human right abuses dating back to 1993. The allegations concern the 1990s violent government crackdown in Ogoniland, in the oil-rich Niger delta region, where oil spills inflicted environmental damage on a huge scale. Continue reading...

Ricardo Salles’ comments fuel criticism of administration’s stance, which environmentalists say is excessively pro-businessBrazilian environmental groups have blasted Jair Bolsonaro’s environment minister after he dismissed the murdered Amazon rain forest defender Chico Mendes as “irrelevant”.Related: Climate change a 'secondary' issue, says Brazil's environment minister Continue reading...

Communities secretary James Brokenshire cited traffic issues in rejecting plans for four wellsCampaigners have welcomed the government’s decision to reject a planning appeal by shale gas firm Cuadrilla to frack at a second site in Lancashire, capping a week of bad news for the industry.James Brokenshire, the communities secretary, said he was turning down the appeal for planning permission to develop four fracking wells in the Fylde area because of traffic concerns. Continue reading...

There’s no way we’ll achieve the targets five years early without major policy changes, which are unlikely under the current governmentThe Australian National University has been making headlines for its analysis that, with the current rate of renewable energy growth, Australia will achieve its Paris agreement targets five years early – by 2025. Unfortunately, after a careful review, we find their analysis doesn’t stack up.The ANU briefing note has surprised, if not shocked, many in the expert and analytical community with detailed knowledge of Australia’s climate and energy policy. Continue reading...

For graziers who sweated to keep their herds alive, praying for rain, the scale of the flood is hard to take• Satellite images before and after the floods reveal devastationOut the back of Mount Isa, in late January, the locals marked a wry milestone.For an unbroken stretch of 43 stinking afternoons, the temperature at Cloncurry and Camooweal had topped 40C. The herds of cattle in Queensland’s north-west, the ones that had survived through six years of drought, started to show signs of severe heat stress. They became thinner, weaker. Continue reading...

As new promotion launches, volunteers are still cleaning up debris from the Little Shop campaign on Australian beachesColes is launching a new collectible promotion of plastic toys on Wednesday, while the vestiges of the supermarket giant’s last campaign are still having a negative impact on the environment.From this week, shoppers can collect one of 24 plastic fruit or vegetable toys for every $30 they spend in-store as part of the Coles Stikeez campaign. Continue reading...

Party says Labour government would tackle climate change by starting economic revolutionLabour is to set out how the UK can move swiftly to a decarbonised future to tackle the unfolding climate crisis and put “meat on the bones” of its promise to create hundreds of thousands of high-skilled, unionised green jobs.Trade unionists and industry leaders will come together with academics, engineers and public institutions to build detailed regional plans setting out the challenges and opportunities ahead. Continue reading...

Actor attacked Trump and other leaders at World Government Summit for denying science to justify not facing the ‘moral crisis’Harrison Ford has launched a scorching attack on Donald Trump and other world leaders, for denying science in order to justify doing nothing to face the “moral crisis” of climate change.Related: European colonization of Americas killed so many it cooled Earth's climate Continue reading...

Ombudsman finds authority ‘deliberately set out not to reveal true advice’ about alder treeSheffield council has apologised after a year-long independent investigation found it “deliberately” misled residents over the city’s street tree-felling programme.A resident, Sally Goldsmith, questioned the decision to remove an alder tree in Aldam Way, Totley, and was told by a council contractor in August 2017 that removal was recommended because of “decay within the stem”. It added that an independent surveyor had “confirmed a decay pocket … as well as damage to the highway network”. A similar email was sent to another complainant. Continue reading...

Petrol and diesel vehicles cost more over four years in UK and four other European nationsElectric cars are already cheaper to own and run than petrol or diesel alternatives in five European countries analysed in new research.The study examined the purchase, fuel and tax costs of Europe’s bestselling car, the VW golf, in its battery electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel versions. Over four years, the pure electric version was the cheapest in all places – UK, Germany, France, Netherlands and Norway – owing to a combination of lower taxes, fuel costs and subsidies on the purchase price. Continue reading...

Despite second consecutive year of declines, report concludes the long-term outlook for solar energy production is positiveThe solar energy sector lost 8,000 jobs in the US last year, the second consecutive year of declines, hit by uncertainty over the Trump administration’s energy and trade policies and a 30% tariff on imported solar panels, according to a report released on Tuesday.But according to the Solar Foundation the future is still bright for solar. Despite the two-year dip, solar employment has grown 159%, from just over 93,000 to more than 242,000 jobs in all 50 states over the past nine years and the report concludes the long-term outlook for solar energy production is positive. Continue reading...

Conservationists urge Queensland government to investigate mining company over Caley Valley pollutionActivists have called on the Queensland government to investigate after mining company Adani confirmed that contaminated water released into the Caley Valley wetlands during last week’s Queensland floods occurred at almost twice the rate it is licensed for.The company issued a statement on Tuesday to say investigations at Abbot Point had concluded the flood waters did not enter the Great Barrier Reef marine park area. Continue reading...

As the world’s first junior cycle mayor, Lotta Crok wants to draw attention to the obstacles kids on bikes face – and inspire other children to cycleDuring Amsterdam’s chaotic rush hour, nine-year-old Lotta Crok cycles to a very busy junction. “Look,” she says. “There’s traffic coming from everywhere. Four trams from four different directions. For a child on a bike that’s really confusing!”Lotta is the first junior cycle mayor in the world and her working area is the Dutch capital. It is her mission to inspire children to cycle every day and draw attention to the obstacles that kids on bikes are facing. Continue reading...

Europe urged to promote diets lower in meat and dairy and restrict animals to grass-based systems to free land for cropsNearly a fifth of the EU’s total budget – more than £24bn of taxpayer money – goes to support livestock farming across Europe, according to new research by Greenpeace.At a time when scientists are calling for significant reductions in meat consumption, the report’s authors say taxpayers’ money should be redirected away from grain-fed, industrial animal farming. Continue reading...

Environmental and social problems could interact in global breakdown, report saysThe gathering storm of human-caused threats to climate, nature and economy pose a danger of systemic collapse comparable to the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new report that calls for urgent and radical reform to protect political and social systems.The study says the combination of global warming, soil infertility, pollinator loss, chemical leaching and ocean acidification is creating a “new domain of risk”, which is hugely underestimated by policymakers even though it may pose the greatest threat in human history. Continue reading...

High hopes for Hornsea One as developer says its output could fill the gap left by nuclearAn offshore windfarm on the Yorkshire coast that will dwarf the world’s largest when completed is to supply its first power to the UK electricity grid this week.The Danish developer Ørsted, which will be installing the first of 174 turbines at Hornsea One, said it was ready to step up its plans and fill the gap left by failed nuclear power schemes. Continue reading...

Body in charge of cutting aviation’s carbon footprint meets behind closed doorsA UN body tasked with cutting global aircraft emissions is covertly meeting this week for discussions dominated by airline industry observers.The environment committee of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) meets on Monday in Montreal behind closed doors to discuss measures to reduce emissions from international aircraft. Domestic and international flights emitted 895m tonnes of CO2 last year – 2.4% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, according to Carbon Brief. In terms of emissions, if aviation were a country it would be the sixth largest in the world. Continue reading...

The proposal is incredibly ambitious, both on climate change and with its reimagining of society

Republicans call it a ‘social manifesto’, environmental groups hail it, and some say it doesn’t go far enoughCongresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey, along with dozens of co-sponsors, have introduced a vision for the Green New Deal. One Republican called it a “socialist manifesto”. Many environmental advocacy groups have hailed it, but some say it doesn’t go far enough. Others warn that its broad scope and the long list of progressive social programs it endorses could hinder its climate efforts. Continue reading...

Experts deployed to remove dozens of hungry bears besieging Novaya ZemlyaAnalysis: what the polar bears reveal about the climate crisisRussian environmental authorities have deployed a team of specialists to a remote Arctic region to sedate and remove dozens of hungry polar bears that have besieged the people living there.

Trial of Peter and Jane Harris, accused of illegal pumping from Barwon-Darling river, set to become a test of NSW regimeA landmark trial of prominent Bourke cotton farmers accused of illegal pumping from the Barwon-Darling when the river was low is set to become a test of the robustness of New South Wales’s water laws.Michael Elliott SC foreshadowed in the NSW Land and Environment Court today that the defendants, Peter and Jane Harris, would challenge every aspect of the state’s water laws they are accused of breaching, including the accuracy of the government’s water gauges and administrative procedures followed. Continue reading...

After years of drought graziers were elated when the rain came. Now floods have created a humanitarian crisisIn north-west Queensland it hadn’t rained, any decent rain, for more than five years.When the downpour finally came last week, graziers were elated. Now it’s feared up to 500,000 cattle, mostly from severely drought-stressed herds, have been killed in widespread flood waters. Continue reading...

Bylong Valley residents hope Rocky Hill decision will sway state commission to reject proposed open-cut mineActivists and residents fighting against a proposed coalmine in central New South Wales are hoping last week’s historic judgment in the Rocky Hill case will sway the state’s Independent Planning Commission to reject the project.The NSW land and environment court ruled last week Gloucester Resources’ Rocky Hill coalmine in the state’s Hunter Valley should not go ahead, in part because of its social impact on the town of Gloucester and because a new coalmine was not compatible with Australia’s commitments under the Paris agreement. Continue reading...

Eight women from rural Malawi travelled to India to train as solar engineers. Now they are lighting the way for their communities, in a country where just 10% of households are powered by electricityPhotographs by Peter Caton/VSO

The reasons the mine was rejected have made international news. So how did we get here?

Exclusive: Insects could vanish within a century at current rate of decline, says global review

‘Cool heads’ not ‘politicking’ needed to bolster Australia’s electricity network, Grattan Institute says“Cool-headed policy” not “panic and politicking” is the answer to Australia’s future energy issues, a new report has found.But government underwriting of new power-generation investment – a key Coalition energy policy – could hinder, not help the bid to bolster network reliability, the researchers warned, by scaring away “genuine potential investors”. Continue reading...

Thousands of pupils set to be absent on 15 February, putting schools on the spotHeadteachers across the country will this week be faced with a tricky dilemma: should they allow their pupils to go on strike?Thousands of schoolchildren are expected to absent themselves from school on Friday to take part in a series of coordinated protests drawing attention to climate change. Continue reading...

Police search murky water for 35-year-old as rainfall in Queensland’s north easesA man remains missing in flood waters in north Queensland as police continue to search the area.The 35-year-old Townsville man was one of three on board a boat at Groper Creek when it crashed into a submerged jetty close to Hinkson Esplanade about 5.35pm on Friday. Continue reading...

Society says ‘it’s up to voters to work out what politicians they want to make into threatened species’The Wilderness Society will target former environment ministers Greg Hunt and Josh Frydenberg and former prime minister Tony Abbott in its first major federal election campaign in a decade.After a summer in which temperature records tumbled and up to a million fish died in in the Lower Darling, climate change and the environment are front and centre in voters’ minds before the expected May election, according to conservation groups and the major parties’ internal polling. Continue reading...

Proposed law would protect any shark or ray in state waters and be first of its kind in USSharks could soon become more numerous in Hawaii waters – and advocates say that’s a good thing.Lawmakers in Honolulu advanced a proposed ban on killing sharks in state waters on Wednesday, after receiving hundreds of calls and letters of support from around the country. The law, which would provide sweeping protection for any shark, rather than select species, could be the first of its kind in the United States. Continue reading...

NFU’s Minette Batters says ‘inept parliament’ forcing firms to spend millions to prepareFarmers are finding preparing for Brexit as disruptive as a major disease outbreak, and food companies are in danger of moving out of the UK or scaling back their investment, a farming leader has warned.Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union, said: “Millions are being spent every day in no-deal planning and contingency plans for the food industry. Businesses are having to invest so much money to protect us from an inept parliament. This will break some businesses.” Continue reading...

Rescued flamingo chicks, angry ibex and Californian elephant seals in this week’s gallery Continue reading...

Holly Gillibrand is skipping class to join pupils around the world in pushing for urgent measuresUntil recently, Holly Gillibrand was like any other schoolchild, keen on the outdoors, football and rock climbing, inspired by the stunning surroundings of her secondary school at the foot of Ben Nevis.But for the past five Fridays, while hundreds of her fellow students file into class, she has stood outside Lochaber high school in Fort William in the Highlands to take strike action. Continue reading...

Thousands of pupils to walk out of lessons amid growing concern over global warming

Five hundred people told to leave area around Sul Superior tailings dam at mine near Belo HorizonteBrazilian authorities have ordered the mining company Vale to evacuate hundreds of people from the vicinity of a dam in Minas Gerais, two weeks after a dam breach at another Vale mine in the state killed an estimated 300 people.Vale said it was evacuating 500 people from three communities around the Sul Superior tailings dam at the Gongo Soco mine, near Belo Horizonte, on the orders of the national mining agency. It said it was a preventive measure after an engineering consulting firm, Walm, refused to give the dam a declaration of stability. Continue reading...

Shopping carts, traffic cones and Styrofoam among the piles of debris that littered Seal Beach after a trio of winter stormsBeachgoers hoping to stretch their legs on southern California’s famous Seal Beach were surprised to find a mountain of trash instead of sand and surf this week.After a trio of winter storms dropped inches of rain on the area, the beach looked more like a landfill than a pristine paradise. Shopping carts, traffic cones and Styrofoam were among the piles of debris that littered the stretch of beach. Continue reading...

Cut your energy bills with these environmentally-friendly homes, from Wales to Cambridgeshire Continue reading...

Judge rejects Rocky Hill mine near Gloucester, NSW, because of its impact on the town and ‘dire consequences’ of increasing emissionsThe controversial Rocky Hill coalmine in the Hunter Valley will not go ahead after a landmark ruling in the land and environment court on Friday that cited the impact it would have had on climate change.Chief judge Brian Preston dismissed an appeal by Gloucester Resources, which was seeking to overturn a New South Wales government decision to reject an open-cut mine because of its impact on the town of Gloucester, north of Newcastle. Continue reading...

Swedish retailer expands old furniture exchange scheme as part of circular business modelIkea is trialling the sale of used, patched-up furniture in the UK as part of its efforts to become more environmentally friendly.An earlier trial in Edinburgh will be expanded to Glasgow in June. Continue reading...

UK must deal with plastic waste on its own soil, says group calling for export banA cross-party group of MPs is calling for a ban on the export of plastic waste over concerns the UK is passing the buck to the world’s poorest people to clean up its rubbish.MPs have tabled an early day motion to highlight growing concerns first raised by the National Audit Office that millions of tonnes of plastic waste sent abroad for recycling may be being dumped in landfill. Continue reading...

City commission voted 6-1 to bar certain chemicals blamed for harming the only living coral reef found in the continental USOfficials in Key West, the popular Florida holiday destination, have decided to ban the sale of sunscreens containing certain chemicals blamed for harming the only living coral reef found in the continental US.Related: Back from the brink: the global effort to save coral from climate change Continue reading...

Closure of Cottam plant in Nottinghamshire likely to lead to more than 150 job cutsOne of the UK’s last seven coal power stations will close this year after half a century of generating electricity, as the polluting fuel continues its rapid decline in the energy mix. Continue reading...

Blueprint for a carbon-neutral economy has been embraced by prominent Democrats and evokes FDR’s famous legacyAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez is releasing a broad outline of a vision for the Green New Deal, a plan to battle economic and racial injustice while also fighting climate change.The new congresswoman’s blueprint, co-introduced by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, aims to develop a carbon-neutral economy in 10 years, which would require huge strides in reducing the US’s reliance on oil, gas and coal. It does not set a date for ending the use of fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought to redefine freedom in the face of war. The Green New Deal imagines goals for a colorful democracyOne of the biggest challenges of climate politics is that the solutions seem scarier than the problem. We worry that to truly decarbonize, we’d need an authoritarian government or endless austerity. But a big and bold enough Green New Deal could finally make us truly free.The principles that animated the New Deal are often associated with Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s proposed (but never fully enacted) Economic Bill of Rights. These included rights to employment, medical care, housing, education, and social security. Those goals are tragically unrealized for many Americans, and any just version of the Green New Deal must start there. They’re familiar goals for the left, ones we’ve been fighting over for decades. But we also need to rework another New Deal-era statement of principles – FDR’s Four Freedoms. Continue reading...

Cuadrilla and Ineos say strict regulations around earthquakes hinder their workThe government has rejected pleas by fracking companies to review strict rules around earthquakes caused by their operations, in a major blow that could spell the end for Britain’s nascent shale industry.Cuadrilla complained on Wednesday that it had only been able to frack a tiny section of its well near Blackpool last autumn because of the limits, and warned it would not be able to undertake commercial fracking if the regulations are not reviewed. Continue reading...

Nationals leader, who had earlier blamed mass deaths on lack of rain, defends irrigators and plays down climate changeThe Nationals leader Michael McCormack has made his first visit to Menindee since the ecological disaster which led to the death of up to a million fish, claiming “we’re all experts in hindsight”.The deputy prime minister visited the fish-kill ground-zero site with local Nationals MP Mark Coulton, who was also making his first visit since the mass death was reported early last month. Continue reading...

Electronic waste hazardous due to toxic parts was tracked to developing countriesThe UK is the worst offender in Europe for illegally exporting toxic electronic waste to developing countries, according to a two-year investigation that tracked shipments from 10 European countries.The investigation by the environmental watchdog the Basel Action Network (BAN) put GPS trackers on 314 units of computers, LCD monitors and printers placed in recycling facilities in 10 countries. Researchers mapped what they said was the export of 11 items to Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, Thailand and Ukraine. Continue reading...

Operation necessary to stop fish dying after flows are cut off to maintain water supplies to stock and domestic usersNew South Wales fisheries workers are attempting to rescue distressed Murray cod near Menindee in the state’s west by catching them in nets and trucking them to a fish hatchery hundreds of kilometres away.The NSW primary industries department (DPI) confirmed the operation was under way on Thursday morning and was necessary because authorities would be cutting off water flows from Menindee’s weir 32 “in the near future to maintain town water supply”. Continue reading...