Environment secretary seeks another review, as flood victims promised further £1mMinisters have ordered yet another review into why some flood-hit homes cannot get insurance and promised another £1m to help those affected after around 100 homes were hit over Christmas.Theresa Villiers, the environment secretary, said she was commissioning an inquiry into why some flooded communities were unable to get sufficient insurance, despite an agreement between insurers and the government in 2015 that was supposed to mean everyone would have access to affordable cover. Continue reading...

National Trust reports influx of species in 2019 but says climate is putting native wildlife at riskVolatile weather led to an influx of exciting migrant species in 2019 but is putting pressure on some homegrown flora and fauna, according to an annual audit of the UK’s environment.Many unusual birds and butterflies ended up on UK soil over the past 12 months, whisked in by high winds or attracted by unseasonably hot spells, and there was good news for native grey seals, dragonflies and wildflowers, the survey from the National Trust reveals. Continue reading...

Needing no soil or sun, an underground farm in Liverpool challenges traditional methodsBeautifully arranged rows of bok choi, parsley, tarragon and basil alongside dozens of variety of lettuce grow together in harmony under the pink glow of an LED light in a former sugar factory.Water infused with nutrients trickles on to the green towers, keeping the rosettes hydrated and fed. This is a technically advanced indoor vertical farm buried deep in a basement at a former Tate & Lyle warehouse and now the Liverpool Life Sciences UTC. Continue reading...

Event may need to be played at night or in shoulder season as climate crisis exposes players and fans to unprecedented levels of extreme heatThe Melbourne Boxing Day Test may have to be played at night or moved away from Christmas to November or March as the number of extreme heat days rises over coming decades, a new report says.The analysis by the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub says the climate crisis is already disrupting Australian cricket, citing the cancellation of club matches on hot days and the abandonment of a Big Bash game in Canberra after bushfire smoke reduced air quality and visibility. Continue reading...

Period between Christmas and New Year is utilised for activities from ice-cold swimming to birdwatchingWhen Christmas is over and you are getting ready for the dawn of the new year, it can be tempting to hibernate indoors, watching Home Alone on repeat and eating endless boxes of chocolates. But an increasing number are shunning the sofa and instead taking part in the many activities planned between Christmas and New Year.For providers of a stream of unusual activities over the limbo period sometimes dubbed “Twixtmas”, the period is characterised by getting out and about. On Christmas Day itself options included a walking tour, icy cold swims, and even a trip to the cinema. In Birmingham, brave souls gathered on Christmas morning to jump into Blackroot pool in Sutton Park. Other activities from Boxing Day on include a tree maze in Edinburgh and the Bibury duck race, one of Gloucestershire’s more unusual traditions. Continue reading...

With stocks rebounding, regulators have reopened a groundfish habitat off the west coast – with environmentalists’ supportA rare environmental success story is unfolding in waters off the US west coast.After years of fear and uncertainty, bottom trawler fishermen – those who use nets to catch rockfish, bocaccio, sole, Pacific Ocean perch and other deep-dwelling fish – are making a comeback here, reinventing themselves as a sustainable industry less than two decades after authorities closed huge stretches of the Pacific Ocean because of the species’ depletion. Continue reading...

New poll shows climate and environment the top priority for 14% of voters, raising prospect of large turnout for green issuesA growing share of voters list climate and the environment as their top priority, according to a new poll from the Environmental Voter Project.Of the registered voters surveyed, 14% named “addressing climate change and protecting the environment” their No 1 priority over all other issues, compared with 2% to 6% before the 2016 presidential election. Continue reading...

Amid signs of ‘frenzied consumerism’ fatigue and eco concerns, here are pieces that will lastThe sale is dead, long live the sale. Thanks to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it seems post–Christmas sales no longer hold the sense of anticipation they once did with many shoppers choosing to eschew them altogether.When it comes to fashion many are turning to buying secondhand – where lower prices come with the added benefit of reduced impact on the environment. Continue reading...

Mini, Vauxhall Corsa and Fiat 5oo will join rapidly expanding European EV marketEurope’s carmakers are gearing up to make 2020 the year of the electric car, according to automotive analysts, with a wave of new models launching as the world’s biggest manufacturers scramble to lower the carbon dioxide emissions of their products.Previous electric models have mostly been targeted at niche markets, but 2020 will see the launch of flagship electric models with familiar names, such as the Mini, the Vauxhall Corsa and the Fiat 500. Continue reading...

A conservation program has successfully reared 100 sparrows and released them back into their natural environmentAmerica’s bird populations may be facing an existential crisis but there is a glimmer of hope for one endangered species at least, with a breeding program helping dramatically boost the population of the endangered Florida grasshopper sparrow.Around 50 of the birds, found in the prairies of south-central Florida, were estimated to be in the wild in 2018, down from 1,000 in little more than decade. But a conservation program has, for the first time, now successfully reared 100 Florida grasshopper sparrows and released them back into their natural environment. Continue reading...

Amid mounting frustration with political leaders, a number of community activists are running for office on climate and environmental justice platforms in local and state electionsThe climate crisis is hurting communities across the United States. Hurricanes, heatwaves and torrential downpours are on the rise, and have already exacerbated devastating floods, droughts and wildfires in communities from South Dakota to California, Florida and North Carolina in recent years.The threat of environmental hazards is also increasing as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolls back regulations on clean water, toxic coal ash, fossil fuels, air pollutants, pesticides, smog and vehicle emissions. Continue reading...

Two hundred people gather in Wytaliba, where rain has brought relief, but also more concern for the long-term effects of the firesIn the northern New South Wales town of Wytaliba, one of the areas hardest hit by bushfires that have killed nine people, destroyed a thousand homes and burned 5m hectares of Australia in the past three months, a small team has cooked Christmas lunch for 200 people.Everyone is invited, from the dozens who lost their homes, to the volunteer firefighters, to the Canadian firefighting contingent who have been working to relieve local crews. Continue reading...

Former National party leader posts video feeding his cattle, as he argues that ‘new taxes’ won’t fix climate changeBarnaby Joyce says he is “sick of the government being in my life” as he urged Australians to respect God, otherwise “we’re going to get nailed”.In a short video posted on social media late on Christmas Eve, the former National party leader is seen feeding cattle and reflecting on climate change, declaring that “new taxes” are not the way to address it. Continue reading...

President’s nonsensical rambling remarks about ‘windmills’ in segment from weekend speech raised eyebrowsHe says he knows more about Isis than his generals, and claims to understand politicians “better than anybody”. Now there is another subject in which Donald Trump’s expert knowledge surpasses that of everybody else: wind turbines, though he calls them windmills.“I’ve studied it better than anybody I know,” the president asserted in a bizarre segment from a weekend speech to young conservatives in West Palm Beach, Florida, close to his winter retreat at Mar-a-Lago where he is spending the holidays. Continue reading...

Charities thank donors for generosity in helping to fight back against climate crisis

Prime minister Scott Morrison announces that public servants taking leave to fight fires will have additional paid leave. This blog is now closed

A look back at some of the biggest moments of the past yearWarning: Some of the following images are graphic in nature and might be disturbing to some viewers Continue reading...

There has not been much good news for life on Earth this year, with up to 1m species at risk of annihilation, many within decades. But scientists, conservationists and armies of volunteers are working relentlessly to understand and preserve endangered species. Here are 10 biodiversity stories that provided a glimmer of hope Continue reading...

A barge carrying 2,000 litres of diesel has sunk at a dock on San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagosarchipelago. The incident occurred as workers attempted to load a container on a barge with the crane and both somehow tipped, destabilising the vessel which turned on its side. Barge workers began to jump into the water to escape the sinking vessel. A clean-up operation has begun and environmental impact is unclear Continue reading...

Law kept mining projects out of Argentina province – now water for wine-growers will be threatened in drought-stricken areaArgentina’s wine-growing province of Mendoza, renown for its inky red malbec varietal, has erupted in protest against the surprise overturning of a 2007 water protection law that had successfully kept water-intensive mining projects out of the province.

Exclusive: department’s brief said ‘coordinated national action’ was needed to ward off increasing disruptionsThe government was warned by the Department of Home Affairs after the May election that Australia faced more frequent and severe heatwaves and bushfires, and that livelihoods would be affected without effective action on climate change.The department’s incoming government brief to the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, warned of “disasters” exacerbated by climate change. Continue reading...

Lib Dem MP for Bath hits out at PM after rivers burst their banks across southern EnglandBoris Johnson has been criticised for not visiting flood-stricken communities at Christmas after it emerged he had no immediate plans to travel to areas hit by heavy rain.Families may be forced to spend the festive period away from their homes after rivers burst their banks in Kent, Cornwall, Sussex and Norfolk. The Met Office has 54 flood warnings and 141 flood alerts in place across the UK, including in the north of England and the Midlands, with some likely to remain active until Christmas Eve as more rain is forecast. Continue reading...

Mayor Sadiq Khan calls for government action to protect the capital’s waterwaysThe mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called on the government to provide more funding to clean up the pollution blighting London’s rivers, after a study highlighted the toxic effects on water from driving in the capital’s most congested areas.The River Brent in west London and the River Lea in the east, at 18 miles and 42 miles respectively, are worst affected by pollution from roads. Concern over pollution has concentrated on toxic air, which is killing and shortening the lives of tens of thousands of people every year, but road pollution is also damaging the water supply. Continue reading...

Residents of Parc Hadau in Pontardawe will generate more clean energy than they can useOne of the world’s first net zero carbon neighbourhoods will be constructed in Wales after Neath Port Talbot council approved the development of 35 homes able to generate more clean energy than they use.Development of the £8m project in Pontardawe in south Wales is expected to begin this spring. The residents of Parc Hadau will pay no energy bills because the development will use a mixture of renewable energy technologies to generate enough clean electricity to power its homes over the year. Continue reading...

Regional leaders call on Boris Johnson to act as Kent and East Sussex are hit by flooding

Australian government refuses to rule out new coal-fired generation as it ticks off gas plants in Queensland and VictoriaThe federal government has announced it will underwrite two new gas-fired power stations, with Scott Morrison saying it may still greenlight coal-fired generation for Queensland and New South Wales.Even as Australia suffers through a record-breaking heatwave Morrison said the government would continue to explore all power options and would not be deterred by “lots of shouting noises” and instead would listen to “those quiet still voices”. Continue reading...

PM says ‘we can all make better decisions on occasions’ as he again defends government position on climate change amid catastrophic bushfires• NSW and SA count cost of bushfires after Balmoral and Cudlee Creek devastation – latestScott Morrison has claimed climate change is “as important now” amid an extended bushfire crisis and a record-breaking heatwave as it was at the election and denied that the government is split over whether to improve Australia’s policy response.In a series of interviews on Monday Morrison cited family commitments as the reason for his decision to holiday in Hawaii during the crisis, comparing himself to a plumber forced to choose between a Friday afternoon job or seeing his family. Continue reading...

Which regions were most affected, what was the impact of flood defences, and what has the government pledged?Areas across England were flooded in the last two months, including in: South and West Yorkshire; Lincolnshire and the Rivers Trent and Derwent in the East Midlands; Birmingham, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire in the West Midlands; Gloucestershire, Devon and Cornwall in the south-west; and Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Sussex and Surrey in the south-east. Continue reading...

Energy giant Iberdrola predicts renewables will take ‘much more relevant position’ in Australia in coming years – and hopes to develop further projectsSpanish energy giant Iberdrola says it has decided to invest $500m in a wind and solar farm in South Australia as the first of a series of renewable power projects it hopes to develop in Australia.Iberdrola’s head of renewables, Xabier Viteri, said that in the new year the company would also probably increase its target for renewable energy from the “ambitious” target of 10GW by 2022. Continue reading...

So far £400,000 has been raised for charities that promote environmental solutions to climate crisisGenerous Guardian and Observer readers donated over £42,000 to the climate emergency charity appeal during the papers’ annual charity telethon on Saturday, pushing the overall total to more than £400,000.A team of journalists and editors, including the editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, George Monbiot, Owen Jones, Gary Younge, John Crace and Marina Hyde took hundreds of calls from readers as the Guardian newsroom turned into a pop-up call centre between 10am and 6pm. Continue reading...

FTSE4Good is ‘rewarding the most harmful activities in the corporate world’ – ShareActionSome of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies, including Russia’s state oil giant Rosneft, have been added to the London Stock Exchange’s “ethical” investment lists.The FTSE4Good indices, run by the London Stock Exchange Group’s FTSE Russell subsidiary, are marketed to investors interested in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Continue reading...

PM says link between extreme weather and climate change won’t change policy. Victoria and SA still under bushfire threat as NSW surveys damage. This liveblog is now closed• Latest report: NSW devastation laid bare as 72 homes destroyed in SA

Campaigners against bloodsports hail ‘landmark decision’ by Yorkshire Water, the largest landowner in the county, to review leasesThe Glorious Twelfth may soon be a little quieter in Brontë country. Animal welfare groups are hailing a “landmark” decision by Yorkshire’s largest landowner to review the leasing of its land to grouse shoots.In addition to potentially spelling the end of shoots on land owned by Yorkshire Water, campaigners say it will improve the biodiversity and sustainability of the moors because gamekeepers will no longer burn heather to create the ideal conditions for the birds, something that can damage the underlying peat. Continue reading...

Harbingers of a diminishing ecosystem, the smelt are almost extinct. Now, forces within the Trump administration could usher them into oblivionOn a warm November morning, John Durand squints over the stern of a small research boat, and gestures toward gray-blue water, and the chaotic tangles of tube-like tule reeds.“Cache Slough right here had been known as a hotspot for delta smelt,” he says. But it’s been four years since Durand and his team of researchers from the University of California, Davis, have found the finger-length fish that gleam golden and “smell kind of like cucumber” in the brackish streams and sloughs of northern California’s bay delta. Continue reading...

Campaigners furious at American ban revealed by leaked documentsThe US has banned mention of the climate crisis in trade talks with the UK, an analysis of leaked documents has revealed.In negotiating a trade deal, the UK acknowledges that there will be pressure to ensure that any agreement meets its climate commitments. But to the anger of environment groups, analysis of a 451-page dossier leaked last month confirms that the Trump administration has told the UK that the climate crisis cannot be mentioned. Continue reading...

Region braces for more strong winds and heavy rain as storm hits Spain, Portugal and FranceThe death toll from a storm that battered Spain, Portugal and France rose to eight on Saturday as the region braced for more violent winds and heavy rain.A 32-year-old South Korean woman died Saturday, a day after being struck on the head by falling debris from a building in central Madrid, Spain’s regional interior minister said. Continue reading...

Global Greengrants UK, one of the four groups we are helping to fight the climate crisis, supports indigenous Brazilians

The Gospers Mountain fire has consumed hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest and is now threatening towns and livesThe fire is two kilometres away, but the heat is already beginning to warm the faces of those who wait.The air is eerily still. There is no wind. There are no birds. There is no natural noise, just the distant chatter of helicopters in the sky, flying between water source and flames. Continue reading...

The plant has flowered for the first time in Britain, but the climate crisis is making such events rarer than everIt is famous for smelling like “a thousand dead elephants rotting in the sun”, its petals resemble decaying flesh, and it is so rare that outside its natural habitat in Papua New Guinea, few botanists in the world have ever seen it in flower.Now this highly pungent orchid – Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis – is in bloom for the first time in a glasshouse at Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Continue reading...

The big cats’ resourceful new behaviour was recorded by a WWF study on a remote island off the coast of BrazilA thriving population of jaguars living on a small, unspoilt island off the coast of the Brazilian Amazon has learned to catch fish in the sea to survive, conservationists have found.The Maracá-Jipioca Ecological Station island reserve, three miles off the northern state of Amapá, acts as a nursery for jaguars, according to WWF researchers who have collared three cats and set up 70 camera traps on the remote jungle island. Continue reading...

The family had brought the tree to their home and decorated it before they spotted the bird, who initially didn’t want to leaveA Georgia family got a real hoot from its Christmas tree: more than a week after they bought it, they discovered a live owl nestled among its branches.Katie McBride Newman said on Friday that she and her daughter spotted the bird on 12 December. They had bought the 10ft-tall tree from a Home Depot, brought it back to their Atlanta area home and decorated it with lights and, coincidentally, owl ornaments. Continue reading...

The government has an opportunity to pivot in 2020 – to actually do something rather than pretending toIt’s hot as I write this final column for 2019, the day is creeping towards 40C. It’s dry. The ground is like concrete, and dust is obscuring yellowed grass on my parched suburban block. Bushfire smoke has rolled in and out of Canberra. Smoke is the last thing I smell before going to sleep and the first thing I smell as I wake up.With the summer stretching out in front of us and no significant rain forecast before April, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, December and January promises extreme weather, burning bushland, eerie blood-red sunsets. Towns are on the brink of running out of water. Instead of resting and recharging with their loved ones, emergency services workers are spending their days toiling in a hellscape. Continue reading...

Fresh evidence of the role played by trees in absorbing carbon, and increased rates of deforestation, have guided our choice of charities this yearThe role of nature in fighting the climate emergency has been one of the biggest environment stories of this year. That’s because scientists no longer believe that emissions reductions will be enough to limit global heating to the 1.5C to 2C promised in the 2015 Paris agreement. That means that as well as limiting future emissions, we must focus attention and resources on finding ways to draw greenhouse gases that have already been released out of the atmosphere.Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has long been viewed as an important tool. Increasingly, however, scientists believe that natural climate solutions could prove more effective than technological ones. A recent paper calculated that restoring nature could provide a third of the CO reductions needed by 2030 to keep heating below 2C, and in March the UN declared that 2021-30 would be a decade of ecosystem restoration. In the UK, the Committee on Climate Change advised the government that to meet its goal of net zero carbon by 2050, 107 hectares (267 acres) would have to be planted with forest every day: perhaps 1.5bn new trees in all. Continue reading...

Court rules Dutch government has duty to protect citizens’ rights in face of climate changeThe Netherlands’ supreme court has upheld a ruling ordering the country’s government to do much more to cut carbon emissions, after a six-year fight for climate justice.Related: Why the Guardian is changing the language it uses about the environment Continue reading...

Christmas is peak time for blockages and consumers are urged to be more careful about what they put down pipesIt looks like a 5ft-long grey sausage made of hundreds of scruffy pieces of fabric. On closer inspection, brightly coloured plastic, condoms and rubber bands can be identified in the bizarre-looking mass.This is known in the water industry as “rag”, the technical term for items that do not degrade once they have been flushed down the toilet. The greyish material that dominates the mass is wet wipes, now the scourge of the UK’s sewers. Combined with fat and grease that has been tipped down sinks, it is already starting to build up into a fatberg. Continue reading...

Airport blames Civil Aviation Authority for denying its request to quadruple spendingHeathrow has said its controversial plan to build of a third runway will be delayed by at least a year after the aviation regulator denied its request to quadruple spending before gaining planning consent.Heathrow had asked the Civil Aviation Authority for permission to boost spending from £650m to £2.4bn despite the fact it has not yet gained permission to expand. Heathrow said the decision not to greenlight the amount it had requested would delay a third runway being completed until between “early 2028 and late 2029”. Continue reading...

Persistent downpours cause transport disruption with weekend washout forecastHeavy rain and flooding have caused severe disruption in parts of southern England, forcing one rail operator to advise against travelling by train.Some areas in the UK have had more than 50mm of rain in a day and a half. The village of Cardinham in Cornwall had 52mm of rain in 36 hours, while an area further inland, outside Launceston, got 53.4mm. Libanus in the Breacon Beacons, south Wales, had 43mm. Continue reading...

Layoffs are common, shifts have been cut – and workers in America’s manufacturing and farming heartlands are losing hopeWinter has come to Davenport, Iowa. Temperatures, at 14F (-10C), are well below freezing. But it’s the cold winds of Donald Trump’s trade wars that worry Shaun Buckles.Related: 'He pulled the wool over our eyes': workers blame Trump for moving jobs overseas Continue reading...

Katharine Viner, Owen Jones and George Monbiot will be among those picking up the phonesWant to talk about the climate crisis with George Monbiot or discuss tumultuous recent political events with Polly Toynbee, Owen Jones or Marina Hyde? Or talk food and drink with Felicity Cloake, beauty with Sali Hughes, or movies with Peter Bradshaw?A team of Guardian and Observer journalists will be taking calls and donations at our annual charity telethon this Saturday. The cause is the climate emergency and we’re raising money for four charities that plant and protect trees, forests and woodlands. Continue reading...

MidCoast council tells residents, who are on level-four water restrictions, that water may be trucked in, if necessaryResidents in the New South Wales community of Gloucester have been told there is a risk the river that supplies their drinking water could run dry in the coming weeks – for the first time in recorded history.Gloucester’s town water supply comes from the Barrington River, which flows from the typically fertile Barrington Tops national park. Continue reading...