Senior official’s note also shows then environment minister Frydenberg wanted ‘how to’ on changing grassland rules

Proposed changes would allow owners to be prosecuted or fined for harming other speciesGrouse moor owners in Scotland face heavy fines or prosecution for failing to protect bird of prey and other species under new proposals to licence shooting estates.An expert report for the Scottish government has recommended ministers introduce mandatory licensing of grouse moors within five years because of their associations with the systematic persecution of eagles and other protected birds. Continue reading...

Data comes after renewables produced more electricity than any other source for first timeThe proportion of the UK’s power generation mix made up by fossil fuels has fallen to a record low after renewable energy became the UK’s largest source of electricity.Government figures showed the UK relied on renewables, such as wind and solar, for 38.9% of its electricity in the third quarter of this year, up from one-third in the same period in 2018. Continue reading...

Chemical manufacturer launched aggressive campaign instead of reining in pollution, according to documentsFacing public pressure to rein in its pollution, a Japanese chemical manufacturer has instead launched an aggressive, years-long campaign to undermine the science showing that its compounds could cause cancer, according to newly released documents reviewed by the Guardian.Chloroprene, the primary constituent of the synthetic rubber neoprene, is the major air pollutant in the town of Reserve, Louisiana, an area which according to the Environment Protection Agency has the highest risk of cancer due to airborne toxins anywhere in the US. Continue reading...

Charities caution that ‘UK aid risks becoming a vehicle for UK foreign policy’ if post-Brexit merger comes to fruitionA coalition of aid groups including the British Red Cross, Cafod and Oxfam GB has warned Boris Johnson that to abolish the Department for International Development would suggest Britain is “turning our backs on the world’s poorest people”.One climate diplomacy expert said it would be “political suicide” to merge DfID with the Foreign Office in 2020, the same year the UK is hosting the UN climate summit, since the move would tie up senior civil servants when they were most needed to tackle the response to the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Temperatures are expected to be more than 1.1C above pre-industrial averageNext year is likely to be another of the hottest on record, with global temperatures forecast to be more than 1.1C above the pre-industrial average, according to estimates from the Met Office.The forecast for 2020 is based on observations of trends over recent years that have seen a series of years more than 1C above pre-industrial levels, and bearing what meteorologists said was the “clear fingerprint” of human-induced global heating. Continue reading...

EPA last revised pollution standards for thousands of meat-processing plants 15 years ago and some guidance dates back to 70sA coalition of conservation and community groups representing millions of people is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for refusing to update national water pollution standards for slaughterhouses.The EPA decision allows thousands of meat and poultry processing plants to continue using outdated pollution-control technology, which has been linked to the contamination of waterways across the US. Continue reading...

Bank of England to force firms to say how they would respond to temperature rise of up to 4CUK banks and insurers will be forced to reveal how exposed they are to the climate crisis and how they would respond to the effects of a temperature rise of up to 4C under the Bank of England’s first climate stress tests.The Bank has put forward proposals to test the performance and health of the UK financial system for a range of climate-linked financial risks, including the failure of governments and consumers to take action. Continue reading...

Carbon Market Institute survey finds 96% believe Australia should not delay transition to decarbonised economyAustralian businesses are calling for a more ambitious national climate policy, backing a target of net zero emissions by 2050 and raising concerns about the lack of a coordinated energy policy and the government’s proposed use of carryover credits.The findings are contained in a Carbon Market Institute survey of more than 200 businesses, to be released on Thursday, which reveals 96% of those surveyed believe Australia should not delay the transition to a decarbonised economy. Continue reading...

Massive petrochemical complex proposed in southern Louisiana opposed by activists angered by revelations of site’s significanceA proposed sprawling petrochemical complex in southern Louisiana will be built on land holding historic cemetery sites that experts believe were likely slave burial grounds, according to documents released Wednesday. Continue reading...

Three climate campaigners glued their hands to DLR train at Canary Wharf in April protestA jury has expressed its regret at convicting three Extinction Rebellion protesters who glued themselves to a Docklands Light Railway train at Canary Wharf.Cathy Eastburn, 52, Mark Ovland, 36, and Luke Watson, 30, were convicted at inner London crown court after halting DLR services in London’s financial district on 17 April, as part of a series of protests carried out by XR. Continue reading...

Cutting toxic air might prevent millions of people getting depression, research suggestsPeople living with air pollution have higher rates of depression and suicide, a systematic review of global data has found.Cutting air pollution around the world to the EU’s legal limit could prevent millions of people becoming depressed, the research suggests. This assumes that exposure to toxic air is causing these cases of depression. Scientists believe this is likely but is difficult to prove beyond doubt. Continue reading...

US ranks seventh for overall deaths and is the ‘wealthiest’ nation to feature in top 10 with 197,000 lives lost in 2017The United States is among the top 10 deadliest countries for pollution-related fatalities, according to a landmark new global study, which warns that understanding the magnitude of the pollution crisis is being obstructed by “vested interests and overtaxed political infrastructures”.Related: Clean water group denounces Tucker Carlson's 'racist' litter comments Continue reading...

Saturday’s telethon will continue Christmas campaign to help environmental charities

Federal offshore petroleum regulator announces approval for Equinor as environmental groups signal likely legal challengeThe Norwegian energy giant Equinor has been granted environment approval for its controversial bid to drill to explore for oil in the Great Australian Bight.The decision, announced by the federal offshore petroleum regulator on Wednesday, means Equinor has cleared the second, and most significant, of four regulatory hurdles it needs to pass before it can start drilling. Continue reading...

As a case in the US alleges links between tech companies and child miners in Congo, the Guardian’s global environment editor assesses the dangers of element in high demand for batteriesIf the prophets of technology are to be believed, the best hope for solving the climate crisis is ever more efficient batteries. But the race to produce enough materials for this energy-storage revolution is creating a host of other environmental problems, as cobalt-producing nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Cuba are discovering.

PM should use his majority to push for investments, but he may lack the political braveryThe election is over, Boris Johnson has an 80-strong majority to wield, and many are now wondering what the prime minister will do with all this power over the next five years. So here’s an idea: let’s look at what he plans for everyday cycling.Cycling? Yes, cycling. In political terms it’s not exactly Brexit or the NHS, and if you were to list the average voter’s national concerns it would probably struggle make the top 100. But I’d argue that for Johnson it is a bellwether issue, one that will point to whether he plans to use his majority boldly or complacently. Continue reading...

PM told UK has ‘fallen short’ on its commitments to tackle greenhouse gasesBoris Johnson has been urged to follow in the footsteps of Margaret Thatcher by taking to the world stage to lead international action on the climate emergency – but to put the UK’s own emissions-cutting efforts back on track first.The prime minister was told on Wednesday that the UK had so far “fallen short” on its commitments to tackle greenhouse gases, in a letter from the committee on climate change (CCC). Continue reading...

Tuesday’s average maximum 0f 40.9C was Australia’s hottest ever and follows the driest and second warmest spring on recordAustralia has just experienced its hottest day on record and its worst spring on record for dangerous bushfire weather, according to data released by the Bureau of Meteorology.Preliminary analysis suggested that Tuesday was the hottest day on record for Australia, with an average maximum across the country of 40.9C. The temperature beat the previous 40.3C set on 7 January 2013, in a record going back to 1910. Continue reading...

Hunter Valley grapes at risk of taint from smoke, while extreme heat increases risk of sunburn for Barossa vinesThe Australian wine industry has experienced an “ominous” start to the growing season, with heatwave conditions in South Australia and Victoria, while grapes in the Hunter Valley are at increasing risk of being tainted by bushfire smoke.The most high-risk period for smoke taint and sun damage will not begin until late January, with the onset of ripening, or veraison. Continue reading...

Agriculture department report says changes in climate since 2000 have reduced revenue of cropping farms by $1.1bn a yearClimate change has reduced Australian farms’ average annual profitability by 22%, or around $18,600 per farm, in the past two decades, according to the agriculture department.In a report released on Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences has found that since 2000 changes in climate have reduced the revenue of Australian cropping farms by a total of $1.1bn a year. Continue reading...

Research finds 78% of Australians support reducing fossil fuel use and 64% back raising taxes to help do soAustralians are far less split on partisan lines than Americans on whether they accept the need to act on climate change, and are far more likely regardless of party allegiance to be willing to pay a carbon tax to cut fossil fuel use, a study has found.The research by the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney found a majority of both Australians and Americans said climate change was happening at least in significant part due to human activity, and they would support a plan to cut fossil fuel use by raising taxes, including a carbon tax. Continue reading...

Stuart Roberts, vice-president of the NFU, makes the green case for maintaining cattle grazing in the UK, while Simon Fairlie thinks cutting meat production is a distractionIt is too simplistic to say that cutting livestock numbers everywhere is the most efficient way of reducing emissions, as your article suggests (Governments urged to set deadlines for cutting livestock production, 12 December). The world’s livestock systems differ too significantly for them to be generalised, and doing so hinders the countries that are practising sustainable farming methods and which have an ambition to do even more.Compared with the mass-scale intensive systems in the US or Brazil, our livestock systems are unrecognisable. British farmers do not clear rainforest to make way for beef production. Our meat does not come from the ashes of the Amazon. We value our carbon sinks. Continue reading...

UK regulator says it will limit profits to push suppliers into investing in carbon-neutral technologyThe energy regulator has warned British energy firms it will cut investor returns in a push to keep a cap on household electricity bills.Ofgem says electricity suppliers will make lower company returns in the next price control period, from 2023, and it will push them to invest more in building a carbon neutral energy system. Continue reading...

Ella Kissi-Debrah, nine, who lived near South Circular Road in south London, died in 2013A fresh inquest into the death of a nine-year-old girl who suffered a fatal asthma attack will examine the role of the government as it looks at whether air pollution caused or contributed to her death.Ella Kissi-Debrah died in February 2013 after three years of seizures and 27 visits to hospital for breathing problems. Continue reading...

Levels high enough to potentially impact human health and trigger regulatory action, which only targets two of 4,700 variants

Study is a first to show direct evidence of the disease passing between the two speciesTuberculosis in cattle can be spread by badgers but cow-to-cow transmission is more significant than badger-to-cow, according to the first study to provide direct evidence of the disease passing between the two species.Scientists undertook whole genome sequencing of different strains of bovine TB to detect how it moved between cows and badgers in Woodchester Park, Gloucestershire. Continue reading...

Progress on cutting emissions in danger of stalling before Glasgow hosts COP26, says peer

Exclusive: GHD announcement it has ‘no ongoing contracts’ on project comes as Siemens considers backing outThe global engineering and services firm GHD has told staff it has concluded its work on Adani’s Carmichael coal project after a 10-year association with the company.The announcement follows an intense campaign by activists, a movement of engineers to shift their industry away from fossil fuels, and significant internal pressure on management by GHD staff. Continue reading...

New South Wales had said it would quit plan if state was not offered concessions on environmental water targetsThe federal water minister, David Littleproud, appears to have averted a walkout from from the Murray-Darling Basin plan ahead of a crucial meeting in Brisbane to discuss possible concessions to cope with the drought.New South Wales had threatened to walk away from the $13bn joint federal-state agreement if it did not receive relief from some targets it must reach under the plan. These include returning its share of 2,750GL of water to the environment to improve the river system’s health. Continue reading...

Renewables help fossil fuel’s decline in Europe and US but capacity rises in ChinaGlobal demand for coal has fallen this year for the first time in two years as Europe and the US turn their backs on coal-fired power plants in favour of cheap gas and renewable energy.A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) found that the world’s appetite for coal declined in 2019 after a two-year resurgence following the steepest ever drop in the use of coal-fired power plants. Continue reading...

Conservationists condemn New South Wales government as feral horse numbers increase by 16,000 since 2014The feral horse population in Australia’s alpine national parks has more than doubled in the past five years, with conservationists blaming what they have called a disgraceful lack of management by the New South Wales government.The updated population figures come from an aerial survey of the alpine national parks and surrounding state forests in NSW and Victoria conducted in April and May of this year. It mimicked a survey of the same area in 2014. Continue reading...

Frustrated by government ‘denial’, Emergency Leaders for Climate Action ready to go it alone on bushfire crisis summit

A historic graveyard in Texas lies within the barrier’s 150ft ‘enforcement zone’ the government has said it plans to razeThe Eli Jackson cemetery is the final resting place for Native Americans, war veterans, freed slaves and Christian abolitionists who shaped the cultural, spiritual and racial history of the Rio Grande Valley.The historic graveyard is next door to the Jackson Ranch chapel, the oldest Protestant church still standing in the valley. Continue reading...

National park’s decision not to ban 4x4s from tracks is outrageous, says action groupCampaigners are launching a legal challenge to the Lake District National Park Authority’s “outrageous” refusal to ban 4x4s and trail motorbikes from farm tracks on hills once owned by Beatrix Potter.In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of off-road vehicles using the tracks between Little Langdale and High Tilberthwaite, which Potter bought in 1929 and which was later acquired by the National Trust. Continue reading...

Water company issues Christmas plea for customers to stop pouring fat down drainsTwo huge fatbergs together weighing almost 100 tonnes and threatening to cause floods in homes and businesses over Christmas have been cleared from sewers in central London.Thames Water said a fatberg weighing 63 tonnes – several tonnes of which was concrete – was cleared from a Pall Mall sewer after being broken up by engineers with power tools and by hand. Continue reading...

Network bans passengers from using their own cups because of risk to catering staffIrish Rail bills itself as part of a solution to the climate crisis and pollution, saying clean transport can help avert global warming, rising sea levels and famine.But don’t try using your own reusable coffee cup on one of its trains. Ireland’s national railway network has banned passengers from using their own cups, citing safety concerns. Continue reading...

River waters fall to a record low as dams continue to be built, putting hundreds of species at riskTbong sits in the shade of a makeshift stilt hut over the edge of Tonlé Sap lake, surrounded by curious children. Continue reading...

Experts horrified at large-scale forest removal to meet wood pellet demandPlans to shift Europe’s coal plants to burning wood pellets instead could accelerate rather than combat the climate crisis and lay waste to woodland equal to half the size of Germany’s Black Forest a year, according to campaigners.The climate thinktank Sandbag said the heavily subsidised plans to cut carbon emissions would result in a “staggering” amount of tree cutting, potentially destroying forests faster than they can regrow. Continue reading...

Charity finds one in five won’t re-wear new outfits, despite spending average of £73.90 eachBritons are poised to spend £2.4bn on new outfits for the Christmas party season this year – yet many items may be worn fewer than three times – a survey shows.After shelling out an average of £73.90 per person on partywear for the festive period, one in five people admit they won’t wear the same outfit to more than one party or event, according to the study from environmental charity Hubbub. Continue reading...

The 3,500-year-old, single-use vessel for wine will go on display at the British MuseumThe finding of an ancient disposable cup that dates back 3,500 years shows that the idea that throwaway vessels for drinks is a modern habit is not true and even ancient civilisations didn’t want “to do the washing up”, experts say.The Minoans, one of the first advanced civilisations in Europe, used the cup to drink wine in Greek island of Crete where they resided. Thousands of the handleless, conical clay cups have been discovered on archeological sites on the island and the palace of Knossos. They will go on display from Friday at the the British Museum, which has been under pressure from environment campaigners over its sponsorship by oil giant BP. Continue reading...

Morrison government criticised for planning to use accounting loophole to meet emissions targetDisagreement over Australia’s plan to use an accounting loophole to meet its climate target will spill into 2020 after a United Nations conference in Madrid failed to reach consensus on rules to implement the global deal.As talks dragged past the scheduled Friday close into Sunday afternoon, Australia was accused of “cheating” and named by other countries and conference observers as one of a handful of nations that thwarted a deal on the rulebook for the Paris climate agreement. Continue reading...

Damaged valve has affected the area around Leighton Buzzard, home to 40,000 peopleResidents in Bedfordshire are facing a third night without water after a damaged valve cut off supplies on Friday evening.The fault has affected the area surrounding Leighton Buzzard, which is home to about 40,000 people. Continue reading...

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas singles out fund over its investmentsAn investment fund representing 9,000 nuns hascriticised the multitrillion-dollar investment group BlackRock for failing to combat the climate crisis.The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas called on the world’s largest asset manager, which has $7tn (£5.25tn) of assets, to use its clout to coax companies into moving faster to reduce emissions. Continue reading...

Partial agreement at COP25 that countries must be more ambitious to fulfil Paris goalsClimate talks in Madrid have ended with a partial agreement to ask countries to come up with more ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet the terms of the 2015 Paris accord.Few countries came to this year’s talks with updated plans to reach the Paris goals, though the EU finally agreed its long-term target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Experts say more ambitious emissions cuts are needed globally if the Paris pledge to hold global heating to no more than 2C is to be met. Continue reading...

Edinburgh zoo stays silent on prospect of a final bid to produce cubs before Tian Tian and Yang Guang return to ChinaFor a couple of years, Scotland’s two giant pandas were the biggest celebrities in the land. Now, as they prepare for their final scheduled year in captivity on Scottish soil, before returning to their native China, Tian Tian and Yang Guang are largely forgotten after a decade of failed and increasingly desperate attempts to coax them into producing offspring.They arrived at Edinburgh zoo in 2011 and made headlines for months as the nation waited for the first giant panda to be born in Scotland. Record numbers of visitors followed, and at one point the then first minister, Alex Salmond, joked that the country had more pandas than Tories. Continue reading...

Trees for Cities, one of the four groups we are supporting in the 2019 charity appeal, helps schools in deprived areas create inspiring green spaces

Martijn Wilder says more companies are talking about the climate crisis but not moving quickly enough – and his new firm Pollination aims to improve thatA growing number of governments, including of every Australian state, Britain and the European Union, have set targets of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Few have mapped how to get there.It is a similar story in the corporate sector. Businesses are under increasing pressure from investors and shareholders to back up claims they are committed to the goals of the Paris agreement. Take BHP, one of the world’s 20 big emitters: it has set a mid-century net-zero emissions target but is yet explain how it will reach it, and plans to invest more in oil and gas than climate solutions. Continue reading...