Environment | The Guardian

Expert who led 2006 review says ban on nuclear should be lifted, but much more overseas evidence is needed on small modular reactorsIt will be about a decade before it is clear whether small nuclear reactors are suitable for Australia and would take about 15 years to bring a plant online if a decision was made to build one, one of the country’s leading experts has said.But Ziggy Switkowski, who headed a 2006 review of nuclear power for the Howard government, said the technology had no chance of being introduced unless Australia had a coherent energy policy. Continue reading...

Under threat from fire, deforestation and Bolsonaro, Xikrin people take matters into own handsThreatened by fire, deforestation and invasion, the Xikrin people of the northern Amazon are fighting back.While the authorities stand idle and the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, tries to undermine their territorial rights, the indigenous community have taken matters into their own hands by expelling the loggers and ranchers who illegally occupied their land and set fire to the forest. Continue reading...

Ibrahim Sedef discovers to his cost that they don’t just settle for the bear necessitiesA beekeeper in Turkey who was harassed by a particularly persistent group of bears has discovered a profound truth: the animals have very expensive tastes when it comes to honey.Ibrahim Sedef, an engineer from Trabzon, north-east of Ankara on the Turkey’s Black Sea coast, struggled to keep his bee hives out of the hands of local bears, despite building storage houses and metal cages. Continue reading...

True scale of persecution of birds of prey such as buzzards and owls is likely to be higherBirds of prey were shot, poisoned, trapped or illegally killed in 87 confirmed incidents in 2018 that led to just one successful conviction, according to the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report.This persecution of raptors including peregrines, buzzards, red kites and owls is the tip of the iceberg, with many more birds vanishing in mysterious circumstances, according to data from satellite-tagged birds and other intelligence. Continue reading...

Thinktank IPPR North warns of leaks, overuse and climate crisis making droughts more likelyDemand for water could outstrip supply by 2035 in parts of northern England, according to a report.Recent focus on near-future water shortages has been on dry south-east England, where London’s consumption of water already outstrips supply in dry years, and the water companies that serve the capital are located in areas classified as seriously water stressed. Continue reading...

Gas industry, main driver of rising emissions, welcomes policy as state’s Labor government backs “aspirational” target of zero emissions by 2050The Western Australian Labor government says it will back the federal government’s 2030 climate targets, rejecting attempts by the state’s Environmental Protection Authority to introduce tougher measures for new major projects.Proponents of major projects will be given the freedom to propose their own timelines for cutting carbon emissions as well as setting their own targets. Continue reading...

The native birds, including 76 wedge-tailed eagles, hawks and falcons, will be tested to determine the cause of deathAbout 120 native birds have been found dead after suspected poisoning in northeastern Victoria.Officers from the environment department found the birds, including 76 wedge-tailed eagles, hawks and falcons, during raids on a property near Violet Town this week. Continue reading...

The mining lobby wants downstream emissions to be irrelevant but their impact on farmers is already real and far-reachingTwelve years ago, in New South Wales, a landmark court case over a new coalmine called Anvil Hill found that downstream emissions – or “scope 3” – are relevant to the assessment of a mine’s environmental impact.So, when a state planning policy for mining was created six months later, these emissions were explicitly included in the matters to be considered when weighing up new coalmines. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Carmichael mine set to receive subsidies, favourable deals and tax concessions over 30 yearsAustralian governments will give $4.4bn in effective subsidies to Adani’s Carmichael coal project, which would otherwise be “unbankable and unviable”, a new analysis has found.The report, by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, concluded that the project would benefit from several Australian taxpayer–funded arrangements – including subsidies, favourable deals and tax concessions – over its 30-year project life. Continue reading...

Sweden’s teenage environmental activist says she’s going to miss ‘sitting for hours and staring at the ocean, doing nothing’ after setting foot on dry land10.07pm BSTIf you want to hang with Greta Thunberg, make America Greta again, do your bit to protest inaction on the climate crisis, etc, etc, then midtown Manhattan is where you need to be this Friday.She’s going to be taking part in a general strike outside the United Nations headquarters.Related: Trump claims he did not promise pardons to aides despite reports – live news9.54pm BSTOMG do NOT ever try to condescend to Greta Thunberg! Listening in on a conversation she just had with some journalist or other (not the Guardian, I hasten to add, that comes later, keep an eye on the website for her interview!), dude asks her: “Don’t you just want to be a kid?”

Forestry expert warns annual burning season had yet to fully play out and calls for urgent steps to reduce potential damageThe fires raging in the Brazilian Amazon are likely to intensify over the coming weeks, a leading environmental expert has warned, despite government claims the situation had been controlled.Related: Amazon fires: what is happening and is there anything we can do? Continue reading...

Power baron Trevor St Baker warns the Coalition not to be a ‘government of inaction’ on energyThe outspoken power baron Trevor St Baker has urged the Coalition to avoid being a “government of inaction” on energy policy and called for the Liddell power station to be transformed into an “exclusive baseload power precinct”.It comes as companies that were shortlisted for taxpayer underwriting for energy generation projects before the May election continue to wait for information about how the program will work or whether they will receive government support. Continue reading...

Two government reports are expected to project a poor outlook for the reefThe federal government is pushing Unesco’s world heritage committee to resolve how it will deal with the impact of climate change on world heritage properties, including the Great Barrier Reef.It comes ahead of the release of two government reports that are expected to project a poor outlook for the reef, the status of which will be reassessed by Unesco next year after previously avoiding an in danger listing. Continue reading...

Long-tailed blues and eggs seen in large numbers but are unlikely to survive the winterA fast-flying migratory butterfly from the Mediterranean is appearing in large numbers across southern England this summer as a result of global heating, experts say.More than 50 long-tailed blues and hundreds of the butterfly’s eggs have been discovered in recent weeks, which is likely to result in an unprecedented emergence of the butterfly in Britain later this autumn. Continue reading...

Sir Jim Ratcliffe slates government restrictions as ‘archaic and unworkable’Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of Britain’s richest men, has set his sights on the US shale gas industry as his fracking ambitions in the UK wane.The owner of petrochemicals giant Ineos is on the hunt for shale gas investments within the US fracking heartlands of the Permian Basin, according to sources. Continue reading...

XR says 750 people will occupy Deansgate in protest at city’s climate crisis contradictionsHundreds of climate protesters plan to occupy one of Manchester’s busiest streets for four days this weekend to expose the “huge contradictions” of a city region that has declared a climate emergency while planning to massively expand its airport.The Extinction Rebellion group says that from 10am on Friday at least 750 people have pledged to take over part of Deansgate, a popular area for shopping and entertainment that has illegal levels of air pollution. Continue reading...

Agriculture minister hopes ‘Noah’s ark’ plan will prevent severe fish kills, but critics accuse Nationals of tending to ‘self-inflicted wound’The New South Wales government says it is planning a $10m “Noah’s ark”-style plan to stave off a “potential fish Armageddon” facing the state this summer, but critics say the Coalition is sticking a Band-Aid on a gaping self-inflicted wound.The Berejiklian government’s plan aims to combine better research and increased breeding with fish rescue operations to save some of the state’s native fish from a forecast ecological disaster as the drought drags on. Continue reading...

Local groups join together for an event that seeks to shut down traffic on 23 September, during the UN Climate Action SummitClimate activists will escalate their protests next month in Washington DC, seeking to shut down traffic with blockades at key intersections to bring attention to the intensifying crisis.Several local groups are planning the action for 23 September, as youth leaders call for a global strike and a week of action. Hundreds of events are planned, with more than 100 of them in the US, organizers said. Continue reading...

Moscow aiming to win influence by wooing African states with nuclear energy

Conservation research shows humans are ‘loving the dolphins too much’ in Bay of Islands regionThe New Zealand government has banned tourists from swimming with bottlenose dolphins in an attempt to save the struggling species.According to the department of conservation [DoC] research has shown that humans were “loving the dolphins too much” and human interaction was “having a signifiant impact on the population’s resting and feeding behaviour”. Continue reading...

Correspondence shows NSW Natural Resources Commission anger at being criticised by water minister Melinda Pavey over Barwon-Darling findingsThe New South Wales Natural Resources Commission has warned the water minister she is “shooting the messenger” over their findings that water management in the Barwon-Darling river had brought on drought conditions in the Lower Darling three years early.The Sydney Morning Herald has obtained correspondence from the commission in which it strongly refutes the minister’s assertions that its report on management of NSW’s largest river was wrong or tarnished by a conflict of interest by its scientific expert, Professor Fran Sheldon. Continue reading...

Retailer’s target is part of aim to use 100% sustainable cotton in all product categoriesPrimark has announced plans to improve its sustainability credentials by training 160,000 cotton farmers in India, Pakistan and China in environmentally friendly farming methods by 2022.The target is part of the retailer’s sustainable cotton programme, launched in 2013, with the aim to use 100% sustainable cotton in all its product categories. Continue reading...

Japanese conglomerate backs solar utility BBOXX to expand service in south Asia and AfricaA British energy firm lighting up homes in Africa with pay-as-you-go solar power has secured £40m to extend its reach to Asia with the help of Japan’s Mitsubishi.The conglomerate has taken a stake in off-grid solar company BBOXX through the start-up’s latest funding round, which will power the Africa-focused company deeper into Asia. Continue reading...

Archbishop of Canterbury says fund managers are not doing enough to press for changeThe archbishop of Canterbury has criticised the investment industry for inaction over the climate crisis and called on fund managers to push companies to reduce their impact on the environment.Justin Welby said fund managers had “not sufficiently stepped up to the plate” to use their ownership of companies to press for change. He said investors should tell firms to help meet targets set by the Paris climate agreement. Continue reading...

Jaunty coverage of sweltering bank holiday weather not linking to global heating trendIn what is fast becoming a British summer ritual, the record holiday heat this week has prompted reams of cheerful forecasts and sunny headlines but far too few reminders that the climate crisis has made record-breaking a norm, according to experts.The latest record was the 33.2C (91.8F) at Heathrow, which was five degrees higher than the hottest temperature previously registered in Britain on an August bank holiday Monday. Continue reading...

Open letter calls for changes to policies sector says threatens to hold green economy backBoris Johnson’s support for Britain’s “world leading” battery sector risks being undermined by government policy, according to the industry.A coalition of trade groups and technology firms have written an open letter to the Guardian that calls for urgent changes to policies they say threaten to hold the sector back. Continue reading...

We grow things, invest, make decisions today to benefit the future. But has the climate emergency put an end to that?There is an apple in my imagination, a memory. I can still picture the first moment I saw it in the scorching dusk, the first fruit of a tree my partner and I had planted just two years before. The sapling had taken root in the loamy clay of our garden and grown upwards over two hot summers and two dry winters. Now, it was bearing fruit, not yet ripe, and rough to the touch, but an apple nonetheless. The first of many.We had planted the tree for the children we didn’t yet have, knowing it could come to bear fruit as they grew. It was an investment in our environment for the good of our children, an investment in their future, but we found that apple among the stones of the garden bed not long after. It had fallen, burned on the branch, scorched on one side. Continue reading...

Clearer targets and a more consistent approach will help Britain achieve its ambitions, writes Dr Nina Skorupska and seven othersInnovation is transforming the way we generate and consume power, with future energy needs being met through subsidy-free renewables balanced by on-site battery storage.The government has set out strong ambitions for the UK to be a world leader in flexible generation, most recently through the plans for a new Smart Export Guarantee. Continue reading...

Cold front heads towards east of country and Balearics as Madrid reels from flash-floodsParts of eastern Spain and the Balearic islands are bracing for heavy rains after Madrid and the surrounding area were battered by violent storms, torrential hail, and flash flooding.Roads around the Spanish capital were flooded, flights diverted from Barajas airport and underground services affected on Monday night as an isolated depression at high levels moved across the centre of the Iberian peninsula. Continue reading...

We want to hear from people living or working on the frontline of the fires destroying forests in Brazil, Bolivia and across the regionSmoke from wildfires burning in the Amazon shrouded São Paulo in darkness earlier this month. The clouds covering the megacity, almost 2,000 miles from the fires, made it impossible for residents and the rest of the world to ignore the destruction taking place.As international leaders, environmental groups and activists condemn Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro for weakening rainforest protections, we want to hear from those who have witnessed and been directly affected by these fires – in the Amazon and across the region. Continue reading...

Anarcho-capitalism was the real cancer plaguing the billionaire libertarian. And it spread across universities, halls of Congress and the White House

Senior official says funds should be spent on reforesting Europe and not on ‘colonialist practices’

This invasive plant was reviled for clogging rivers but now it’s helping provide cleaner energy and protect healthIt is 9am on the shores of Lake Victoria’s Winam Gulf in Kenya’s Kisumu county. Tourists are arriving on the beach in droves, preparing to spend the day sunbathing and taking boat rides. Behind them, enormous marabou storks on spindly grey legs are pacing the beach, waiting for scraps.Nearby, a group of women scan the horizon, looking for the fishing boats that will soon arrive with their daily catch. Continue reading...

Fed up with the state of their Parisian suburb, members of a youth charity decided to clean up – and challenge another city, sparking a trendWhen Hind Ayadi decided to do something about the amount of rubbish in her neighbourhood, kickstarting a national cleaning campaign was not her intention. But “Ma cité va briller” (“My suburb is going to shine”) has become just that: a viral initiative that spread throughout France, to Algeria and beyond in just a few days.Ayadi, founder of youth arts nonprofit Espoir et Création, lives in Garges-lès-Gonesse, part of the northern suburbs of Paris and previously famous only for gang violence. But at the end of July, Ayadi and other members of Espoir et Création decided to work with local young people to raise awareness of environmental issues and the importance of protecting natural resources – as well as encouraging them to feel proud of their town. Continue reading...

Melbourne Girls’ College principal says she wants parents to buy items with less packagingA Melbourne selective girls’ school is removing its rubbish bins and will force students to pack reusable lunch containers or take their rubbish home from next week.Melbourne Girls’ College principal Karen Money hopes the move will encourage families to think more sustainably about school lunches and buy items with less packaging. Continue reading...

Market operator was unaware that Pelican Point could make full capacity available, regulator allegesThe Australian Energy Regulator has launched federal court action against a power station operator in Adelaide over its conduct ahead of the 2017 blackout which cut electricity to about 90,000 properties.The regulator alleges the operators of the Pelican Point gas-fired plant failed to notify the Australian Energy Market Operator of its generating capacity at a time when South Australia was experiencing heatwave conditions, high customer demand and reduced power availability. Continue reading...

An estimated 55 million adults will be vaping by 2021, creating millions of devices that will be disposed of improperlyVaping has been declared a serious health epidemic, but it could also create a massive recycling disaster, according to researchers. And top companies in the sector are piloting recycling programs to address the millions of devices improperly disposed of each year.Market research group Euromonitor estimates that the number of adults who vape will reach almost 55 million by 2021. The e-cigarette market was worth approximately $5.5bn as of 2018. As of 2017, there were 565 types of e-cigarette devices on the market in the US, 184 of which were disposable or single-use, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. When littered, these products can leach dangerous metals, battery acid, and nicotine into the environment. And there is no legal way to recycle them. Continue reading...

Investigation into why environment agency ignored warnings that farmers and land-grabbers were planning day of coordinated firesBrazilian environmental officials and federal prosecutors say that they sent a warning that farmers and land-grabbers in the Amazon were planning a day of coordinated fires on 10 August to send a message to far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, but authorities failed to act.Wildfires and burning deforested land are common during the Amazon’s dry seasons but peaked this month to more than 26,000 – the highest August figure since 2010. The environmental disaster has taken on international dimensions and overshadowed the G7 meeting in Biarritz. Continue reading...

Sydney Catholic Schools spokesman says ‘the best way for young people to really make a difference is to receive a quality education’Sydney Catholic and Anglican churches say they will not follow the example of the Uniting church, which has granted support to the school climate strike movement and given students support to attend the marches.Students across the country are planning to walk out of school on Friday 20 September, to protest government inaction on the climate crisis. Thousands of Australian students participated in two previous strikes, which have since grown into a global movement of millions. Continue reading...

World leaders offer $20m now plus reforestation plan, but critics want major policy shiftsThe G7’s pledge of $20m (£16m) to douse the fires in the Amazon has been dismissed as “chump change” by environmental campaigners, as concerns grow about political cooperation on deforestation and other climate issues.The summit host, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, told reporters he would try to deal with the long-term causes by creating an international alliance to save the rainforest, with details of a reforestation programme to be unveiled at next month’s UN climate meeting in New York. Continue reading...

Two species to be classed as most at risk after ownership craze fuelled by social mediaA trade ban is looming for two endangered otter species after 100 countries voted to increase protections following a social media-fuelled craze for acquiring the mammals as pets.A majority of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) voted to place the smooth-coated otter on the treaty’s most endangered list on Sunday. On Monday, they voted to do the same for the Asian small-clawed otter. Continue reading...

Earth Alliance, an environmental group co-founded by the actor, said donation will help ‘focus critical resources’ amid wildfiresEarth Alliance, an environmental group co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio, has announced over the weekend that it will donate $5m to help combat the fires currently ravaging the Amazon rainforest.The initial monetary commitment will help “focus critical resources on the key protections needed to maintain the ‘lungs of the planet’”, Earth Alliance explained in a post, encouraging members of the public to donate as well. Continue reading...

Macron says $20m fund and long-term initiative to protect rainforest agreed on in BiarritzThe G7 countries have agreed to an immediate $20m (£16m) aid package to help Amazon countries fight wildfires and launch a longer-term global initiative to protect the rainforest.The assistance plan, announced by the French and Chilean presidents on Monday, would involve a programme of reforestation, to be unveiled at the UN general assembly meeting next month. Continue reading...

Scheme to pipe ‘waste heat’ from tube into hundreds of Islington homes and businessesThe sweltering temperatures on the tube’s Northern line will soon begin keeping homes in Islington, north London, cosy through the colder months, under a scheme to harness the heat from the underground.By the end of the year the project will pipe heat from the underground into hundreds of homes and businesses that are part of a heating scheme in the borough. Continue reading...

Choice of Borneo for £27bn project raises fears of forest destruction and pollution

Houses shake as 2.9-magnitude quake recorded near Cuadrilla’s site near Blackpool on MondayA large tremor that caused houses to shake has been triggered by the UK’s only active fracking site, amid rising alarm about the controversial practice.The 2.9-magnitude quake, recorded near Cuadrilla’s site near Blackpool on Monday morning, is believed to be the biggest fracking-related tremor seen in Britain. Continue reading...

Climate crisis group says Scottish government urgently needs to speed up responseA coalition of climate campaigners and business groups have called for a ban on all petrol and diesel vehicles in Scottish cities as part of a multibillion-pound strategy to cut carbon emissions.The climate emergency response group, a coalition of 19 environment groups, civic institutions, companies and business groups, said the Scottish government had to significantly speed up and strengthen its responses to the threats posed by global heating. Continue reading...

NSW Nationals and Liberals at odds over findings that over-extraction of water had sent the lower Darling into droughtA major split is emerging between the Nationals and the Liberals over water policy as the New South Wales government grapples with an overhaul of the Barwon-Darling water rules that will restrict extractions by the cotton industry.The NSW minister for water, Melinda Pavey, has launched an extraordinary attack on the independent Natural Resources Commission, disputing its scientific findings that over-extraction in the Barwon-Darling has pushed the Darling into hydrological drought three years early. Continue reading...

Reforms will oblige Cuba to work more closely with its US neighbours – in spite of US President Trump’s frosty attitudeCuba has introduced sweeping reforms of its fishing laws in a move seen as smoothing the way for possible collaboration with the US on protecting their shared ocean, despite Donald Trump’s policy of reversing a thaw in relations.The move is the first time the text of an environmental law in Cuba specifies the need for scientific research, which experts say will mean greater reliance on state-of-the-art US technology. Continue reading...

G7 leaders stepped up pressure on president Jair Bolsonaro to tackle destruction of precious rainforestBrazilian warplanes have begun dumping water on burning forest in the Amazon state of Rondonia, responding to an outcry over the destruction of the world’s largest tropical rain forest.President Jair Bolsonaro authorised military operations in seven states on Sunday to combat raging fires in the Amazon, responding to requests for assistance from their local governments, a spokeswoman for his office said. Continue reading...