Bill Shorten to flag a new pollution regulation on car retailers and a reboot of the heavily criticised safeguard mechanismLabor will set a national electric vehicles target of 50% new car sales by 2030, and 50% for the government fleet by 2025, as well as allowing business to deduct a 20% depreciation for private fleet EVs valued at more than $20,000, as part of its climate change policy to be unveiled on Monday.Bill Shorten will also flag a new pollution regulation on car retailers “in line with” 105g CO2/km for light vehicles, which is consistent with American emissions standards, but will consult on coverage and the timeline to phase in the change rather than impose it immediately. Continue reading...

Activists say 1,100 dolphins found since January - but real figure may be 10 times higherA record number of dolphins have washed up on France’s Atlantic coast in the last three months, many with devastating injures.Environmental campaigners say 1,100 mutilated dolphins have been found since January, but the real figure could be 10 times higher as many bodies sink without trace. Activists warn the marine slaughter could threaten the extinction of the European dolphin population in the region. Continue reading...

Australia’s top export market for thermal coal gives further signs of dramatic energy pivot to renewablesJapan’s environment minister has announced he will “in principle” oppose any new plans to build or expand coal-fired power stations, as further signs emerge of a dramatic energy pivot by Australia’s top export market for thermal coal.Guardian Australia reported in March that Japan had cancelled a large percentage of planned investments in coal-fired power, while Japanese investment vehicles were ditching coal projects and instead seeking to back large-scale renewable projects across Asia. Continue reading...

Cities worldwide take part in WWF event to call for global action on climate changeCities around the world were marking Earth Hour on Saturday by turning off lights at 8:30pm local time in a call for global action on climate change. Continue reading...

Australia has not set efficiency standards, despite years of talking, in contrast to China, India, Japan, US and EUCuts to carbon emissions from vehicle efficiency standards have been left out of government projections for meeting Australia’s Paris climate commitments, indicating the policy has been shelved.The office of the transport minister, Michael McCormack, said the government had not made a decision on “how or when” standards to cut carbon pollution from vehicles might be implemented. Continue reading...

Congresswoman hit back at Republicans who claim her resolution would cause ‘genocide’ and the end of hamburgersAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez has rounded on her Republican opponents, accusing them of making “total fools of themselves” in criticising her Green New Deal proposals.The Democratic congresswoman from New York has come under increasing attack from conservatives over her resolution that calls for a 10-year “national mobilization” to eliminate greenhouse gases and avert the worst impacts of climate change. Continue reading...

Campaign group to take direct action outside bank’s branches in protest at fossil fuel fundingJohn McDonnell has called on Labour members to join Momentum on its first direct action campaign, as a senior organiser for the group called it a move from party politics to movement politics.Forty local Momentum groups across England and Wales, from Exeter to Redcar, will take action outside branches of Barclays on Saturday to raise awareness of the bank’s financing of fossil fuel companies. Continue reading...

The bank is a huge backer of the fossil fuel industry and attendant climate catastrophe. Direct action is vitalFrom Cyclone Idai, which has killed hundreds in south-east Africa, to flooding in Bangladesh – where my family is from – for decades climate change has been devastating communities in the global south. More recently these effects have begun to be felt by people in the UK too: just last month, wildfires raged on Saddleworth Moor, while where I live in Brixton, the air is so polluted I suffer from breathing problems.We all know that the impact of climate change is felt unequally, depending on where you live, how wealthy you are and how easily you can shield yourself from its effects. Less widely known, however, is that responsibility for the crisis is unequal too. In recent years we have been sold a lie: that ordinary people are to blame for the climate crisis. It’s our spending and our consumption habits that have created the mess we’re in, we are told, not the bankers, oil companies and a rich elite. Continue reading...

Land-clearing and vehicle pollution measures also expected in opposition’s final election offering on climateLabor is set to unveil a climate policy that will beef up the Morrison government’s heavily criticised safeguard mechanism, creating new pollution reduction requirements for the aviation sector, cement, steel and aluminum, mining and gas, direct combustion and the non-electricity energy sectors.Currently the safeguard mechanism applies to businesses with direct emissions of more than 100 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent pollution each year, and Labor’s policy is expected to lower that threshold to 25 kilotonnes, which means more sectors and businesses will be covered. Continue reading...

A plan to generate enough wind power for 200,000 homes hints at a coal valley’s clean energy futureAt exactly 5pm on 29 March 2017, Unit 1 of the Hazelwood station reported the last energy generation after 53 years of faithful operation. Hazelwood isn’t the first coal power station to close in recent years — in fact it is one of 13 that closed over a five year period — but, as one of the largest and dirtiest power stations in the country it has become totemic, for both the environment movement and Australia’s coal fetishists.Now, two years on, fears of mass workforce dislocation — such as the Latrobe Valley suffered when the region’s power stations were privatised in the 1990s — have largely failed to materialise. More than 1,000 jobs have been created in the region and unemployment has dropped from 8% to 5.7%, in no small part due to the efforts of the Latrobe Valley Authority, set up by the state government to help ensure a “just transition” for the workers and local community. Continue reading...

A frog hopping onto a duck, bats hibernating in a fridge and a bee collecting nectar from a cherry blossom tree Continue reading...

Report finds rise in solar and wind generation almost eclipsed capacity lost when Hazelwood power station closedGrowth in wind and solar energy over the past two years has almost entirely replaced the lost output from the Hazelwood power station during summer, a new report says.The latest Green Energy Markets report says renewable energy produced 128% more megawatt hours of electricity than gas and 23% more than brown coal over the 2018-19 summer in the national electricity market states. Continue reading...

Study finds that places where people have never had the diseases could see bad outbreaks if they aren’t preparedHalf a billion more people could be at risk from mosquito-transmitted diseases within 30 years as a result of the warming climate, according to a new study.Canada and parts of northern Europe could be newly exposed to the threat. People there could come into contact with yellow fever, Zika, dengue and chikungunya, as well as other emerging diseases. Continue reading...

Pollution from energy sector continues to drop, while low-carbon generation rose to 53%The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 3% in 2018 as pollution from the energy sector continued to decrease, provisional government figures show.Emissions of the gases that drive climate change have fallen for six years in a row, and are 44% below the 1990 baseline for the UK. Emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, are at the lowest level since before the start of the 20th century, when Queen Victoria was still on the throne, government officials said. Continue reading...

Around 220 million people descended on sleepy Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) for the 50-day Hindu festival. The cleanup could take monthsAs the sun sets over the Ganges, Vikas Kumar drives his garbage truck through the streets of Prayagraj, a historic Indian city of 1.1 million that was until last year known as Allahabad. “All this stuff people have been eating, drinking and throwing away,” he says, gesturing at piles of food waste, discarded water bottles and mud-spattered flowers. “It will take three or four months to clear.”Over a 50-day period this normally sleepy city has been visited by around 220 million people for the Kumbh Mela – a Hindu pilgrimage dubbed the world’s largest human gathering. Continue reading...

Mass of congealed oils, grease, wet wipes and other nasties the size of six double decker buses finally clearedThe Sidmouth fatberg, a monstrous mass of congealed oils, grease, wet wipes and other nasties discovered lurking under the seafront of the Devon resort, has finally been vanquished.It has taken a dedicated team of workers seven weeks to remove the 64-metre object found by a shocked worker, Charlie Ewart, during a routine check just before Christmas. Continue reading...

Exclusive: carcinogenic chemicals and other pollutants found near tower after deadly fireCancer-causing chemicals and other potentially harmful toxins have been found close to Grenfell Tower in fire debris and soil samples that could pose serious health risks to the surrounding community and survivors of the blaze, a study warns.The research has uncovered “significant environmental contamination” from a range of toxins, including in oily deposits collected 17 months after the tragedy from a flat 160 metres from the site. Continue reading...

The 2020 presidential challenger has praised the Green New Deal but his relationship with the fossil fuel industry has come under scrutinyIt was not hard for Beto O’Rourke to seem like a champion of green issues during his eye-catching Senate campaign in America’s 2018 midterm elections – after all, he was up against Ted Cruz, a climate change denier.Now, as the former US congressman vies to be the Democratic candidate to run against Donald Trump in the 2020 race for the White House, he faces much closer scrutiny on the subject. Continue reading...

The presence of large sturgeon is just one indicator that the waterway is recovering from serious industrial pollutionNew York’s Hudson river, once known as America’s Rhine in a nod to the famous European waterway, played a pivotal role in bolstering American power at the cost of decades of foul pollution.Related: Oysters are making a comeback in the polluted waters around New York City Continue reading...

Not long before coal use is over, say analysts, while warning of possible resurgence in ChinaThe number of coal-fired power plants being developed around the world has collapsed in the last three years, according to a report.The number of plants on which construction has begun each year has fallen by 84% since 2015, and 39% in 2018 alone, while the number of completed plants has dropped by more than half since 2015. Continue reading...

Park officials say many wildflower tourists have been well-behaved, but some have ignored pleas to stay on trailsIn one of the most famous literary descriptions of wildflowers, the English poet William Wordsworth wrote in the early 19th century of happily gazing upon a host of daffodils “fluttering and dancing in the breeze”. In 21st-century California, wildflowers dancing in the breeze are being trampled by helicopter.As thousands of sightseers descend on southern California parks for a springtime “super bloom”, officials reported on Wednesday that a couple in a helicopter landed in the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, crushing the delicate plants. They proceeded to walk around, further inflicting harm. As soon as they were approached by law enforcement officers, they scurried back into their aircraft and zoomed away. Continue reading...

By working in partnership with organisations like the Environment Agency, we are prioritising our work to ensure that it delivers best value and multiple benefits to the country, write Rob Ward and Jon Ford of the British Geological SurveyDavid Nowell (Letters, 23 March) suggests that the Environment Agency should put pressure on the British Geological Survey (BGS) to improve the quality of geological mapping. Mr Nowell will be pleased to hear that there is no need for them to do this as the BGS is already working with the Environment Agency to update our geological maps in areas where groundwater resources are vulnerable to over-abstraction and/or pollution.As new data and new requirements arise, we recognise that in some areas the existing geological interpretations become out of date. A case in point is the area to the north of Holderness (referred to in Mr Nowell’s letter), where modern imagery highlights geological structures that would not have been apparent during the original 1800s survey. This is an area important for groundwater and we are currently working with the Environment Agency to improve the geological understanding of the area to help the better management and protection of water resources. In fact, our geologists are currently “in the field” re-mapping this area. Continue reading...

Study suggests Brazil likely to rush to fill China’s sudden soy shortfall by boosting farmingThe Amazon rainforest could be the greatest casualty of the trade war between the United States and China, warns a new study showing how deforestation pressures have surged as a result of the geopolitical jolt in global soy markets.Up to 13m hectares of forest and savannah – an area the size of Greece – would have to be cleared if Brazil and other exporters were to fill the huge shortfall in soy supply to China that has suddenly appeared since Donald Trump imposed hefty tariffs, according to the paper published in Nature.

Morrison government to announce $50.4m fund to support exploratory work for up to 50 projectsThe Morrison government will use next week’s budget to roll out funding for micro-grids in regional and remote communities, including in the hotly contested electoral battleground of north Queensland.The budget is expected to include a new $50.4m fund to support exploratory work for up to 50 projects in regional and remote communities, with feasibility studies investigating whether building a micro-grid is cost-effective and whether existing off-grid capabilities can be upgraded with more up-to-date technology. Continue reading...

Party’s climate policy also proposes a new public authority, Renew Australia, and a government-owned energy retailerThe Greens will propose 2030 as the cut-off point for thermal coal exports, and the shutdown date for Australia’s fleet of coal-fired power stations, in the party’s new climate and energy policy heading into the federal election.With Labor expected to unveil the remaining elements of its climate policy before next week’s budget, the Greens will on Thursday open the bidding on ambition, laying down markers for the policy bartering that could play out after the federal election in the event Labor wins power and the Greens remain significant crossbench players. Continue reading...

Teens living in dirty air 70% more likely to have symptoms such as paranoia, study findsYoung people living with higher levels of air pollution are significantly more likely to have psychotic experiences, according to the first study of the issue.Researchers analysed the experiences of more than 2,000 17-year-olds across England and Wales and found that those in places with higher levels of nitrogen oxides had a 70% higher chance of symptoms such as hearing voices or intense paranoia. Continue reading...

Business as usual is causing environmental destruction and spiralling inequality. Our bill is a radical plan to address bothFaced with unprecedented challenges, politicians appear more divided than ever – that’s why Labour’s Clive Lewis and I are doing something bold. We are jointly tabling a bill in parliament designed to address two of the greatest threats we face – climate breakdown and spiralling inequality. Our bill would introduce a “green new deal” – an unprecedented mobilisation of resources invested to prevent climate breakdown, reverse inequality, and heal our communities. It demands major structural changes in our approach to the ecosystem, coupled with a radical transformation of the finance sector and the economy, to deliver both social justice and a livable planet.It’s an idea congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has recently reinvigorated in the US. And it could scarcely be more urgent. The UN’s top scientists have warned we have just 11 years to halve global emissions and avoid climate catastrophe. Global wildlife populations have collapsed by nearly 60% in our lifetimes. This has led 1.4 million young people to join the inspiring global school strikes movement to demand change. The response from ministers? To continue to force fracking on local communities, and to hand millions in tax breaks to the fossil fuel industry. Last week, unbelievably, a new coal mine was given a green-light on their watch. Continue reading...

Eric Donaldson reached settlement with government over toxic contamination on his Queensland propertyA retired air force doctor from rural Queensland is the first Australian to receive a compensation payment from the federal government as a result of legacy contamination from toxic firefighting foams used by the defence department.Eric Donaldson, 83, from the town of Oakey, about 150km west of Brisbane, reached a settlement with the government after groundwater at his property was affected by per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, a group of chemicals found to share a probable link to cancer. Continue reading...

Non-binding proposal spearheaded by progressives aims to reduce greenhouse gases and lessen social inequityThe US Senate defeated a motion to take up the Green New Deal, the non-binding proposal spearheaded by progressive Democratic lawmakers to radically reduce greenhouse gases and try to lessen social inequity.Republican leaders in the Senate had scheduled Tuesday’s vote in an effort to turn the proposal into a wedge issue in the 2020 elections, hoping to force Democrats on the record about their support – or opposition – for a proposal that is popular among the Democratic base but has been criticized by many conservatives. Continue reading...

State of emergency declared in South Island after severe downpour that washed away bridgeA woman has been found dead in New Zealand following a severe downpour that washed away a bridge and prompted a state of emergency in the South Island.Police on Wednesday said the elderly woman’s body had washed up on a riverbank north of the town of Hokitika, in the West Coast region. Continue reading...

Oil companies must respect human lives and clean up the damage their industry does wherever they operate, say Dr John Sentamu, Baroness Amos, Prof Michael Watts, Njeri Kabeberi and James ThorntonThe devastating impact of oil spills is widely recognised. The past decade has witnessed the destruction caused to human life and the environment from spills including the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and the Montara spill in Australia in 2009.On each occasion the global community has reacted with horror, demanding the oil industry clean up local ecosystems and communities. Yet in Nigeria, and particularly in Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta, these calls are ignored. Continue reading...

King Island brown thornbill was ranked the Australian bird most likely to go extinct within 20 yearsResearchers say they have discovered one of Australia’s most endangered birds in forest in Tasmania, outside its previously known habitat.Scientists from the Australian National University say the find is a rare piece of positive news for the King Island brown thornbill, which was last year ranked as the Australian bird most likely to go extinct within 20 years if nothing was done to secure its survival. Continue reading...

Wild bees and hoverflies lost from a quarter of the places they were found in 1980, study showsA widespread loss of pollinating insects in recent decades has been revealed by the first national survey in Britain, which scientists say “highlights a fundamental deterioration” in nature.The analysis of 353 wild bee and hoverfly species found the insects have been lost from a quarter of the places they were found in 1980. A third of the species now occupy smaller ranges, with just one in 10 expanding their extent, and the average number of species found in a square kilometre fell by 11. Continue reading...

On the US-Mexico border, residents say a vast geothermal project threatens the water – and claim the state has ignored local concerns to help big energy

Famed Belgian statue wasted 1,000 to 2,500 litres of fresh clean drinking water each dayFor four centuries the celebrated Manneken Pis – the “peeing boy” in the local Dutch dialect – has embodied the laissez-faire culture of the Belgians.But, to the surprise of officials in the city of Brussels, it has emerged that the bronze statue had been weeing fresh clean drinking water – 1,000 to 2,500 litres of it a day, sufficient for the use of 10 households – directly into the city’s sewers. Continue reading...

Chemicals used to clean up spills have harmed marine wildlife, response workers and coastal residents. The EPA must act

Government announces generation projects that could win public support, and will examine need for a new coal plant in QueenslandScott Morrison has attempted to mollify rebel Queenslanders by promising to examine whether a new coal plant is needed in north Queensland, and by signing off on a shortlist for new power generation that includes “one very small” coal project in New South Wales proposed by coal baron and LNP donor, Trevor St Baker.Cabinet on Tuesday signed off on a shortlist of 12 generation projects that could attract taxpayer underwriting, and allocated $10m for a feasibility study that will examine whether it is desirable to revive the decommissioned coal plant at Collinsville, south of Townsville. Continue reading...

It could take up to four months to finish cleaning up the spill from the MV TraderOcean currents have carried oil leaking from a shipwreck on the Solomon Islands away from a nearby world heritage site as authorities continue a clean-up operation that is expected to take months.Cleaning up after the bulk carrier MV Solomon Trader, which ran aground on a coral reef in early February and released 80 tonnes of oil, is expected to take up to four months. Continue reading...

Younger coal-fired power plants in Asia account for increase, says energy agencyGreenhouse gas emissions from energy production rose strongly again last year, according to new data from the International Energy Agency, with a young fleet of coal-fired power plants in Asia accounting for a large proportion of the increase.Energy demand grew at its fastest pace this decade, with a 2.3% increase globally driving rises in fossil fuel consumption. Coal use in power stations was a third of the increase in energy consumption, and together gas and coal were responsible for nearly 70% of the growth in energy consumption, and while demand for solar and wind power also increased, it was by much less overall. Continue reading...

Current regime fails to halt the creeping loss of critical habitat, WWF Australia warnsKoala populations on the Australian east coast have diminished to the extent the species should now be considered “endangered”, environment groups have said, amid concern that existing protection measures have failed to halt the creeping loss of critical habitat.In south-east Queensland, once a stronghold for koala populations, habitat continues to be bulldozed through ineffective offset strategies, loopholes in development restrictions and poor planning for population growth, the groups said. Continue reading...

Around 75% of coal production is more expensive than renewables, with industry out-competed on cost by 2025

Government invades modern-day gold-rush town in Amazon in its biggest ever raid on illegal gold miningLocated along a jungle highway in the Amazon around 60 miles from the nearest city, La Pampa was a place you entered at your own risk. At night it was a riot of neon lights and pulsating cumbía music from “prostibar” brothels, frequented by roaming groups of men flush with cash. Neither authorities nor outsiders – and particularly not journalists – were welcome.This modern-day gold-rush town, home to about 25,000 people, was both a hub for organised crime and people trafficking and a gateway into a treeless, lunar landscape pocked with toxic pools created by illegal gold mining, stretching far into one of the Amazon’s most treasured reserves. Continue reading...

Should we become vegetarians? Is it OK to fly? The author of There Is No Planet B, A Handbook for the Make or Break Years, answers the big questionsOur food makes up something like a quarter of our greenhouse gas footprint, and at the same time as cutting this we need to feed a growing population better than we are doing now, while rescuing our haemorrhaging biodiversity and avoiding an antibiotics crisis. There is no escaping the clear evidence that humans need to reduce their meat – especially beef and lamb – as well as dairy consumption. When we feed a soya bean to a cow, we get back only about 10% of the nutrition in beef, and it comes with a hefty dose of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) and very likely some deforestation. Continue reading...

NSW Coalition has the seats to form a majority as Michael Daley stands aside until new Labor leader vote held after the federal electionABC’s election analyst Antony Green has called the seat of Dubbo for the Nationals, giving New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian the 47th seat she needs to claim majority government of the state.And the opposition leader, Michael Daley, has stood aside in favour of his deputy Penny Sharpe, though he still intends to offer himself as leader in a rank-and-file ballot that will be held after the federal election. Continue reading...

Captive population of critically endangered bird doubles with the birth of nine chicksThe captive population of Australia’s most unique critically endangered bird has doubled with the birth of nine plains-wanderer chicks, helped out by a feather duster, a heat lamp and a lot of cotton wool.The chicks were born to two pairs and hatched within 24 hours of each other at Werribee open range zoo in Victoria last week. Continue reading...

Government must take urgent action to improve air quality around schools, report findsNearly two-thirds of teachers would support car-free roads outside schools during drop-off and pickup times, while more than half want the government to take urgent action to improve air quality outside schools, a survey suggests.The study, in which 840 people in teaching roles across the UK participated, found that 63% would support a ban on motor vehicles outside the school gates at the start and end of the day. Continue reading...

Only loose versions of 45 products will be sold in Extra stores in Watford and SwindonTesco is launching a trial to remove a selection of plastic-wrapped fruit and vegetable to cut down on packaging waste.Britain’s biggest retailer said it would run the month-long pilot from Monday at two of its Extra stores, in Watford and Swindon, removing plastic packaging from 45 foods where loose alternatives are available. The items include apples, onions, mushrooms, peppers, bananas and avocados. Continue reading...

Devastated areas of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi brace for the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera and malariaCyclone Idai’s death toll has risen above 750 in the three southern African countries hit 10 days ago by the storm, as workers try to restore electricity and water and prevent an outbreak of cholera.In Mozambique the number of dead has risen to 446, with 259 dead in Zimbabwe and at least 56 dead in Malawi. Continue reading...