Environment | The Guardian

Gove’s agriculture bill prioritises environmental issues over food production, says head of NFUFood production in the UK will be put at risk without government commitments to safeguard farmers after Brexit, and food scares could be the result, the head of the UK’s biggest farming organisation has warned as ministers announced the biggest shake-up to farming in decades.The agriculture bill was hailed by Michael Gove, environment minister, as a “historic moment” heralding a “brighter future”, but swiftly came under attack from farming leaders for prioritising environmental issues over food production. Continue reading...

World’s carbon sinks are at risk because the law will count energy from burning trees as carbon neutral, say climate scientistsSenior climate scientists say that the world’s carbon sinks could be facing a grave threat from a wholly unexpected source: the EU’s renewable energy directive.The climate law could suck in as much imported wood as Europe harvests each year because it will count energy created from the burning of whole trees as “carbon neutral”, according to several academics including a former vice-chair of the UN IPCC. Continue reading...

Supporters of the new sanctuary say it would have addressed conservation issues beyond whaling, such as ship strikesA proposal to create a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic was defeated at a meeting in Brazil of the International Whaling Commission, amid a clash between countries that think whales can be hunted sustainably and others that want more conservation measures.Pro-whaling nations, including Japan, Korea, Norway and Russia, argued the science didn’t support the case for a sanctuary and said that it wasn’t necessary because there isn’t any commercial whaling occurring in the South Atlantic. Continue reading...

Adani says bores at planned mine site were within its permits and were for monitoringThe Australian government will investigate allegations Adani has drilled illegal groundwater bores at its Carmichael mine site.Environment group Coast and Country has said it obtained aerial footage showing dewatering bores that were sunk without approval. Continue reading...

The Woodland Trust is asking people to make their voices heard over rail company’s plans to cut down thousands of treesThe Woodland Trust is calling on the public to raise its voice over the management of the trees along Network Rail lines to stop thousands being cut down without good reason.Dr Nick Atkinson, senior conservation advisor for the trust, says the rail company must be held to account for the way it manages the millions of trees along its routes and that concerns had been raised by the public about how many were being felled. Continue reading...

Tree-planting, restoring wetlands and use of chemicals to remove CO2 from air needed, as well as cutting new emissions, say scientistsTree-planting, restoring wetlands and using chemicals to take carbon dioxide from the air will all be needed to reduce the UK’s greenhouse gases in line with government plans, scientists have said.If these measures are taken urgently, they could make enough of a contribution to make the UK “net zero” in terms of carbon emissions by 2050. However, a major programme to bring them into effect would be needed as a matter of urgency. Continue reading...

British sailor Luke Patience calls choice ‘embarrassing’ for a sport that is supposed to protect marine lifeThe Japan Sailing Federation has apologised after a dolphin show was held for sailors competing in the World Cup Series, an event that also doubles as a test run for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.The competition, organised by a local committee in Enoshima, south of Tokyo, was intended to give the Games’ organisers an opportunity to gauge their level of readiness and to allow competitors to familiarise themselves with the course. Continue reading...

Payments under EU’s CAP will be replaced by subsidies based on environmental protectionsThe UK’s biggest landowners will see the payments they receive from the public purse fall sharply from 2021 in what would be the biggest shake-up of farming for decades.From 2021, a new system rewarding farmers for the public goods they provide will be phased in until 2027 when the last payments based on the amount of land farmed will be made. In place of the £3bn a year farmers currently receive under the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP), farmers will be expected to sign environmental land management contracts detailing their commitments to protecting habitats, improving flood management and enhancing air and water quality. Continue reading...

California governor is taking the lead in confronting planet’s ‘existential challenge’ and signs bill for carbon-free power by 2045Jerry Brown, California’s governor, has accused Donald Trump of “gross ignorance” over climate change as he made his most sweeping actions yet to rid the world’s fifth largest economy of fossil fuels.Related: EPA admits scrapping regulations will put more methane into atmosphere Continue reading...

PM tells ABC that Lucy Gichuhi told him she was not bullied by anyone in CanberraScott Morrison says the South Australian Liberal senator Lucy Gichuhi has told him she was not bullied by anyone in Canberra during the government’s leadership crisis, and he says no names of any perpetrators have been provided to him.While Gichuhi suggested clearly last week that she had been bullied – a suggestion that was validated implicitly by the minister for women, Kelly O’Dwyer, who said government MPs had been intimidated – Morrison told the ABC on Tuesday night the South Australian senator “told me very plainly that she was not bullied by anybody here in Canberra” during the leadership contest. Continue reading...

A rapid global shift to clean energy is needed to prevent runaway climate change, says António GuterresUnited Nations secretary general António Guterres has warned that the world is facing “a direct existential threat” and must rapidly shift from dependence on fossil fuels by 2020 to prevent “runaway climate change”.Guterres called the crisis urgent and decried the lack of global leadership to address global warming. Continue reading...

One in every nine people in the world are chronically hungry, with droughts, floods and variable rainfall exacerbating the problemClimate shocks such as droughts, floods and variable rainfall, are already causing a rise in hunger, a situation UN economists describe as an “early warning call” for action on food insecurity.In 2017, the number of chronically hungry people in the world reached 821 million – one in every nine – according to the state of food insecurity and nutrition in 2017, a report produced by five UN agencies. The number who suffer from hunger has grown over the last three years, returning to levels from almost a decade ago. Continue reading...

Progress made in the past decade has been reversed, with climate extremes such as droughts and floods identified as a main causeGlobal hunger has reverted to levels last seen a decade ago, wiping out progress on improving people’s access to food and leaving one in nine people undernourished last year, with extreme weather a leading cause, the UN has warned.Hunger afflicted 821 million people last year, the third annual rise since 2015, with most regions of Africa and much of South America showing worsening signs of food shortages and malnutrition. More than half a billion of the world’s hungry live in Asia. Continue reading...

Governments are failing to tackle the crisis that causes 1,000 early deaths a day, says damning EU reportAir pollution is now “the biggest environmental risk” to public health in Europe but governments are failing to adequately deal with the crisis, the EU Court of Auditors has found.Europe’s air pollution limits are “much weaker” than WHO guidelines – and most EU countries do not comply with them anyway, according to the damning new report. Continue reading...

Oil and gas firms’ assets at risk from massive growth in wind and solar, says Carbon TrackerGlobal demand for fossil fuels will peak in 2023, an influential thinktank has predicted, posing a significant risk to financial markets because trillions of dollars’ worth of oil, coal and gas assets could be left worthless.Explosive growth in wind and solar will combine with action on climate change and slowing growth in energy needs to ensure that fossil fuel demand peaks in the 2020s, Carbon Tracker predicted. Continue reading...

Another outspoken conservative, Craig Kelly, wants to know what exactly is the Liberal’s policy on the Paris climate agreementTony Abbott has reignited his push to scrap subsidies for renewable energy, taking on the new energy minister, Angus Taylor, at his first meeting of the government’s backbench energy and environment committee on Tuesday.Sources at Tuesday’s meeting have told Guardian Australia that the former prime minister, who joined the backbench committee as a voting member just before Malcolm Turnbull was deposed as part of efforts to sink the national energy guarantee, asked a number of questions about the future of subsidies for renewable energy, both for rooftop solar and the renewable energy target – but Taylor was not drawn. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Conservation staff say 955 species face extinction across the stateThe entire state of Queensland has no overarching conservation strategy to save its native species, according to a leaked internal review that criticises a lack of funding, planning and management of threatened wildlife.The damning report obtained by Guardian Australia is an evaluation by staff in the conservation and sustainability services division of the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, the lead agency responsible for protecting native wildlife in the state. Continue reading...

150 ‘Ratty’ river creatures to be released in Somerset estate where they had become extinctOne of the most beloved and endangered riverine creatures is returning to a west country national park where it has been extinct for more than three decades.Over the next few days 150 water voles will be released at six locations in the Aller river on the Holnicote Estate on Exmoor in Somerset. Continue reading...

Insurance companies lead the sell-off of coal, oil and gas stocks over climate change and financial fears – oil majors now cite divestment as a risk to themThe funds committed to fossil fuel divestment now total more than $6tn (£4.6tn), with almost 1,000 institutional investors having made the pledge, according to a new report.The sell-off of coal, oil and gas investments is led by the insurance industry, with $3tn of funds. But it also now includes the first nation to divest, Ireland, major cities including New York and key medical organisations. Major oil companies such as Shell have this year cited divestment as a material risk to its business. Continue reading...

Rising temperatures threaten survival of Belgium’s sour lambic beer, study warnsClimate change is putting one of the world’s oldest beer varieties at risk, environmental scientists and one of Belgium’s leading artisan brewers have said.A study into temperatures in Brussels and the Pajottenland region south-west of the Belgian capital has raised doubts over the future of the sour lambic beer produced exclusively in the region. Continue reading...

Executive secretary says ‘progress was made, but nothing was finalised’. Nations will meet again in Poland in DecemberAn international meeting in Bangkok fell short of its aim of completing fruitful preparations to help an agreement be reached in December on guidelines for implementing the 2015 Paris climate change agreement.The six-day meeting, which ended on Sunday, was scheduled to step up progress in the battle against rising global carbon emissions by adopting a completed text that could be presented at the COP24 conference in Katowice, Poland, three months from now. Continue reading...

Kavanaugh thinks Congress should address climate change. That’s true, but it doesn’t lessen EPA’s authority

Together, the world’s urban centres can send a message to the fossil fuel industry: join us in tackling climate change

In the next decade, reduced packaging and increased recyclability will become the main issues for consumers, research showsThe number one issue for British shoppers in the next decade will be to reduce packaging and use more recyclable materials, according to new research.For perhaps the first time, the public puts environmental considerations around plastic waste above the price of goods when shopping. Continue reading...

A national environment-friendly infrastructure plan is urgently required to restore the UK to social and economic health, says a group of MPs, academics and green campaignersTen years ago this week the Lehman Brothers collapse heralded the worst global economic crisis since the 30s, the political, economic and social effects of which are still being felt today. To help ensure that these adverse trends are reversed it is crucial to return a sense of hope for the future, including through economic security for all, while fully protecting the environment.A key part of this should be the urgent consideration and adoption by political parties and local campaigners of a “jobs in every constituency” green infrastructure programme. This would involve making the UK’s 30m buildings super-energy-efficient, accelerating the shift to renewable electricity supplies and storage, and tackling the housing crisis by building affordable, properly insulated new homes. A transport policy would need to rebuild local public transport links, properly maintain the UK’s road and rail system, and encourage a shift to electric vehicles. This approach is labour-intensive, takes place in every locality and consists of work that is difficult to automate – and so could provide a secure career structure for decades. Continue reading...

Energy company SSE claims thousands of new points are in bureaucratic limboBritain has thousands fewer electric car charging points than required because councils are frustrating their rollout, according to one of the country’s biggest energy companies.Big six energy firm SSE said that when it started work three years ago, it had hoped to install 6,000 charging points in London by now, but had fitted just 762 because of delays by local authorities. Continue reading...

Behavioural insights unit proposes new colour for registration plates to help ‘normalise the idea of clean vehicles’Electric and other ultra-low emission cars, vans and taxis could be given special green number plates to boost awareness and increase the use of environmentally “clean” driving.Green plates are already used in Norway, Canada and China on green vehicles including electric and hydrogen cars, making them both distinct and visible to other road others. Continue reading...

Protests spearheaded by march in San Francisco ahead of climate change summit in the city next weekTens of thousands of people took part in marches and other events across the US on Saturday, calling for a swift transition to renewable energy in order to stave off the various perils of climate change.Related: Hundreds of thousands expected to join global climate marches this weekend Continue reading...

Aboriginal peoples have long protested such projects, but one group’s plan would give First Nations control and profitsFirst Nations have played a central part in Canada's national debate over pipeline projects, leading protests that have seen thousands take to the streets or building tiny homes in hopes of thwarting construction.Behind the scenes, however, one group has been quietly refining a precedent-setting proposal that they say offers a means of protecting indigenous rights while unlocking the country’s vast oil and gas reserves: a First Nations-led pipeline. Continue reading...

Ambitious project will involve a massive floating barrier that aims to collect up to five tonnes of plastics every monthA team of scientists and engineers will on Saturday begin an ambitious cleanup of plastics in the Pacific Ocean targeting a stretch of water three times the size of France known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.A 600m-long floating barrier will be launched off the coast of San Francisco and, powered by currents, waves and wind, will aim to collect five tonnes of plastic debris each month. Continue reading...

French negotiators unhappy with British fishermen’s compensation claimsBritish and French fishermen have failed to finalise a deal to end the “scallop wars” over fishing in the Channel, according to the French camp, despite reaching an agreement in principle earlier this week.“The fact is that there is no agreement because British claims [for compensation] were disproportionate … We have a blockage, but the discussions have not broken down,” said Hubert Carre, the director of the French national fishing committee, adding that it would now be up to the “two ministers to call each other to arrange a possible future meeting”. Continue reading...

The 79-year-old who came to fame in A Year on Exmoor has died in his beloved DevonTelevision wildlife film-maker Johnny Kingdom has died at the age of 79 following an accident on his land involving a digger. Kingdom, who specialised in his local area of Exmoor and north Devon and had appeared extensively on the BBC, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services in a field near Wadham Cross in Knowstone, Devon, following reports confirmed by police that a digger had rolled over on Thursday night.His family said in a statement: “Unfortunately a legend has been lost. Johnny would want you all to continue with his love for Exmoor as you all meant so much to him. “As the loving man himself would have said: ‘Farewell to all you lovely people’. RIP 23/02/39–06/09/18.” Continue reading...

Protests against politicians’ failure to tackle the environmental crisis will take place in more than 90 countriesHundreds of thousand of people in more than 90 countries are expected to take part in demonstrations this weekend to protest about the failure of politicians to tackle the global environmental crisis.Organisers say more than 800 events – from marches to street theatre, acts of civil disobedience to mini festivals – will take place in towns and cities amid growing frustration at the lack of meaningful political action over the emerging climate breakdown. Continue reading...

With little hope of federal action, a series of marches and events in 70 countries will focus on climate change’s effects now and the low-income and minority groups bearing the bruntClimate change activism has always had the stubbornly tough task of mobilizing the public to confront a slow-moving, largely invisible problem while being stymied by a fantastically wealthy fossil fuel industry and an array of sceptics in politics and the media.Climate campaigners would, therefore, be forgiven a few moments of despair in the era of Donald Trump. Trump's election elicited two large public howls from those concerned about climate change – the People's Climate March and the Science March, held within days of each other in April last year – but any hopes of persuasion have now given way to attritional confrontation and attempts to bypass the administration altogether. Continue reading...

A hummingbird hawk-moth, mountain lion cub and stranded pygmy whales are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Sustainability can bring benefits to everybody – including company execs with their eyes on the bottom lineWarren Buffett said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” It has been more than two decades now since a 1996 issue of Life magazine depicted a Pakistani boy sewing a Nike soccer ball, reportedly for six cents per hour. After the story, the company lost more than half its market capitalisation in just one year – it took Nike six years of demonstrated social responsibility to recuperate. Even today Nike is – fairly or unfairly – ranked low on lists of ethical companies. It has survived financially, but the reputation of the brand may never recover.Environmental reputations can be just as hard to rebuild. NGOs like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund believe in the potential fragility of the environment, and they see the potential fragility of companies’ brands as a means of pressuring them to change. Continue reading...

British Fashion Council says LFW in September will be first of big fashion weeks to ditch animal furLondon has become the first of the main fashion weeks to ditch animal fur in its shows after the British Fashion Council (BFC) said none of the designers participating on the official schedule would be using it.The BFC made the announcement after carrying out a survey asking designers if they planned on using fur in their shows, and comes after rising numbers of anti-fur protesters demonstrating at London fashion week (LFW), from 25 in 2016 to more than 250 last September. Continue reading...

Minister says agreement Australia committed to ‘doesn’t actually bind us to anything in particular’Australia does not need to quit the Paris climate agreement because our commitments are non-binding, and new coal plants can continue to be constructed, according to the resources minister, Matt Canavan.Canavan told Sydney broadcaster Alan Jones on Friday he had never been to Paris, and was “happy to leave the Champs-Élysées for others”, but people needed to be clear the treaty Tony Abbott committed Australia to in 2015 “doesn’t actually bind us to anything in particular”. Continue reading...

Top climate scientist says leaders disenchanted with Australia’s promotion of coal and slowing down action on meeting Paris targetsAustralia’s regional authority and influence is being eroded by its refusal to address the threat climate change poses to many of its Pacific neighbours, according to a pre-eminent climate scientist.As part of the Pacific Islands Forum, Australia was a signatory to the Boe declaration in Nauru on Wednesday which said climate change represented “the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific”. Continue reading...

Union tells Senate inquiry more than 90% of staff working with threatened species say Australia’s performance is poorThe Australian government is failing to meet its domestic and international obligations to protect threatened species and existing environment laws are inadequate, according to public servants working on endangered wildlife.The admissions are contained in a damning submission by the Community and Public Sector Union to a Senate inquiry investigating Australia’s high rate of fauna extinctions. Continue reading...

Industry makes biggest commitment yet to ending its use of throwaway plastic bottlesGlobal soft drink companies have made their biggest commitment yet to eliminating the use of throwaway plastic bottles, in an action plan presented to parliament.In a report sponsored by the likes of Danone, Suntory and Nestlé, the companies give unequivocal backing to a government-implemented deposit and return scheme. Their ambition is for zero plastic packaging to be sent to landfill or escape into the natural environment by 2030, and for packaging to be made entirely from recycled or renewable materials or both. Continue reading...

Something ‘fundamentally wrong’ in rural landscape, scientists say, with numbers thought to have fallen 80% since 1950sA “perfect storm” of intensive farming and rising badger populations has left most of the countryside in England and Wales devoid of hedgehogs, according to the first systematic national survey.The research used footprints left by hedgehogs in special tunnels to reveal that they were living at just 20% of the 261 sites surveyed. Hedgehogs, which topped a vote in 2013 to nominate a national species for Britain, were significantly less common where badgers were more numerous. Badgers eat hedgehogs and also compete for the beetles and worms the prickly animals consume. Continue reading...

Danish brewer will be the first to ditch pack rings in a move it says will reduce plastic by up to 76%Familiar plastic can holders used for lager and beer multipacks could be on their way out after global brewing giant Carlsberg revealed plans to replace them with recyclable glue.In a world first for the beer industry, the Danish brewer is phasing in a new “snap pack” which it claims will reduce the amount of plastic used in traditional multi-packs by as much as 76%. Continue reading...

Walney Extension will power 590,000 homes amid fears Brexit could stifle growthThe world’s biggest offshore windfarm has officially opened in the Irish Sea, amid warnings that Brexit could increase costs for future projects.Walney Extension, off the Cumbrian coast, spans an area the size of 20,000 football pitches and has a capacity of 659 megawatts, enough to power the equivalent of 590,000 homes. Continue reading...

Company will reuse, repair or recycle products and end use of real furBurberry is to end its practice of burning unsold clothes, bags and perfume and will also stop using real fur after criticism from environmental campaigners.The British fashion house destroyed unsold £28.6m worth of products last year to protect its brand and prevent unwanted stock from being sold at knockdown prices, taking the value of items destroyed over the past five years to £105m. It has previously defended its practice by saying that the energy generated from burning its goods was captured. Continue reading...

PM of Tuvalu said a country ‘starting with capital A’ wanted qualifications made to a communique on climate change and emissionsAustralia attempted to water down a resolution on climate change agreed by country representatives at the Pacific Islands Forum, a leader attending the event has claimed.

Warning of aftershocks as 10 injured in 6.6 earthquake on northern island of HokkaidoA powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.6 left residents trapped inside their homes as a landslide blocked roads, engulfed buildings and led to widespread power cuts on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido in the early hours of Thursday.A landslide along a long ridge in the rural town of Atsumi could be seen in aerial footage from the public broadcaster NHK. About 10 people had been taken to hospital with injuries, one of them serious, it said. Japanese media said two people had died and 32 were missing, but there were no official reports of fatalities. Continue reading...

Leaders of Pacific Forum Island countries call on United States to return to Paris agreement on climate changeClimate change is the single greatest security threat to the Pacific, and all countries must meet their commitments under the Paris climate agreement, the 18 countries of the Pacific Islands Forum said on Wednesday.The first assertion of the strongly worded Boe Declaration says all Pacific nations, including Australia, “reaffirm that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific, and our commitment to progress the implementation of the Paris agreement. Continue reading...

After denials, government ordered to pay compensation to family of lung cancer victimJapan has acknowledged for the first time that a worker at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami more than seven years ago, died from radiation exposure.A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck in March 2011, triggering a tsunami that killed about 18,000 people and the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier. Continue reading...