UN biodiversity conference in Rome ends with fragile accord but questions remain over whether funding will emergeThe task of halting nature loss by 2030 is slipping out of reach, ministers have warned, as countries from around the world came to a hard-won compromise on nature finance after marathon negotiations in Rome.Delegates at the UN biodiversity conference - known as Cop16 - broke into applause after finally reaching a deal in the Eternal City following a night of tense and painstaking discussions. Cop16 president Susana Muhamad wept as she brought down the gavel on the agreement outlining a roadmap for nature finance. The agreement broke a deadlock at UN talks seen as a test for international cooperation in the face of geopolitical tensions. Continue reading...

Floods, whale strandings and coral bleaching all more likely, say researchers, as 10% of ocean hits record high temperatures in 2023-24The world's oceans experienced three-and-a-half times as many marine heatwave days last year and in 2023 compared with any other year on record, a study has found.The sustained spike in ocean temperatures cost lives and caused billions of dollars in storm damage, increased whale and dolphin stranding risks, harmed commercial fishing and sparked a global coral bleaching, according to the paper published on Friday in Nature Climate Change. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

For decades, the Swiss city has been transforming its skyline, and now boasts some of the greenest rooftops in EuropeSusanne Hablutzel breaks up her work day by staring out the window at a rooftop garden. The view is not spectacular: a pile of dead wood sits atop an untidy plot that houses chicory, toadflax, thistle and moss.But Hablutzel, a biologist in charge of nature projects in Basel, is enthralled by the plants and creatures the roof has brought in. Tree fungi have settled in the trunks, and they are great to see - I love mushrooms. You can also see birds now - that wasn't the case before." Continue reading...

Employees informed by email that their jobs would be cut off at end of day in move a worker called wrong all around'

The 1890 National Scholars program gives full rides to HBCU students in fields like botany, forestry and food safetyDr Marcus Bernard was shocked to learn last week that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had suspended the 1890 National Scholars program that funds undergraduate students' education in agriculture or related fields at about 20 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).Bernard is dean of the college of agriculture, health and natural resources at one of those institutions, Kentucky State University. At Kentucky State, close to 40 of the scholars have enrolled since the project's inception in 1992. Nationwide, the program has supported more than 800 students, according to the USDA. Continue reading...

Couple unwittingly revealed to state wildlife agents that they were transporting the remains of a protected sea turtle

Trial-monitoring committee in Dakota Access lawsuit have shared concerns of judicial bias and due-process violationsMore than half the jurors selected to hear a case brought by a major energy company against Greenpeace have ties to the fossil fuel industry, and most had negative views of anti-pipeline protests or groups that oppose the use of fossil fuels.The closely watched trial against Greenpeace in Mandan, North Dakota, showcased the difficulty in seating a jury in oil country, where many make their living in the industry. Greenpeace again on Wednesday sought to move the trial to another venue in the state. Continue reading...

Trial announced as Keir Starmer arrives in Washington to meet Donald Trump, a longtime critic of windfarmsOffshore windfarms are to be painted black in an effort to reduce the number of birds that die after flying into them.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched a four-year trial to paint the wind turbines after officials raised concerns that the government's plan to increase turbine numbers in the North Sea could spell danger for seabirds. Limited research has been conducted on the number of birds killed this way, but estimates range from four to 18 per turbine per year. Continue reading...

Airports want new runways that would allow them to massively increase the number of flights in and out of capital

Snap helps more than 42 million people, and is considered the country's most effective tool to fight hungerDuring a recent grocery store visit, Audrey Gwenyth spent $159.01 on items such as eggs, Greek yogurt, edamame snaps, bagels, chia seeds, brownie mix, oatmeal, milk, cilantro rice and pork sausage. The entire bill was paid via her electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, card, which is how recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), pay for groceries at participating stores, farmers markets and restaurants.Because I'm a single mom and I don't receive child support, I don't have a lot of help in the world," said Gwenyth, a mother of two toddlers, whose food budget is around $100 per week. She shares many of her EBT purchases on social media to help others make the most of their benefits. I could not pay for food if it wasn't for EBT. It's been a lifesaver." Continue reading...

Seeds of 177 species from across Africa to be stored in Norway to preserve crop diversity in case of disasterMore than 100,000 seeds from across Africa have been deposited in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the world's repository for specimens intended to preserve crop diversity in the event of disaster.Among the latest additions are seeds critical to building climate resilience, such as the tree Faidherbia albida, which turns nitrogen into ammonia and nitrates, and Cordia africana, the Sudan teak, a tree renowned for its strength and durability. Continue reading...

Transport secretary backs 2.2bn airport plan but final decision delayed to October

University announces new BA, after survey found most 14- to 18-year-olds want more rigorous climate change educationThe University of Sussex will introduce what it says is the UK's first undergraduate degree focused on climate justice.The BA course, called climate justice, sustainability and development", will begin in 2026. The university says it will equip students with a blend of expertise in climate politics, activism and environmental human rights. Continue reading...

CEO Murray Auchincloss says fundamental reset' will mean cut of more than 4bn to low-carbon investment planBP has abandoned its green ambitions in favour of ramping up fossil fuel production as its boss claimed that optimism over the pace of the green transition had been misplaced".In a major strategy shift, the energy company will increase its investment in oil and gas to $10bn (7.9bn) a year while slashing more than $5bn from its previous green investment plan. Continue reading...

Climate scientists caution, however, that even weakened currents would cause profound harm to humanityVital Atlantic Ocean currents are unlikely to completely collapse this century, according to a study, but scientists say a severe weakening remains probable and would still have disastrous impacts on billions of people.The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Amoc) is a system of currents that plays a crucial role in the global climate. The climate crisis is weakening the complex system, but determining if and when it will collapse is difficult. Continue reading...

It's chaos as small jobs become big jobs, tools disappear and distractions lead to furious frustration. Then you spot spring's first flower ...There's no such thing as gardener's block, I once read. This from, I believe, a famous writer who was making the point that if you've got writer's block, you should just go and do something else for a bit. Point taken. There is no such thing as gardener's block because if you get stuck doing one job, even in the smallest garden, there are roughly 10m other jobs you can be cracking on with. Which is quite right. And this is what makes gardening either the worst thing for you if - like me- you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or possibly the best.I stride into the garden full of purpose and ambition, with a smile on my face. Invariably, several hours later, I stagger out of there, aching all over, scratched, bloodied, filthy and demoralised, having dug, scraped, cursed and carried myself to physical and mental exhaustion. The clarity of purpose I have at the outset vanishes very quickly, along with my secateurs. In its place, as things that need doing proliferate around me like Japanese knotweed, there comes a confusion of purpose. Lots gets done alittle bit, but nothing gets done properly. Nothing isfinished. And it all looks a right bloody mess. Continue reading...

Analysts and investors have long trumpeted climate-proof' US communities, but recent disasters show the need for a different way of thinkingA few years ago, while visiting a tiny village, I toured a grand old community hall scheduled to be demolished after a historic flood. Across the street, a phantom row of eight buildings had already come down. Next to go was this beloved structure, built with local lumber by the craftsman grandfathers of the people who still lived there. One of the two local officials escorting me had been married here, she told me. There was a plan to repurpose the six soaring arches, the other official said, gazing towards the ceiling. The other part of it, knocking the rest of it down ..." he trailed off, emotionally. I won't be in town to see that."This village isn't located on the rapidly eroding Gulf coast, or any coast. It isn't on the edge of a drought-stricken wildland. It isn't anywhere typically named as existentially threatened due to the impacts of climate change. Forever altered by floods, the village of Rock Springs, in my home state of Wisconsin, is instead located smack in the middle of what's often been called a climate haven". Continue reading...

Beaches in southern California littered with timber, twisted metals, charred silt and urban runoff from Palisades fireLos Angeles county beaches are contending with the aftermath of recent wildfires and winter storms as debris from the Palisades fire and urban runoff are carried to the shoreline.After last week's major rainstorm, beaches in southern California have been littered with timber, twisted metals, construction materials and charred silt and sediment originating from the Palisades fire in January. That blaze, along with the Eaton fire, killed at least 29 people. Continue reading...

Workers at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fear crackdown will have global falloutThe Trump administration has set its sights on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US's pre-eminent climate research agency, with significant cuts and a political crackdown on climate science. As Trump takes aim at the agency, the impact is likely to be felt across the US and around the world.Noaa provides essential resources to the public and has helped make the US a scientific leader internationally. Operating 18 satellites and 15 research and survey ships, the agency's scientists, engineers and policy experts issue forecasts relied on by aviation, agriculture and fishing industries. It advises on species protection and provides ocean floor mapping depended upon for shipping and increasingly precise and accurate modeling on what to expect as climate crisis unfolds. Continue reading...

Advocacy groups are better prepared than the first term for legal challenges - but will the administration obey rulings?Amid spending freezes and policy rollbacks from Donald Trump, environmental advocacy groups are gearing up for a long series of legal showdowns with the administration.The experience of suing Trump during his first term has left the movement better prepared, but the court battles will still be daunting, with the administration appearing to test the nation's legal boundaries in an effort to consolidate power under the executive branch. Continue reading...

It's time to rethink how climate action succeeds. The key is to acknowledge that it's never the sole force driving political decisionsWe are witnessing the most devastating climate disasters on record: wildfires ravaging Los Angeles, deadly floods in North Carolina, and global temperature records shattered month after month. We have officially surpassed 1.5C of warming, a critical threshold scientists have long warned against. At the same time, the US is scaling back policies, freezing critical programs and shifting priorities away from climate action.But now isn't the time to give up on climate action. Instead, it is high time to rethink how it succeeds. Continue reading...

Thousands of seafarers are left on board their vessels in foreign waters, unpaid, with scant supplies - and no way of getting homeWhen Vihaan* set off from his home in Tamil Nadu, south India, to work on a vessel crossing the Bay of Bengal into neighbouring Bangladesh, he told his family he would be gone a few months. After delivering his cargo of stone to Bangladesh's Kutubdia Island, the marine engineer was due to head home in March 2024 to disembark at Thoothukudi port, India.But that month, the rusting tug, the Navimar 3, which was being operated by Middle East Marine (MEM), was detained by the authorities in Bangladesh due to unpaid fees. For almost a year, Vihaan has become a virtual prisoner on board, he says, forced to work without pay to keep the vessel safe, amid strong currents where it is anchored off the island in the cyclone-prone bay. His passport and certification documents are being held by a local agent for the Dubai-based company. With no means of getting home, no visa to disembark and without supplies, he has to rely on food and water from charities and unions. Continue reading...

Boat tour captures video of Northern right whale dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins and light grey baby calvesMore than 2,000 dolphins gathered off the California coast to form a superpod", gliding and breaching the clear, aquamarine waters off Monterey Bay.The superpod included Northern right whale dolphins and Pacific white-sided dolphins, as well as light grey baby calves. Evan Brodsky, a captain and videographer with the private boat tour company Monterey Bay Whale Watch, captured a video of the dolphins, and his company shared it on Facebook, calling the spectacle mind-blowing". Continue reading...

Volklec aims to start making batteries at part-government-funded site near Coventry before building its own factoryA startup has said it has learned from Britain's faltering attempts to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, as it signed a deal to license technology from an established Chinese firm.Coventry-based Volklec plans to manufacture batteries for cars, boats, construction vehicles and aircraft using technology from China's Far East Battery (FEB), a maker of batteries mainly for electric bikes. Continue reading...

An educator, archaeologist and scientist were among the thousands of government workers culled by Musk's agencyThe Trump administration has fired at least 20,000 government employees in its first month, as Elon Musk's so-called department of government efficiency" (Doge) dramatically overhauls work at federal agencies. Some economists have speculated that these terminations, which could affect nearly 300,000 workers, will be the biggest job cuts in US history.Most of the workers cut were in probationary periods and lacked job protections that come with longer terms of employment. In social media spaces, especially the r/fednews subreddit, these workers described scenes of confusion and feelings of anger directed at Musk, an unelected billionaire dubbed a special government employee" by the White House. Last week, unions for federal workers sued the Trump administration for unlawfully using probationary periods to cut staff. Continue reading...

Dry pattern seen among entire lower basin' of the Colorado River, including Arizona and desert cities such as Las VegasDramatic rainstorms earlier this month brought more than 6in of rain to the California mountains - a full month's worth of rain in little more than a day - but the deluge wasn't enough to reverse a worsening drought trend that is set to intensify further in the coming weeks and months.Along the iconic Pacific Coast highway in Malibu, where just weeks earlier flames leveled hundreds of oceanside homes, a Los Angeles firefighter was washed out to sea, and later rescued. Continue reading...

Union conference dominated by row over planned inheritance tax changes as farmers battle the bad weather and turbulent geopoliticsFarmers are warning of a cashflow crisis" that has left many in the agricultural sector wondering how they will make it to the end of the year.At the annual meeting of the National Farmers' Union (NFU) of England and Wales, its president told members that bad policy, geopolitics and unprecedented weather" had left some sectors of UK farming in the worst cashflow crisis ever". Continue reading...

Climate Change Authority chair says his job is to provide frank and fearless advice' after he criticised opposition's nuclear energy proposal

Exclusive: The deeply troubling' move comes amid concerns US ignoring international climate ramificationsUS officials have missed recent international climate forums sparking concerns about a potentially significant shift from Donald Trump's first term, a review of meeting records and interviews with meeting attendees by the Centre for Climate Reporting and the Guardian show.On his first day back as president, Trump signed an executive order on stage in front of supporters at an arena in Washington DC which he said was aimed at quitting what he called the unfair one-sided Paris climate accord rip off". Trump's exit from the Paris agreement means the US will join Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries outside the international agreement adopted in 2015 to limit global warming. Continue reading...

Regulator says bringing emergency runway into operation would boost competition and passenger choice

Protesters who tried to disrupt completion of Mountain Valley pipeline to defend themselves in Virginia courtClimate activists who tried to disrupt the completion of a fossil-fuel pipeline through Appalachian forests will appear in court in Virginia on Tuesday to face serious criminal charges that they vehemently deny.The Mountain Valley pipeline (MVP) was pushed through by the Biden administration in mid-2023 - overriding court orders, regulatory blocks and widespread opposition to the 300-mile (480km) fossil fuel project. Biden's decision triggered a wave of non-violent protests and civil disobedience against the pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia as work crews rushed to finish construction of the pipeline through sensitive waterways and protected forests. Continue reading...

Each spring since 2003, Jon Aars, senior scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute, and his team have conducted an annual polar bear monitoring program on Svalbard - collaring, capturing and taking samples from as many bears as they can across several weeks.

After last year's Cop16 biodiversity talks in Cali left key issues unresolved, the extra summit will attempt to seek consensus, especially over fundingGlobal talks to halt the loss of nature will reopen today in Rome, amid loss of trust" in the United Nations-led process and concerns that countries will not turn up for the meeting. Delegates are due to meet at Cop16, the UN's biodiversity conference, to discuss global targets to stop nature loss by 2030.The additional meeting in Rome was called after talks were suspended in confusion in the Colombian city of Cali in November when they overran and delegates left to catch flights home. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: The government is refusing to back down over its changes to inheritance tax breaks for farmers - here's why the issue is still rumbling onGood morning. It's a time-honoured tradition: the minister arriving to speak to a conference hall full of people who absolutely hate him, and getting roundly pilloried as he sticks to the government line. Today, it might be the environment secretary Steve Reed's turn. His adversaries: a large number of implacably angry farmers.Whether or not they bring pitchforks, the attendees who listen to his speech at the National Farmers' Union conference are up in arms because of the government's refusal to back down over its changes to inheritance tax breaks for farmers. And while Reed is coming with policy changes that he says will be to the benefit of British farmers, like a five-year extension of the seasonal farm workers' scheme, they are unlikely to be enough to earn him a warm welcome.Ukraine | Donald Trump has said the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the three-year war. After meeting with Trump, Emmanuel Macron stressed that peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine or ceasefire without guarantees".House of Lords | One in 10 members of the House of Lords have been hired to give political or policy advice, according to their own declarations, and others do paid work for companies that could conflict with their role as legislators. The findings in a Guardian investigation raise questions over lobbying rules in the second chamber.Gaza | At least 160 healthcare workers from Gaza, including more than 20 doctors, are believed to still be inside Israeli detention facilities as the World Health Organisation expressed deep concern about their wellbeing and safety. The detained group includes some of the most senior physicians in Gaza.Politics | Mike Amesbury, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, has been sentenced to 10 weeks in prison for punching a man to the ground. Amesbury, who was suspended by the Labour party after an investigation, last month admitted a single charge of section 39 assault in relation to the incident.AI | More than 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush, Damon Albarn and Annie Lennox, have released a silent album in protest against UK government plans to let artificial intelligence companies use copyright-protected work without permission. Continue reading...

Environment secretary will hope move can reset relations with farmers after inheritance tax rowThe environment secretary, Steve Reed, is to announce a five-year extension of the seasonal farm worker scheme in an attempt to reset relations with farmers after fury over inheritance tax.Making his pitch to farmers at the National Farmers' Union conference in central London on Tuesday, Reed will also announce the opening of a new national biosecurity centre to tackle diseases including foot-and-mouth and bluetongue. Continue reading...

Study shows funding bias towards animals like rhino while other endangered species including amphibians and algae disregardedMost global conservation funds go to larger, charismatic animals, leaving critically important but less fashionable species deprived, a 25-year study has revealed.Scientists have found that of the $1.963bn allocated to projects worldwide, 82.9% was assigned to vertebrates. Plants and invertebrates each accounted for 6.6% of the funding, while fungi and algae were barely represented at less than 0.2%. Continue reading...

Oil and gas interests coordinate campaign to stop local and state policies, putting climate at risk, new report showsOil and gas interests have waged a coordinated campaign to kill pro-electrification policies that ban gas connections in new buildings, putting the climate at risk, according to a new report.Since 2019, utilities and fossil fuel trade groups, including the American Gas Association (AGA) and National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), have worked together to successfully thwart various local and state efforts. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Union concerned over safety as site's bosses say budget does not cover work plannedSellafield has said nearly 3bn in new funding is not enough" and bosses are now examining swingeing cuts, prompting fears over jobs and safety at the vast nuclear waste dump.The Cumbrian nuclear site, which is home to the world's largest store of plutonium, was last week awarded 2.8bn for the next financial year, the bulk of the total of just over 4bn funds allotted to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a taxpayer-owned and funded quango. Continue reading...

Goal of increasing renewable energy generation 20-fold to be ditched, shareholders to be told this weekBP is expected to ditch a target to ramp up renewable energy generation by 2030 as part of a shift back towards fossil fuels when it presents its strategy to investors this week.The chief executive, Murray Auchincloss, is poised to tell shareholders that the oil and gas company is scrapping its target to increase renewable generation 20-fold between 2019 and 2030 to 50 gigawatts, Reuters reported. Continue reading...

The January blazes wiped out a thriving communal food pathway unique to the Altadena neighborhood, but farmers are starting to plan for its renewalIn Choi Chatterjee and Omer Sayeed's Altadena backyard, beehives produced pounds of honey, copious amounts of fruit and vegetables were harvested, and hens laid plenty of fresh eggs. A couple of pygmy goats and a pair of 100-pound tortoises, Layla and Manju, roamed the urban farm, keeping the weeds trimmed, the compost turned and the soil alive with microbes, much to the delight of the hundreds of visitors who have enjoyed free tours and home-cooked meals since the couple began offering them in 2020.Passersby were often drawn to the Chatterjee-Sayeed residence since the lush butterfly-filled parkway next to their home has served as a free communal garden for more than a decade. Neighbors were welcome to stop by for persimmons, guavas, nopal pads, herbs and varieties of citrus. We'd get 100 to 200 pomegranates and just hand them out to whoever was walking by," said Chatterjee, who is co-director of the Urban Ecology Center at Cal State LA. It was just bustling with life." Continue reading...

Their metamorphosis seems more like a human's than a butterfly's - so much is visible, and awkward, whereas the butterfly forms in secretSome species of frog have eyes so sensitive to light that they can detect a single photon. To confirm this, scientists dissected a frog's eye and removed the lens. If you dissected eyes in biology class, you may remember that a lens is extraordinarily simple and unlike other organs. It is a hard, clearish, object that comes out clean: no blood supply, no blood. It looks like a glass bead, and functions - inanimate - much like glass, and not like most things we find in our body (except maybe teeth, which function like knives). Look through the lens at the classroom around you, you will see it clearly, but upside down.A frog in space, moving further and further from the sun, would eventually start to see not a shrinking star but tiny flashes of light: individual photons. This is because as the photons travel further from their source, they are spread over greater areas: they will hit a frog's eye less and less often. Continue reading...

Result is further evidence that political conversation around the climate crisis has shifted

Environment justice advocates say tools to study pollution in vulnerable communities by companies, including xAI and SpaceX, have disappearedAs Donald Trump's administration continues its purge of federal agencies, environmental justice campaigners are alarmed by the disappearance of federal environmental and climate data tools - some of which have been used to identify pollution concerns about Elon Musk's companies.Several federal agencies, including the EPA and CDC, previously published data regarding pollution levels across the country, as well as data about the vulnerability of each census tract, such as poverty rates and life expectancy. Several of the websites containing that data have gone dark in the weeks following Trump's inauguration. Continue reading...

Emissions estimated at 55m tonnes in 2024 and nearly 230m tonnes in three years of warThe burning of Ukraine's forests at unprecedented rates over the past year has helped push the total greenhouse emissions from the war since Russia's full-scale invasion to almost 230m tonnes, analysis shows.The study, published on the third anniversary of the invasion, found the fighting and its consequences had led to 55m tonnes of emissions in the past 12 months. Continue reading...

The rare sighting of two common short-beaked dolphins hints at an environmental success storyWhen New Yorkers were graced by the presence of two dolphins in the city's East River earlier this month, marine experts said such a sighting was rare - but also a sign that this spring and summer season could be a good one for spotting more marine mammals, both great and small.On the morning of 14 February, a pair of common short-beaked dolphins was spotted alongside Manhattan's Upper East Side. Experts tracking them observed that they lingered until 17 February, swimming up and down the fast-flowing channel that divides Manhattan from the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn and is lined with skyscrapers. Continue reading...

Many of the nations gathering in Rome for Cop16 have offered no plans to honour their agreement to protect 30% of land and sea for natureMore than half the world's countries have no plans to protect 30% of land and sea for nature, despite committing to a global agreement to do so less than three years ago, new analysis shows.In late 2022, nearly every country signed a once-in-a-decade UN deal to halt the destruction of Earth's ecosystems. It included a headline target to protect nearly a third of the planet for biodiversity by the end of the decade - a goal known as 30 by 30". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Top officials and climate policy experts believe delays in cutting emissions make it improbable 2045 target will be metScotland is likely to miss its legally binding climate target by up to 20m tonnes, according to official data seen by the Guardian.The Scottish government set itself the world-leading target of reaching net zero - the point where any excess carbon emissions are soaked up by trees, peat or carbon capture - by 2045. Continue reading...

Hospitals, schools and prisons to be given food welfare targets that should benefit British growers

Despite conflicting laws, a wave of amateur homesteaders have started keeping fowl in the spirit of self-sufficiencyKatie Whalen's backyard in the Florida city of Port St Lucie is testament to her journey towards a life of self-sufficiency. She grows mangoes, avocados, starfruit, jackfruit and coconuts. She is cultivating a tropical tree spinach known as chaya.What she really wants, however, is a chicken coop and hens to provide eggs that are becoming increasingly unaffordable in stores. As bird flu worsens across the US and commercial suppliers struggle to keep up with demand, the keeping of fowl and production of eggs in home environments, has surged in popularity, and Whalen is keen to join the revolution. Continue reading...