Bags for fruit and veg to be replaced by compostable versions and 5p bags to be axedWaitrose & Partners is to remove traditional plastic bags for loose fruit and vegetables and 5p single-use plastic bags from its stores by next spring.The supermarket said the move would cut 134m plastic bags, the equivalent of 500 tonnes of plastic a year. Continue reading...

Japan hints it may leave International Whaling Commission after attempt to resume commercial hunting voted downAustralia has encouraged Japan to remain within the International Whaling Commission after the country’s attempt to lift a 33-year ban on commercial whaling failed to win enough votes.Japan’s so-called “way forward” proposal for the IWC to start a “sustainable whaling” program lost by 41 votes to 27 on a tense final morning of the IWC meeting in Florianópolis, Brazil. Continue reading...

Announcement at climate summit comes after former US secretary of state John Kerry warns that international action is slowingCalifornia is set to launch a satellite to track greenhouse gases, as former US Secretary of State John Kerry and island nation leaders warned that the world is far off course to avoid the worst effects of rising temperatures.Gov. Jerry Brown announced plans for the satellite on the last day of a climate change summit hosted by San Francisco, in a final rebuke to President Donald Trump’s denial of man-made warming. Continue reading...

Government criticised after alerting Southampton and Derby to ‘serious consequences’The government has warned two councils of “serious consequences” after they failed to meet the deadline for dealing with air pollution.In 2015, five local authorities with some of the worst pollution outside London – Derby, Southampton, Leeds, Nottingham and Birmingham – were ordered to produce proposals to tackle air pollution by 15 September. Continue reading...

Anti-whaling nations defeat proposals that would have allowed for the return of huntsAn attempt to overturn the decades-old global ban on commercial whaling has failed, to the relief of conservationists.Anti-whaling nations defeated by a decisive margin proposals from the Japanese government that would have allowed for the return of whale hunts. Continue reading...

Villagers believe changing status of moorland near firing range will stop farmers grazingCumbrian villagers have accused the Ministry of Defence of attempting a “land grab” after a proposal to turn common land into a firing range.A public inquiry has been launched over plans to remove the common land status from an area of moorland near Appleby-in-Westmorland. Continue reading...

A cuddly lion and a rescued baby gibbon are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

Thousands of volunteers will help remove plastic and other litter from beaches this weekendRecord numbers of volunteers are anticipated this weekend to help clear litter from the UK’s beaches, in the 25th annual Great British Beach Clean organised by a leading marine charity.The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has been running the four-day beach cleaning event for the last 24 years and expects the 2018 event to beat all previous records. Originally a modest citizen science project, it has become the largest and most longstanding beach litter survey in the UK, with all items recorded according to an internationally agreed methodology. Continue reading...

President’s ‘energy first’ agenda means vast tracts of public land up for sale – without proper consultation, critics sayDemocrats and conservatives alike are decrying moves by the Trump administration to permit oil and gas drilling near national parks and in wildlife migration corridors, and charge that the public is not being adequately consulted.Officials from the US interior department are pursuing an “energy first” agenda, and some 2.9m acres are up for lease auction, including many parcels close to recreation areas such as Petrified Forest national park in Arizona, Chaco Culture national historical park in New Mexico, and Dinosaur national monument in Colorado. Continue reading...

Tackling a tough, three-day course around Stavanger, Peter Kimpton battles the elements to discover a stunning landscape that involves as much water as landGarlanded with wispy clouds, jagged mountains rise sharply above glassy lakes, reflected to sky with such perfection you are almost dizzy with how upside down it all appears. Or is that a mirage – from exhaustion? From the moment 250 cyclists clattered nervously, like skinny, helmeted warriors on to a ferry at 6.45am to battle through the water in mist and rain for 45 minutes even before the start, it was clear this would be no ordinary event. Cycling in Norway is less travelling on land, more an undulating series of roads and bridges linking breathtaking fjords; a constant movement between mountain, sea and lake.Haute Routes sportives are always challenging, designed to replicate professional-level riding, except unlike Alpine routes, this inaugural event is three days long, pleasingly located in one place, the harbour city of Stavanger on Norway’s west coast. One hotel, one race village nearby, and three days of circular routes. So the logistics were easy, everything close at hand, and the post-ride food and massages were excellent. Continue reading...

Country’s commissioner makes impassioned case against a business that no longer has a ‘social licence’There is no longer a “social licence” for countries to kill whales for profit, Australia has told the International Whaling Commission in Brazil.In an impassioned intervention, Australia’s IWC commissioner, Dr Nick Gales, told the key meeting that Japan’s proposal to lift a 30-year ban on commercial whaling was a “business proposition” that Australians reject. Continue reading...

Activists attempted to barricade entrance at the summit and criticized Jerry Brown for allowing over 20,000 drilling operations

As urban air pollution affects the passage of daylight, photovoltaic panels lose efficiency finds studyHaze over cities is a visual reminder of the air pollution we breathe. This is less obvious than the coal smoke induced gloom that Victorians suffered. In the 1880s central London had just 17% of the winter sunshine that was measured in the countryside. This had only improved to 45% by 1916–20.However, even modern haze is still reducing sunlight in cities. Scientists find that in Delhi air pollution over the city is reducing the efficiency of solar panels by between 12% and 17%, depending on the type of photovoltaic technology. Losses are between 9% and 13% in Beijing, and around 2% in London and Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Researchers in Quebec discovered the narwhal, over 100km outside its typical range, was playing with the whalesWhale researchers in Quebec’s St Lawrence River are celebrating a remarkable discovery: a juvenile narwhal far from its arctic home, that appears to have been adopted by a band of beluga whales.The narwhal, more than 1,000km outside its typical range, was filmed by a drone swimming and playing with dozens of belugas that were treating it as one of their own. Continue reading...

Locals say motor traffic in national park threatens world heritage statusA patch of land in the Lake District once owned by Beatrix Potter and described by Alfred Wainwright as “the loveliest in Lakeland” is being ruined by 4x4 drivers who are threatening the world heritage site status of the national park, according to campaigners.They say cars and motorbikes have devastated farm tracks, churning up soil and exposing the bedrock beneath, leaving them impassable to farm traffic. Continue reading...

NDEVR Environmental data suggests Australia will miss targets by 1bn tonnes of carbon dioxide under current trajectoryAustralia remains on track to miss its Paris climate targets as carbon emissions continue to soar, according to new data.Related: Climate poll shows Morrison politically vulnerable as more voters back action Continue reading...

Council’s successful legal challenge to Cycle Superhighway 11 follows scrapping of pedestrianisation of Oxford StreetA legal challenge by Westminster city council to block a major cycle route in London has succeeded on a procedural point, in a move that could send Transport for London back to the drawing board and set safety improvements to one of London’s most dangerous junctions back by months.The council’s successful judicial review of Cycle Superhighway 11 (CS11), which was due to run from Swiss Cottage to Portland Place, is the latest of its blocks to cycling, walking and road safety improvements. Following the scrapping of the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, the review has cemented Westminster’s reputation as the car-is-king borough of London. Continue reading...

Ministers expand England’s culling area by 70% to try to curb TB in cattle as scientists dispute programme’s effectivenessThe controversial badger cull in England has been hugely expanded into 10 new areas, with up to 42,000 animals now due to be shot in an attempt to curb tuberculosis in cattle, up from 32,500 last year.The farming minister George Eustice claimed the cull is starting to show results in Gloucestershire and Somerset, with drops in tuberculosis incidence, but did not highlight a rise seen in Dorset. Continue reading...

Scientific study finds diameter of storm heading for US east coast will be 50 miles wider due to human-caused warming of planetHurricane Florence is set to bring 50% more rainfall to the US east coast due to human-induced climate change, according to a landmark forecast that has outlined the influence of warming temperatures upon the looming storm.Related: 'Monster' storm: Hurricane Florence is a rare threat in an unusual location Continue reading...

Shadow environment secretary says ministers are not standing up for British fishing industryMinisters have been urged to show some backbone in protecting the British fishing industry after talks to end the so-called scallop wars with French vessels in the Channel broke down.Sue Hayman, the shadow environment secretary, accused the government of “failing to find a voice” in discussions about compensation for British boats that are prevented from harvesting in a disputed territory during a period when the French are banned under domestic law. Continue reading...

Occupiers protesting against coalmine expansion in Hambach forest call for mass mobilisationHundreds of police officers have descended on a patch of forest in western Germany occupied by activists living in treehouses, in an escalation of a long-running environmental battle.Dozens of protesters have occupied 60 treehouses, some as high as 25 metres off the ground, since 2012 in an attempt to protect the ancient Hambach forest from being felled to make way for the expansion of an open-pit coalmine. Continue reading...

First path entirely made of recycled bottles, cups and packaging opens in ZwolleThe world’s first plastic bicycle path made of recycled bottles, cups and packaging has opened in the Netherlands, as part of a pilot that could see similar roads open up across the country.The 30-metre path, made of recycled plastic equivalent to more than 218,000 plastic cups, is expected to be three times as durable as an asphalt alternative. Continue reading...

Former PM’s decision to resign from parliament means he could be compelled to appear if he refuses invitationMalcolm Turnbull will be asked to appear before an inquiry examining a $443.8m grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.The Senate inquiry’s chair, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, said on Thursday the committee had resolved to write to the former prime minister and request he give evidence at a future hearing. Continue reading...

Business and political leaders commit to make more vehicles emissions-free – and plan to bypass US government to do soPolitical and business leaders gathering in San Francisco for a major climate change summit have committed to moving towards what was once a fantastical thought – the demise of the internal combustion engine in cars, trucks and other vehicles.A group of 26 city, business and regional or state leaders, representing 122 million people around the world, have used the Global Climate Action Summit to call for carmakers to quicken the pace of electric vehicle rollout. Twelve cities, including Santa Monica, Tokyo and Greater Manchester, have pledged to deploy only zero emission buses from 2025. Continue reading...

Exclusive: inaction on pollution standards leads to 63% rise in transport-related carbon emissions since 1990, report findsAustralia is lagging behind other developed nations in the race to curb greenhouse gas emissions from transport, according to a new report.The report from the Climate Council, due to be released on Thursday, finds that Australia’s transport-related emissions have continued to rise because of policy inaction. Continue reading...

Waste from hog manure pits, coal ash dumps and other industrial sites could wash into homes and contaminate drinking waterHurricane Florence could cause an environmental disaster in North Carolina, where waste from hog manure pits, coal ash dumps and other industrial sites could wash into homes and threaten drinking water supplies.Preparations are also being made at half a dozen nuclear power plants that stand in the path of the 500-mile-wide hurricane, which is barreling toward the US east coast, expected to make landfall on Thursday night. More than 1.4 million residents across North and South Carolina have been ordered to evacuate. Continue reading...

A new study finds that warming in the Atlantic Ocean is changing rain patterns in the Amazon

Runners will not be able to refill bottles, with water distributed in pouches made from seaweed insteadThe capital’s first marathon event pledging to be completely free of “single use” plastic drinks bottles is to take place in north-west London.The Harrow half marathon on Sunday 16 September will be the first time that London has staged a single use plastic-free running event. Continue reading...

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...