Icelandic horses, an endangered hawksbill sea turtle and snow leopards are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world Continue reading...

MPs write to major supermarkets, as pressure grows over the huge amounts of plastic waste they generateTwo hundred cross-party MPs are calling on heads of the major supermarkets to eliminate plastic packaging from their products by 2023.The MPs, who are from seven political parties, have written to Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Waitrose, Aldi, Lidl, Budgens and Marks & Spencer urging them to scrap plastic packaging. Continue reading...

Defra prioritises post-Brexit fisheries plan and protection of UK’s coldwater reefs, promising data will be made publicly available onlineAn assessment of the seas around the UK will carried out by the government and made available online, the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has promised, with a view to cleaning up and improving the inshore environment.Thérèse Coffey, a Defra minister, said that by the end of this year “a major assessment of how our seas have moved towards good environmental status” would be completed. This assessment, which would be accompanied by an online tool that the general public could use to examine progress on the marine environment and the pressures it is under, is expected to inform future marine policy. Continue reading...

Last-minute opposition by Westminster city council to park gate closures could leave the new superhighway ‘dead’, says former London cycling commissionerPlans to close the outer circle of Regent’s Park to rat-running motor traffic are being “significantly watered down” to shutting just two gates – down from four – and to shorter periods, in only the morning and evening peak, it has been revealed.Although still in discussion, plans for the road, which will form part of cycle superhighway 11 (CS11), have reportedly been under pressure from Westminster city council since they gained 60% approval in a public consultation in August 2016. Those close to discussions say weakened changes are now being blocked by the body that runs the park’s roads on the grounds they could be more dangerous than the status quo. Continue reading...

The killing of two rangers in Catalonia a year ago this week, marked a chilling turning point for colleagues facing up to increasing violence towards Europe’s wildlife defendersOn a hill above the olive trees and dun scrublands of western Catalonia, two rusty iron silhouettes maintain a still and silent vigil. One peers out over the land through a pair of binoculars; the other kneels and holds a bird forever on the cusp of release.At their feet is a simple plaque: “In memory and recognition of Xavier Ribes Villas and David Iglesias Díez, wildlife rangers whose lives were taken in the line of duty on 21 January 2017.” Continue reading...

EU criticised for its ‘poor response’ after an indigenous herder is killed during a forced eviction for a water conservation project it funds

Until last year I’d never been in a protest. Now I’m due in court for trying to stop this destructive industry ruining our landscapeI am a 73-year-old grandmother. On a sunny day in the middle of July I found myself sitting in the central reservation of the A583 outside Cuadrilla’s fracking site near Blackpool, one arm locked into a steel tube within a brightly coloured wooden box and surrounded by police. I was not alone. Locked into a neighbouring box was my partner, Paul, and my granddaughter, Megan. A few feet away my son, Sebastian, was also locked on, along with two other female friends.The next morning in the Guardian there was a large photograph of me with a caption describing me as an activist. I almost laughed out loud. I thought I must be the unlikeliest person ever to be described as an activist. Unlikely because of my age and because I am definitely not given to defiance; I do feel deeply about inhumanity, greed, the wrecking of the planet, but thus far I had confined myself to petition-signing, infrequent letter-writing and furious, but powerless, indignation in the company of like-minded friends. Continue reading...

Erik Solheim cites ‘huge decline’ in world’s reefs but says shift from coal and new awareness of plastic pollution are good newsThe battle to save the world’s coral reefs is at “make or break point”, and countries that host them have a special responsibility to take a leadership role by limiting greenhouse gas emissions, plastic pollution and impacts from agriculture, the head of the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has said.Speaking to the Guardian after the launch of International Coral Reef Initiative’s international year of the reef, Erik Solheim said he expected governments to take their efforts on reef protection in 2018 beyond symbolic designation. Continue reading...

Sheffield, South Yorkshire: Conservationists are using hidden cameras, DNA testing and a sense of smell, to follow the lives of the city’s otter populationA dank winter’s day in the Steel City did not hold obvious promise of the transformative power of nature. But not far from where a gaggle of office workers were enjoying a fag break, a friendly conservation volunteer called Paul ushered me down a ladder to an otherwise inaccessible spot on the banks of the river Don. I found myself, like Alice down the rabbit-hole, in a new sort of country, a lush carpet of floating weeds and a swift-moving ribbon of clear water at my feet muffling the sound of traffic and freshening the air.Paul and his colleague Karon were checking hidden cameras for a lottery-funded survey of Sheffield’s small otter population, called Otterly Amazing! The motion-sensitive cameras have captured these shy creatures, hunting successfully in a river so polluted when I was a boy in the 1970s that it would literally catch fire. Continue reading...

Modern cars can start in the cold, so why are manufacturers failing to make exhaust controls more efficient below 20C?Twenty-five years ago, starting a car in winter required careful balancing of choke and accelerator and sometimes sprays of WD40 or a bump start. Now, modern vehicles simply work in the cold. However, a European parliament inquiry following the Volkswagen scandal found that the nitrogen oxides abatement systems on many diesel cars shut down below the official test temperature of 20C. Manufacturers say that this prevents engine damage and is therefore legal. Real-world driving measurements on 9,000 cars in Gothenburg, Sweden, have shown this shutdown in action. Average emissions at 10C were almost twice those at 25C.Related: What is behind the diesel cars emissions scandal? Continue reading...

Data shows the year was also one of the hottest three ever recorded, with scientists warning that the ‘climate tide is rising fast’

Leading UK retailers say information is too ‘commercially sensitive’ to reveal, following Guardian report they make almost 1m tonnes a year

World Economic Forum outlines huge increase in all five eco risks since the US president assumed officeThe World Economic Forum delivered a strong warning about Donald Trump’s go-it-alone approach to tackling climate change as it highlighted the growing threat of environmental collapse in its annual assessment of the risks facing the international community.In the run-up to the US president’s speech to its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, next week, the WEF avoided mentioning Trump by name but said “nation-state unilateralism” would make it harder to tackle global warming and ecological damage. Continue reading...

Scientists say consumers should be wary of buying any seafood that may have passed through the area until the toxic impact of the spill has been assessed

The biggest impact comes from electricity used to power the microwaves, but study also highlights rising environmental cost of our throwaway culturePopping frozen peas into the microwave for a couple of minutes may seem utterly harmless, but Europe’s stock of these quick-cook ovens emit as much carbon as nearly 7m cars, a new study has found.And the problem is growing: with costs falling and kitchen appliances becoming “status” items, owners are throwing away microwaves after an average of eight years, pushing rising sales. Continue reading...

University of New South Wales colleagues pay tribute to pioneer with ‘Crocodile Dundee persona’ who died age 60 from malignant melanomaAustralia’s scientific community has paid tribute to Prof Stuart Wenham, a solar energy pioneer described as the “Einstein of the solar industry”, whose research increased the efficiency of solar cells a hundredfold.Wenham passed away on 23 December, age 60, after suffering from malignant melanoma. He was the director of the Centre of Excellence for Advanced Photovoltaics and Photonics at the University of New South Wales. Continue reading...

An initiative led by Europa Nostra has shortlisted at-risk cultural landmarks and aims protect seven of the most endangeredAn aerial cableway in Georgia, a modernist monument in Bulgaria and an ice factory in Grimsby, are among 12 heritage sites that have been shortlisted by a campaign that is highlighting Europe’s most at-risk cultural monuments.Heritage federation Europa Nostra, which works with Unesco and the EU, lobbies to protect cultural and natural heritage across the continent and represents national and local heritage groups. The shortlist is part of its 7 Most Endangered initiative that will lead to monuments receiving exposure, as well as guidance from Europa Nostra experts about preservation. Continue reading...

Haldon Forest, Devon: Britain’s hawfinch population has been boosted by hundreds of unexpected but welcome visitors from the continentTowering electricity pylons bisect the western edge of Haldon Forest, their splayed metal arms echoing the shapes of surrounding conifer trees, as if they have broken ranks from the plantation pines. It is bitterly cold but I take a seat at the foot of a pylon. I have come in search of one of Britain’s most elusive birds and the surrounding woodland, I have been assured, is the place to spot it.Hail soon begins peppering the ground around me and causing the power cables above to fizz alarmingly. I consider retreating to my car, but a sudden sharp pit! jolts my senses like a static charge. The storm passes and I hear the sound again, tracing its source to a bird perched deep within a stand of hornbeam trees. I can just make out a heavy head fronted by a powerful nutcracker of a beak. It is enough to identify it: a hawfinch. My luck is in. Continue reading...

Activists target Aurizon after Palaszczuk refuses to rule out vetoing freight company’s application for Naif funding to build rail line

Drivers urged to stop throwing food out of windows, which attracts wildlife to the roadside

Wrap, the agency responsible for tackling waste, blames government cuts for the redundancies, that come just a week after the prime minister’s pledgeJust one week after Theresa May and Michael Gove promised to eradicate the scourge of plastic waste, government budget cuts have forced a key agency charged with tackling the problem to make more than a tenth of its staff redundant, a move campaigners said could sabotage progress.About 25 people are losing their jobs at the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap), the body’s chief executive confirmed on Wednesday.

Councils backtrack on previous statements and say they do not own the site or have any say in how facility is builtTwo Queensland councils that together contributed $34m to an airport serving Adani’s coalmine have contradicted previous statements and now say they do not own the site or have any say in how the facility is built.Townsville and Rockhampton councils announced in October that they would spend $18.5m and $15.5m respectively on an airport hundreds of kilometres away at the Carmichael coalmine as part of a funding deal with Adani. Continue reading...

5,000 hectares of cotton thought to be affected by off-target spray drift, says Bernie Bierhoff of Walgett Cotton Growers’ AssociationOn Christmas Day farmers around Walgett in north-west New South Wales noticed their infant cotton plants had begun to wither. Leaves began to curl and die, killing some plants and stressing others.Within days, it was clear Walgett was facing a serious incident that had affected nearly 6,000 hectares (60 sq km) of cotton farms reaching as far as Burren Junction, and Rowena. Continue reading...

We asked you to recommend the best ways to reduce your plastic consumption and avoid excess waste. Here’s what some of you said

Exclusive: Guardian investigation unwraps truth about supermarket plastics after big brands refuse to divulge packaging secrets

Conservationists say government scheme, aimed at placating grouse moor land owners who object to the birds breeding on their land, will not boost numbers of the endangered birdsControversial government plans to remove chicks from the nests of one of England’s rarest birds and rear them in captivity have been criticised as “nonsense” by conservationists.Hen harrier chicks or eggs will be removed from nests in northern England and hand-reared in captivity before being reintroduced into the wild, under the terms of a two-year licence issued by Natural England, the government’s conservation watchdog. Continue reading...

Company claims a plant at Sizewell in Suffolk would be £4bn cheaper than £20bn projectEDF Energy has claimed it could build a second new nuclear power station in Britain that would be 20% cheaper than the £20bn Hinkley Point C project under construction in Somerset.The French state-owned company said a new plant at Sizewell on the Suffolk coast would be cheaper because of replication in construction techniques, existing grid connections and the exploration of new finance models.

In short, from a practical standpoint, as little additional warming as possible

Campaigners hail movement towards prohibiting the controversial practice but warn other measures will leave European waters in a worse stateThe European Union’s parliament has voted to prohibit the controversial practice of electrical pulse fishing within EU waters, to the approval of some groups of small-scale fishermen and green campaigners.However, a series of other measures designed to prevent overfishing and preserve the marine environment were voted down. Campaigners say the rejection will have a damaging effect on Europe’s fisheries for many years. Continue reading...

Proposal sees 300 metres cut from runway in effort to help reduce costs to £15bn, but opponents say move changes forecasted economic benefitsHeathrow is to unveil proposals for a shorter, cheaper third runway in a public consultation to help push its expansion plans through.The airport will propose cutting 300 metres from the length of the northwestern runway, a scheme approved by the government following the Airports Commission process, in an attempt to cut costs. Continue reading...

Vague ambitions, such as banning new petrol cars by 2040, must be turned into solid plans, says the Committee on Climate Change

Cadson Bury, Lynher Valley: Early farmers and their animals were protected from marauders and wild creatures lurking in the dense woodland belowJust below the summit a shaggy-coated cow with long, curving horns gazes into the greyness of this dull afternoon. The sound of rushing water carries up from the river, now swollen with run-off from Redmoor and Tresellern Marshes, the Withey Brook and other boggy headstreams on the eastern side of Bodmin Moor, as well as little tributaries from intermediate waterlogged land.Up here, on this precipitous hill, topped with defensive earthworks of ditch and rampart, a dozen or so highland cattle of varying age (owned by the Crago family of the nearby Cadson Farm) mooch about, graze and thrive on heather and the coarser vegetation that would otherwise smother this iron age hill-fort and the adjoining hillside. Yellow gorse flowers and the silver bark of birch gleam in the murk and, below, in the Lynher Valley and on the Newton Ferrers estate, the leafless tree canopy (dominated by lichen-encrusted alder and oak) is tinged pale green and purple. Inside the eastern entrance, the encampment of some six acres is a spongy oval space of trampled bracken and mossy turf. This enclave was once a secure area for early farmers, where they and their animals were relatively protected from marauders and wild creatures lurking in the dense woodland below. Continue reading...

Asian food chain says it will hand out biodegradable paper alternative on request from 22 AprilWagamama has become the latest restaurant chain to commit to end the use of plastic straws.From Earth Day on 22 April, the Asian food chain will switch to a biodegradable paper alternative, which will be available on request. Continue reading...

40% of UK primary energy was derived from natural gas in 2016, a 50% increase from 1990, writes Ken CroninYour editorial (Fracking’s day may have passed, 10 January) was keen to downplay the role of onshore gas in the UK’s future energy mix, and was deeply concerning. Natural gas has a role to play for many decades, and this is backed up by the National Grid, the government and other forecasters. 40% of UK primary energy was derived from natural gas in 2016, a 50% increase from 1990. In the UK, a projected annual gas demand of 68bcm in 2030, which is 90% of 2015 economy-wide consumption, is in keeping with the Committee on Climate Change’s fifth carbon budget. Natural gas is the largest energy source for UK homes and businesses, providing us with heat, power and vital feedstocks needed for our industries.The site at Balcombe is not a site that will use hydraulic fracturing as there is not a need to – that was made clear by the company. You also refer to Ineos wanting to access gas in sensitive areas – this is despite the company confirming they have no plans to access site of special scientific interest (SSSI) areas for the purposes of the survey being carried out in the East Midlands, and this being confirmed by the governing authority, the local council. Continue reading...

If spilled, heavy fuel oil would remain for long periods and could spread widely if entrained in moving ice, writes Sue LibensonThe stricken tanker now sunk offshore of Shanghai should give pause to all with concern for the ocean, especially those who depend on sensitive, remote waters such as the Arctic. The tanker’s cargo of light fuel burned for a week, but response crews have voiced concerns about the heavy fuel oil or bunker fuel that powered the tanker. Heavy fuel is the dirtiest oil and highly persistent if spilled. A large heavy fuel spill into the waters of China’s largest fishery would compound the tragedy of the tanker’s missing crew. High seas, poisonous fumes, explosions, and winds have hampered rescue and response efforts this week. China’s calamity highlights efforts to prevent heavy fuel oil spills in other sensitive, but more challenging waters. International consideration is being given to phase out the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic where communities depend on marine life and spill response is negligible. If spilled, heavy fuel oil would remain for long periods and could spread widely if entrained in moving ice. This dangerous fuel is already banned under international rules for Antarctic waters. The Arctic deserves the same international precautions.

Qantas used the two most fuel-intensive aircraft and carried the most empty seats of any transpacific airlineQantas emits more carbon dioxide per passenger-kilometre than any other airline operating across the Pacific, according to an analysis by the International Council on Clean Transportation, the group that exposed the Volkswagen emissions scandal in 2014.For each kilometre Qantas transports a passenger across the Pacific, it uses 64% more fuel than the two most fuel-efficient airlines operating across the Pacific: Hainan Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA). Continue reading...

Firm’s financial pain offset by rising oil prices as it winds down payouts from 2010 disasterBP is nearing the end of the $65bn (£47bn) Deepwater Horizon compensation process, it said as it announced an unexpectedly high payout of $1.7bn among the final few hundred outstanding claims.The British oil firm said on Tuesday it would pay the $1.7bn charge in the last quarter of 2017 for court-ordered payments resulting from the worst oil spill in US history. It means BP will have paed out $3bn in compensation for 2017, compared with the $2bn anticipated. Continue reading...

Brussels targets single-use plastics in an urgent clean-up plan that aims to make all packaging reusable or recyclable by 2030The EU is waging war against plastic waste as part of an urgent plan to clean up Europe’s act and ensure that every piece of packaging on the continent is reusable or recyclable by 2030.Following China’s decision to ban imports of foreign recyclable material, Brussels on Tuesday launched a plastics strategy designed to change minds in Europe, potentially tax damaging behaviour, and modernise plastics production and collection by investing €350m (£310m) in research. Continue reading...

Zero-emission TX eCity cab can’t ply for hire until problem is sorted … and don’t get cabbies started on the lack of charging pointsState-of the-art electric taxis that London’s transport authorities hope will replace diesel black cabs have yet to enter service on the streets of the capital – because the meter does not work.Only one zero-emission taxi has so far been licensed in the capital with none yet to carry a paying passenger – two weeks after rules came into force banning any other new black cabs. Continue reading...

Investment in green energy fell 56% in UK in 2017 – biggest fall of any country – after ‘stop-start’ support from governmentInvestment in clean energy plunged further in Britain than in any other country last year because of government policy changes, new figures show.The amount companies spent on green energy in the UK rose during the years of the coalition government (2010-2015) but has now fallen for two years in a row under the Conservatives, according to analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Continue reading...

When NGO Bikeygees set out to teach female refugees how to ride a bike they were shocked by the demand. Now hundreds have benefitted from the schemeEmily is a 21-year-old Afghan refugee living in Berlin, and her best experience in Germany so far has been, without a doubt, learning to ride a bike. Continue reading...

Wolsingham, Weardale: In the fog every surviving thread was spangled with water droplets, sparkling as the sun broke throughSwirling fog plays tricks. As we crossed an open field the silhouette of an oak loomed, with a glimmer of pale yellow light cradled in its branches, before it dissolved back into the clammy miasma.We had descended from the high fells, from clear blue sky and crystal-clear views into a monochrome lake of valley fog, cold grey vapour trapped by warmer air above. It thickened as we followed the footpath along the riverbank. Continue reading...

Retailer outlines five-year aim to replace all plastic packaging with trays made of paper and pulpIceland has become the first major retailer to commit to eliminate plastic packaging for all its own-brand products.The supermarket chain, which specialises in frozen food, said it would go plastic-free within five years to help end the “scourge” of plastic pollution. Continue reading...

Campaigners say London mayor has fudged a similar manifesto promise to divest the city’s remaining pension funds from fossil fuelsLondon has been put to shame by New York’s decision to divest city pension funds from fossil fuel companies, according to climate campaigners who accuse the mayor, Sadiq Khan, of fudging a similar promise he made during his election campaign.Global efforts to drive investment away from oil, gas and coal were given a major boost last week when the biggest city in the US announced plans to sell off its $5bn holdings in fossil fuel assets and sue the world’s most powerful oil companies over their contribution to dangerous global warming. Continue reading...

Model penguins have appeared in cities around the world as part of a new Greenpeace campaign that is aiming to turn a huge tract of the Antarctic Ocean into the world’s biggest wildlife reserve, protecting marine life and helping to fight climate change

Food Standards Agency reports ‘significant increase’ of harmful pathogen campylobacter in British-farmed chickensChickens for sale in Britain’s supermarkets are showing record levels of superbugs resistant to some of the strongest antibiotics, new research from the government has found.The results are concerning because resistance to antibiotics among livestock can easily affect resistance among humans, rendering vital medicines ineffective against serious diseases. Continue reading...

Vote on controversial method will be closely watched in the UK, which will decide on the issue as part of national fishing policy after BrexitEurope’s parliament will vote on Tuesday on the controversial issue of electric pulse fishing, in a debate that could decide the future of the fishing method.The debate is crucial for the UK, despite Brexit, because the UK’s fleets have yet to decide whether to lobby the government post-Brexit for an expansion in pulse fishing. Tuesday’s debate and vote will give an indication of both current scientific advice on the issue, and the strength of public opinion. Continue reading...

Higher temperatures increase the number of people seeking asylum in the EU

Exclusive: Many of the country’s most famous ancient sites, from Holyrood Park to the Neolithic village of Skara Brae, need urgent protection, say expertsDozens of Scotland’s most famous historic sites are at very high risk of being badly damaged by climate change and need urgent protection, an expert survey has found.Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the agency which oversees nearly 340 of the country’s most important castles, abbeys, Neolithic sites and ruins, has for the first time issued red warnings for nearly a fifth of its sites and put amber, high risk warnings against another 70%. Continue reading...

Environment Victoria says extending Australia’s most polluting power station would pose an ‘unacceptable risk’ to the climate