Environment | The Guardian

Dramatic changes in energy industry and EVs reducing fossil fuel use, but shipping, aviation and industry a long way from net zero

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

The once-endangered fish have returned in their thousands, giving hope to coastal communities and environmentalists who want to ensure it does not vanish againBuilt like a torpedo, weighing more than a male polar bear when fully grown and fetching prices in Japan of more than 2m for a single fish, the bluefin tuna was once an abundant apex predator in British waters. In the 1960s, these warm-blooded aquatic hunters disappeared - pushed to the brink of extinction in the eastern Atlantic by overfishing.But since 2014, the enormous migratory fish have returned in their thousands off the coast of south-west England after deep cuts to fishing quotas in the eastern Atlantic to revive the species. Nobody is really sure why they are back in such great numbers - with populations also recovering in the Mediterranean, where the vast majority are caught - but bluefin tuna is no longer listed as an endangered species in the UK, and is now often spotted hunting close to shore by wildlife photographers. With its return, minds have also turned to how to catch it without causing it to vanish from British waters again. Continue reading...

First study to tally asthma exacerbations with air pollution during pandemic finds numbers admitted to A&E fell 41% in 2020A new study in Oxford has found that emergency hospital admissions for asthma dropped by 41% in 2020 as air pollution from traffic fell due to Covid restrictions.Dr Suzanne Bartington from the University of Birmingham, who led the Oxford study, said: The Covid-19 pandemic led to a unique opportunity where we could study the impacts of rapid changes in human activities on air quality." Continue reading...

Two and a half years after it was announced, the policy is being dropped. Here is a timeline of key moments along the wayLabour has ditched its pledge to spend 28bn a year on green investment, blaming the Conservatives for crashing the economy".The policy, the main component of Labour's green prosperity plan, has been at the centre of a public and private struggle since it was announced, with factions inside the party arguing against moves to water it down. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer announces party will now spend less than 15bn on green projects a year if it wins election

Experts say utility companies should prioritize vulnerable communities in post-storm recovery effortsIn the days leading up to Hurricane Ian in 2022, Jeffrey Perdomo and his parents resisted increasingly stern calls from officials to evacuate their mobile home in Kissimmee, Florida.We don't have much and we wanted to stay on top of our things," said the 25-year-old, who works as a restaurant host at Disney's Animal Kingdom, just outside Orlando. The family's trailer was old and uninsured; Perdomo wanted to be around to address any damage as soon as it happened. If it ended up flooding, we would have very little recourse. We would become effectively homeless." Continue reading...

Supermarkets will ask customers to recycle scrunchable plastic food packaging for first time since REDcycle ended

Exclusive: Labour insiders say scheme singled out for attack by Tories this week will be major victim of U-turn over 28bn plans

As the photographer turns 80, we look back as some of his most striking images from around the world. A selection of his work can be seen at Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, 16 March to 15 April

A volcano in south-western Iceland has erupted for the second time this year, the country's meteorological office has said. Live images captured lava gushing out of a fissure, sending plumes of smoke and ash into the air. It the sixth outbreak on the Reykjanes peninsula since 2021, before when the volcano had been inactive for about 800 years. 'Reykjanes is fed by five volcanic systems, many of which come to life every 800 to 1,000 years,' said Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist at Lancaster University

Warming of the land surface increased from 1.48C after another year of data was added, annual climate statement reveals

Often overlooked in favour of larger, more charismatic cousins, we asked scientists to tell us about the smallest-known species, from a nano-chameleon to a miniature frogIn the 19th century, the German zoologist Christian Bergmann pondered a simple question: why are some animals so small? His answer, that a warm-blooded animal's size increases as its habitat cools, remains a rule in biology to this day.Bergmann pointed out that smaller species tend to live in warmer climes. This pattern is to do with surface area and volume: smaller animals lose heat faster and struggle to maintain their body temperature when it is very cold," says Dr Simon Loader, the principal curator of vertebrates at the Natural History Museum. Whatever the reasons, these small species are fascinating," he says. Continue reading...

Experts say the endangered insect numbers fell by 59% this year, blaming pesticide use and climate change for the reductionThe number of endangered monarch butterflies at their wintering areas in Mexico has dropped by 59% this year to the second lowest level since record keeping began, experts said, blaming pesticide use and climate change.The annual butterfly count doesn't calculate the individual number of butterflies, but rather the number of hectares they cover when they clump together on tree branches in the mountain pine and fir forests west of Mexico City. Monarchs from east of the Rocky Mountains in the US and Canada overwinter there. Continue reading...

Labour leader to say move is down to economic uncertainty caused by Tory government, sources revealKeir Starmer will announce on Thursday that he is scaling back Labour's 28bn green investment programme, in his biggest policy U-turn since becoming party leader.Senior Labour sources have told the Guardian that Starmer will finally confirm the party is no longer planning to spend 28bn a year on environmental schemes, given the economic uncertainty caused by the Conservative government. Continue reading...

Pod of orcas in north Japan freed themselves as gaps between the ice grew, officials sayA pod of killer whales trapped by drift ice off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, have apparently safely escaped, officials have said.The orcas were initially spotted by a fisher who reported them to officials in the town of Rausu, on the north-east coast of Hokkaido, on Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

Ruling, specific to three dicamba-based weedkillers, is major blow to Bayer, BASF and SyngentaDealing a blow to three of the world's biggest agrochemical companies, a US court this week banned three weedkillers widely used in American agriculture, finding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broke the law in allowing them to be on the market.The ruling is specific to three dicamba-based weedkillers manufactured by Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, which have been blamed for millions of acres of crop damage and harm to endangered species and natural areas across the midwest and south. Continue reading...

Investigators previously found blasts that damaged undersea pipelines in 2022 were an act of sabotageSwedish prosecutors have said they will end their investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines in 2022, dodging the question of who destroyed the then new energy link between Russia and Europe shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.After a 16-month inquiry, the investigators concluded they did not have jurisdiction in the case because Sweden's citizens and interests had not been harmed. The conclusion of the investigation is that Swedish jurisdiction does not apply and that the investigation therefore should be closed," the Swedish prosecution authority said on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Harvey Goldsmith's Earth Aid Live set to last 10 years and take place across multiple cities and continents, with lineups still to be announcedHarvey Goldsmith, the concert promoter who backed the London leg of Live Aid as well as numerous other charity events and major gigs, has announced a new multi-year project to benefit action on the climate crisis.Earth Aid Live will take place in six countries across five continents over one weekend in August 2025, including London, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro, with lineups still to be announced. Goldsmith is planning similar events in 2030 and 2035, and will feature concerts in the metaverse as well as real life. Continue reading...

Company developing world's largest offshore windfarm in North Sea attempts to recover from turbulent year

City of Sydney promises to install more shark nets across city but says pollution remains the biggest obstacle'

Environmental Protection Agency sets lower limits on fine particle pollution, estimated to cause 85,000 to 225,000 deaths annuallyThe Environmental Protection Agency has finalized long-awaited new limits on soot, the tiny air pollution particles emitted by sources as varied as power plants, factories, car exhaust and wildfires.Today's action is a critical step forward that will better protect workers, families and communities from the dangerous and costly impacts of fine particle pollution," the EPA administrator, Michael Regan, told reporters on Tuesday. Continue reading...

The Biden administration suspended new permits for natural gas terminals. Can we see more of this kind of backbone?Ten days ago Joe Biden did something remarkable, and almost without precedent - he actually said no to big oil.His administration halted the granting of new permits for building liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals, something Washington had been handing out like M&Ms on Halloween for nearly a decade. It's a provisional no" - Department of Energy experts will spend the coming months figuring out a new formula for granting the licenses that takes the latest science and economics into account - but you can tell what a big deal it is because of the howls of rage coming from the petroleum industry and its gaggle of politicians.Bill McKibben is the founder of Third Act, which organizes Americans over 60 for progressive action and which worked this fall to persuade the administration to stop granting the LNG permits Continue reading...

Campaigners argue in legal challenge that loophole has allowed poultry farmers to pollute riveroThe Environment Agency and the UK government failed to protect the River Wye from catastrophic decline by allowing pollution from industrial chicken farming to saturate the land and devastate the protected river, a legal challenge is to argue. Continue reading...

The Danish photographer Soren Solkaer first saw starling murmurations as a child near Wadden Sea in the south of the country. After photographing the phenomenon for three years in the marshlands of Denmark, Solkaer's new work, Starling, published by Edition Circle, expands his scope to trace the birds along their migration routes to the Netherlands and Italy Continue reading...

Committee says safeguard mechanism will help cut emissions and ban on projects emitting more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 not needed

Huge disconnect' between employers' public ambitions on diversity and their actions, say workersWorkers at environmental charities have said bold words on inclusion are not being matched with action, as research shows the sector still lags far behind others in racial diversity.Only about one in 20 workers in the environmental charity sector identified as an ethnic minority last year, according to a survey of organisations, compared with one in eight in the wider UK workforce. Continue reading...

A huge retrospective of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky's work showcases the terrifying, but oddly beautiful marks we can leave on the planet Continue reading...

Frozen snapshot could help revive ancient Exmoor woodland and protect against ravages of climate changeArchaeologists have uncovered a prehistoric woodland time capsule" buried in Exmoor's ancient peatlands. The finding, filled with beetles and plant fragments, gives a time-frozen snapshot of the creatures that lived there - and could help restore the area to the richly boggy, carbon-sequestering, tree-filled landscape it once was.The discovery was made during a peatland restoration project at the Holnicote Estate in England's West Somerset. Continue reading...

Andrew Bowie wrote last year that concerns among his constituents about new pylons were a priority'The UK minister responsible for the building of new pylons has been quietly reshuffled after it emerged he had campaigned against the structures in his own constituency.The energy minister Andrew Bowie had been in charge of energy networks, including building pylons, since he took up his post in February 2023. Continue reading...

Santos shares fall 5% and Woodside rises 2% after collapse of talks, with two sides reportedly unable to agree on valuation

Media images of rising waters may seem alarming - but that's pretty much what the channel is supposed to look like in heavy rainWhen newspapers across the world wanted to visualize this week's torrential California storms, they chose the same image: a shot of the brown, choppy waters of the Los Angeles River, seemingly about to fully swallow the trunks of local trees.Photos and video of the river dominated the homepages of the New York Times, the Washington Post and even the Guardian. On Monday, LA River" was trending on X.com (formerly Twitter), with more dramatic videos of rising waters. Continue reading...

A series of sightings suggests the big cats are, against the odds, growing in numbers in New Mexico and Arizona. But Trump's border wall could yet halt their progressThe young, muscular male approached from the east at about 4am. He paused briefly in front of the motion-sensor camera, seemingly posing for the photo. It was overall a moment of euphoria," says Emily Burns, programme director at the Sky Island Alliance conservation group in Arizona, as she walks along a rutted forest service road towards a canyon framed by lichen-covered cliffs.I was equal parts thrilled and shocked that there was a jaguar here." Continue reading...

The 11 university students could be imprisoned for a year for protesting against the East Africa Crude Oil PipelineEleven Ugandan climate activists who were allegedly beaten and held arbitrarily in a notorious maximum security prison will appear in court on Wednesday charged with a colonial era anti-dissident offense, as reprisals continue against opponents of an internationally bankrolled oil pipeline.If convicted, the 11 activists, all university students, face up to a year in jail. Four of them - Nicholas Lutabi, Jacob Lubega, Shafik Kalyango and Abdul Aziz Bwete - were allegedly arrested and beaten by police armed with guns, teargas and batons as they marched peacefully towards parliament in the capital city, Kampala, on 15 December. Continue reading...

Murray Auchincloss says BP's aim' to reduce oil and gas emissions by 20-30% was not confirmed as a target'

Emissions fall 3.5% from 2021 but experts say government not doing enough to reach net zeroGreenhouse gas emissions fell slightly in 2022, new government figures reveal, with homes and transport remaining the highest emitting sectors.The emissions for the territorial UK were equivalent to 406.2m tonnes of CO, down 3.5% from 2021 and 50% from 1990. Continue reading...

Allies and advisers have hinted at a more methodical second term: driving forward fossil fuel production, sidelining scientists and overturning rulesThe United States's first major climate legislation dismantled, a crackdown on government scientists, a frenzy of oil and gas drilling, the Paris climate deal not only dead but buried.A blueprint is emerging for a second Donald Trump term that is even more extreme for the environment than his first, according to interviews with multiple Trump allies and advisers. Continue reading...

Labour leader says 28bn green investment desperately needed' after sources said last week Labour were planning to ditch policy

Environment minister says overwhelming majority' oppose offshore mining and proposed reforms reflect these concerns

Former PM Scott Morrison, whose government legislated original stage-three plan, spoke in favour of Coalition backing tax plan. This blog is now closed

This blog is now closedCalifornia is grappling with another round of strong storms this week and the dangerous potential for flash flooding, landslides, and furious winds expected to come with them.Much like last year, when record rainfall lashed the state, the storms are attributed to atmospheric rivers (ARs), systems that have long played a role in California's precipitation levels - both for good and for bad. Continue reading...

Grants needed towards buying EVs as well as a battery health testing standard to reassure consumers

New York-listed company, once valued at $15bn, failed to launch its debut electric vanThe British electric vehicle maker Arrival has collapsed into administration - putting 170 jobs at risk - just three years after it was valued at more than $15bn.The company, which had two manufacturing sites in Oxfordshire, has appointed consultancy firm EY as administrator, after failing to launch its debut electric van. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Meeting took place days after BP reported record profits while households were squeezed by high energy billsThe energy and climate minister Graham Stuart asked BP about the incentives required to maximise" extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea, documents released under freedom of information rules have revealed.Stuart's meeting with the corporation's UK boss, Louise Kingham, last year came days after BP had announced a record profit of $28bn (23bn) for 2022, raised its dividend to shareholders, and rowed back on its aim to cut its carbon emissions by 2030. Households were also enduring very high energy bills. BP will report its profits for 2023 on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Industry lobby group says 2m could be reached within two years in rapid shift away from polluting fossil fuelsThe number of pure battery electric cars sold in the UK has passed 1m, a milestone that reflects the rapid shift away from polluting fossil fuels that is crucial to Britain's target to produce net zero carbon emissions.Between 2002 and the end of January buyers registered 1,001,677 of the vehicles in the UK, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the lobby group for the British industry. Continue reading...

Experts say Albanese government plan should provide a greater choice of electric cars but Coalition calls savings claims a lie'

Brumby numbers in the alpine area exploded under Coalition's no-cull policy and now aerial shooting is being used to bring numbers back downPark rangers culling brumbies are being harassed and threatened as union leaders call on politicians to take the heat out of the debate over controlling the feral animals.The New South Wales government in October announced the state would return to aerial shooting of brumbies in Kosciuszko national park to control burgeoning numbers.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

First-ever hurricane-force wind warning along coast, with millions of people under flood watches and power out for close to a millionAn enormous atmospheric river-fueled storm unleashed rain and furious winds across California on Sunday, leaving destruction and hazards in its wake.Howling winds tore down power lines and trees, and scattered debris in communities across the state, prompting officials to issue the first-ever hurricane-force wind warning along the coast. By late afternoon, streets in both northern and southern regions of California were left submerged, with far more rain on the way. Continue reading...

The referendum comes as the city aims to reduce emissions by targeting wealthy drivers in large, polluting carsParisians have voted to triple parking costs for sports utility vehicles (SUVs), as the city aims to tackle air pollution and climate breakdown by targeting rich drivers in heavy, large and polluting cars.In a referendum on Sunday, which was closely watched by other capital cities, including London, 54.6% voted in favour of special parking fees for SUVs, according to provisional results. However, the turnout - at about 5.7% of Paris's registered voters - was lower than green campaigners had hoped for. Continue reading...

Parents have feelings about a lack of variety in their kids' lunches - critically, fewer choices may mean fewer kids eatingWhen LaToya Jordan first heard the news, she couldn't believe it. Due to budget cuts, a number of popular school lunch options - chicken dumplings, bean-and-cheese burritos, cookies - would disappear from New York City public schools in February.Jordan, a writer whose two children attend public school in Brooklyn, knew that both of her kids were fans of the burritos and her son loves the cookies, too. She immediately texted her mom-friends with the news. Continue reading...