Steve Reed says plans for 1km curved structure to protect bats from high-speed railway are batshit crazy'A bat shelter costing more than 100m near HS2 has been described by the environment secretary as batshit crazy".
Environmentalists say new course could be delayed until 2030 because it is viewed as Conservative party initiativeLeading environmentalists have called on the government to introduce a natural history GCSE immediately, amid fears it could be postponed until 2030.The previous Conservative administration had supported creating the GCSE, which would teach pupils how to observe, identify and classify plants and animals. Continue reading...
As chancellor Rachel Reeves' plan to expand London airports gains traction, the party is accused of back-pedalling on its green commitmentsLabour is being warned it is hurtling towards a powder keg" confrontation with environmentalists, green groups and a swathe of its own supporters in the next few weeks, amid its claims that blockers" are standing in the way of economic growth.A flurry of pro-growth measures have been announced by ministers in recent days as part of a government fightback against claims that the economy is stalling. Continue reading...
The chancellor's attempt to get rich landowners to pay their fair share was correct in principle. But this measure has missed the markRachel Reeves needs to rid herself of troublesome farmers. It's become obvious, if it wasn't at the time of the budget, that they are not going to go away.Their shouts of protest are getting louder and the petition against proposals to tax inherited farms is growing longer. Continue reading...
Speech calling for unity against populist right' interrupted by two women opposed to Drax power plant subsidiesWes Streeting was heckled by climate protesters during a speech calling on progressives to stand up to the populist right".Two women shouted at the health secretary as he addressed the Fabian Society, urging the centre-left to take on the miserablist, declinist vision" being offered by figures such as the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage. Continue reading...
University of Cambridge research suggests living collections have collectively reached peak capacityBotanic gardens around the world are failing to conserve the rarest and most threatened species growing in their living collections because they are running out of space, according to research from the University of Cambridge.Researchers analysed a century's worth of records from 50 botanic gardens and arboreta, collectively growing half-a-million plants, to see how the world's living plant collections have changed since 1921. Continue reading...
Ethical trade body could offer solutions' in advising government on protecting workers, says Eleanor HarrisonFairtrade could help tackle exploitation in UK factories and farms - as well as those in developing countries - the incoming boss of the ethical trade body has said.Eleanor Harrison, who in March takes the reins of the group behind the Fairtrade mark which appears on products in shops, has said it could offer solutions" in advising the UK government on protecting workers. Continue reading...
Gigantic wall of ice moves slowly from Antarctica on potential collision course with wildlife breeding groundThe world's largest iceberg - a behemoth more than twice the size of London - is drifting toward a remote island where scientists say it could run aground and threaten penguins and seals.The gigantic wall of ice is moving slowly from Antarctica on a potential collision course with South Georgia, a crucial wildlife breeding ground. Continue reading...
Ministers avoid internal party row by promising potential rebels they will have input into environmental legislationMinisters have seen off a bill that would have made the UK's climate and environment targets legally binding, after promising Labour backbenchers that they would have input into environmental legislation.The deal avoids an internal row over the bill, which was introduced by the Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage but had support from dozens of Labour MPs. Continue reading...
Rachel Reeves flies back from Davos to lead a revival of the aviation perennial. Labour hated the idea before, but growth won't grow itself, will it?How can people say we can't build anything in this country any more? Listen: our parliament is literally falling down, has caught fire 45 times in the past decade alone, and is going to take tens of billions of investment just to get it in the same postcode as fit-for-purpose - a fact which has now been kicked down the road for actual decades by successive cohorts of MPs who can't handle being the ones to face reality, even though they are actually walking around in it every day. So don't you dare tell me we don't build things. We build the best damn metaphors in the world.Another thing we might be building, perhaps in our own inimitable style, is a third runway at Heathrow. This is the heavy hint dropped by chancellor Rachel Reeves at Davos this week, which - if realised - could open the gate to the Labour Upside Down. Half of the cabinet hate it, half of them love it. Imagine Tony Blair but in asphalt.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Former councillor Andrew Boswell accuses PM of wanting to lock people out of planning processAn activist singled out by Keir Starmer as an environmental zealot" who must be stopped from making vexatious" legal claims that thwart growth, has accused the prime minister of trying to lock people out of the planning process.Andrew Boswell, a 68-year-old former Green councillor, insisted his two-year legal fight over the expansion of the A47 in Norfolk was worth it, despite it ending in defeat in the supreme court last year. Continue reading...
An aquarium in Galway has been hit by strong winds and flooding as Storm Eowyn sweeps Ireland and the UK. Footage shows water rising to the top of a staircase and streaming past the building as gusts blow flood water across the car park
International research team based findings on 300m records from MOT data to estimate failure rates of all carsBattery cars on Britain's roads are lasting as long as petrol and diesel cars, according to a study that has found a rapid improvement in electric vehicle reliability.An international team of researchers has estimated that an electric car will have a lifespan of 18.4 years, compared with 18.7 years for petrol cars and 16.8 years for diesels, according to a peer-reviewed study published on Friday in the journal Nature Energy. The findings were based on 300m records from compulsory annual MOT tests of roadworthiness. Continue reading...
A series investigating the country's vast environmental inequalities - and how climate change will make things worseThis content is supported, in part, through philanthropic funding to theguardian.org, a US-based foundation that partners with the Guardian on independent editorial projects. Support for this project comes from Open Society Foundations, Maine Community Foundation, Rockefeller Family Fund, and the Tides Foundation.All our journalism follows GNM's published editorial code. The Guardian is committed to open journalism, recognizing that the best understanding of the world is achieved when we collaborate, share knowledge, encourage debate, welcome challenge, and harness the expertise of specialists and their communities. You can read more about content funding at the Guardian here. Continue reading...
Fridays for Future organiser warns conspiracy theories are increasingly taking hold despite effects of global heatingThe rise in extreme weather is not generating political support for climate action, Germany's best-known climate activist has warned, as conspiracy theories increasingly circle after disasters made worse by global heating.Like many, I did buy into the idea that big catastrophes would do something to politics," said Luisa Neubauer from Fridays for Future Germany. I bought into that - and I'm glad about it - because I was naively believing there was a democratic responsibility that would live through coalition changes and climate changes." Continue reading...
Birdwatch survey comes as concerns grow over infection risks posed by garden bird feedersPeople are being urged to spend an hour this weekend counting the birds in their garden, park or local green space for the world's largest survey of garden wildlife.More than 9m birds were counted last year by 600,000 participants in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, providing a vital snapshot of how wild birds are faring. Continue reading...
First there was Moo Deng, then there was Pesto the Penguin - but have you met Sydney's Putricia, the corpse flower? To the scientific community, the Botanic Gardens of Sydney's corpse flower is known as Amorphophallus titanum, which translates to 'large, deformed penis'. But online, the rare endangered plant has taken a life of its own.It's the first time a corpse flower has bloomed in the Royal Botanic Garden in 15 years - and when they do blossom, they last just 24 to 48 hours
President claims to be putting people over fish' but critics say order could derail years of carefully crafted water policyIt didn't take long for Donald Trump to reignite the California water wars he waged in his first term.On his first day in office, Trump directed the secretary of commerce and the secretary of the interior to develop a new plan that will route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta to other parts of the state for use by the people there who desperately need a reliable water supply". Continue reading...
Emergency use of Cruiser SB, a neonicotinoid pesticide highly toxic to bees, to be outlawed in UK in line with EUBee-killing pesticides have been banned for emergency use in the UK for the first time in five years after the government rejected an application from the National Farmers' Union and British Sugar.The neonicotinoid pesticide Cruiser SB, which is used on sugar beet, is highly toxic to bees and has the potential to kill off populations of the insect. It is banned in the EU but the UK has provisionally agreed to its emergency use every year since leaving the bloc. It combats a plant disease known as virus yellows by killing the aphid that spreads it. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Supporters of bill say Labour has already insisted on removal of clauses requiring UK to meet targets agreed at Cop and other summitsA landmark bill that would make the UK's climate and environment targets legally binding seems doomed after government whips ordered Labour MPs to oppose it following a breakdown in negotiations.Supporters of the climate and nature bill, introduced by the Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage, say Labour insisted on the removal of clauses that would require the UK to meet the targets it agreed to at Cop and other international summits. Continue reading...
The original cotton totes have a disarmingly short' life cycle - so demand is high for a more environmentally friendly versionThis year's It bag isn't made by any of the usual designers. And if this bag could talk, it wouldn't say calf leather" so much as wash me at 40C". What's more, in an ideal world, you would never want to buy another again.The forever tote" is big business. Usually made from calico, an unbleached cotton designed to be reused, it's similar to the cotton bags you have balled up at the bottom of a drawer, except it's sturdy, with a reinforced base and handles, sometimes a pocket, often coloured (Yves Klein blue seems especially popular), and always conspicuously branded with logos. Demand is high. Continue reading...
Many palm species in the city are receptive to embers, hard to extinguish - and probably helped spread the firesWhen the Los Angeles wildfires broke out on the morning of 7 January, some of the most dramatic images were of palm trees set ablaze along Sunset Boulevard. In the days that followed, burning palms became a symbol to illustrate what may be the costliest wildfires in history, which left at least 25 dead and destroyed thousands of structures.The trees are icons of the city. They also played a role in spreading the flames, researchers and fire officials say. Continue reading...
Mark Avery to stand down from role with Wild Justice but won't completely give up campaigning, he insistsIf government ministers and civil servants are grey squirrels, they may think they can rest easy - the predatory pine marten in the Westminster jungle is leaving them in peace.A campaigner who has created a landscape of fear" over the authorities' failure to protect nature is stepping back from Wild Justice to spend more time with the wildlife - and grandchildren - in his garden. Continue reading...
As the captain of a royal research ship, I break ice to get to British stations in the Antarctic. It's great fun - but getting stuck is always a riskI have been working for the British Antarctic Survey since I was 19. I started icebreaking on my first trip to the Antarctic and got hooked. Now I am the captain of the royal research ship Sir David Attenborough and I find icebreaking addictive.It's unique in a maritime career to have the ability, even as a junior officer, to do quite intricate ship handling and manoeuvring at all stages. Ships break the ice continually, 24/7 - so the whole bridge team gets to do it. Continue reading...
by Helena Horton, Jessica Elgot and Heather Stewart on (#6TRRG)
Exclusive: Treasury analysis shows ticket prices expected to go up across board with no plans for frequent flyers to shoulder more of the costRachel Reeves's bid to expand Heathrow airport could add 40 to the cost of an airline ticket, according to the Treasury's own analysis.The chancellor's proposal to minimise the carbon emissions of a bigger Heathrow include the use of sustainable aviation fuels, which experts say are expensive and unlikely to reach the scale needed for aviation expansion. Continue reading...
by Ajit Niranjan Europe environment correspondent on (#6TRJA)
Report reveals solar power generated 11% of Europe's electricity, surpassing coal at 10%Europe made more electricity from sunshine than coal last year, a report has found, in what analysts called a milestone" for the clean energy transition.Solar panels generated 11% of the EU's electricity in 2024, while coal-burning power plants generated 10%, according to data from climate thinktank Ember. The role of fossil gas fell for the fifth year in a row to cover 16% of the electricity mix. Continue reading...
From LNG to drilling in Alaska, here's everything you need to know about Trump's energy and climate executive ordersThrough a flurry of executive orders, a newly inaugurated Donald Trump has made clear his support for the ascendancy of fossil fuels, the dismantling of support for cleaner energy and the United States' exit from the fight to contain the escalating climate crisis.We will drill, baby, drill," the president said in his inaugural address on Monday. We have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have - the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it. We're going to use it." Continue reading...
by Helena Horton, Sam Bright and Clare Carlile on (#6TR3P)
Representatives of Heartland Institute linking up with MEPs to campaign against environmental policiesClimate science deniers from a US-based thinktank have been working with rightwing politicians in Europe to campaign against environmental policies, the Guardian can reveal.MEPs have been accused of rolling out the red carpet for climate deniers" to give them a platform in the European parliament, amid warnings of a revival of grotesque climate denialism". Continue reading...
by Photographs by Musuk Nolte in São Francisco de Ma on (#6TR3Q)
Some areas of the Amazon experienced their worst drought in 120 years in 2024. Brazilian rivers such as the Negro fell to their lowest levels on record, affecting more than 140,000 families for months.
Climate crisis is making it harder for insurance companies to operate, with many pausing or withdrawing policiesHomeowners in the United States are facing an enormous financial crunch due to the climate crisis, with many struggling to find insurance or even dropping premiums that are soaring due to a mounting toll of wildfires, hurricanes and other disasters, new federal government data shows.The figures, the most comprehensive numbers ever released by the US treasury department on the issue, show insurance premiums are increasing quickly across the country, with people living amid the greatest climate-driven risks experiencing the steepest rises of all. In the four years to 2022, people living in the top 20% riskiest places for such perils paid, on average, 82% more than those in the 20% lowest climate risk zip codes. Continue reading...
Experts say UK should stop biomass burning as electricity sector decarbonisation by 2030 can be achieved without itThe UK should stop burning wood to generate power because it is not needed to meet the government's target of decarbonising the electricity sector by 2030, according to analysis.Ed Miliband, the energy security and net zero secretary, is expected to make a decision soon on whether to allow billions of pounds in new public subsidies for biomass burning, despite fierce opposition from green groups. Continue reading...
Juan Guillermo Garces had a brush with death while burning jungle for cattle pasture - now he runs a nature reserve in Colombia where more than 100 new species have been discovered
Forecasters warn gusty conditions will return on Wednesday, marking end of break in fire-risk conditionsSouthern California was bracing for more dangerous winds on Tuesday as new wildfires broke out across the region, which is continuing to grapple with the major fires that have ravaged Los Angeles communities.Forecasters warned that strong winds would hit southern California for at least two more days. The winds had eased somewhat on Tuesday afternoon after peaking at 60mph (96km/h) in many areas, but gusty conditions will return on Wednesday, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service's office for Los Angeles. Continue reading...
Climate negotiator Andre Aranha Correa do Lago given top job, bypassing Brazilian environment minister Marina SilvaBrazil has announced the top team for the next UN climate summit, which will be hosted in Belem this November, bypassing the country's environment minister, Marina Silva, in favour of a veteran diplomat for the crucial role of president of the talks.The experienced climate negotiator and secretary for climate, energy and environment, Andre Aranha Correa do Lago, will preside over the Cop30 summit, which is expected to draw scores of world leaders to Brazil - though not Donald Trump, who soon after his inauguration on Monday ordered the US's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. Continue reading...
Pollution aside, the problem with expanding Heathrow lies in the disruption and delay inevitable in such a complex projectGet ready for another season of that interminable saga, Heathrow's third runway. There was a lull during the Covid pandemic when the airport's owners, despite winning permission from the supreme court in 2020 to submit a planning application, cooled their jets while they waited for passenger numbers to recover. Now the whole thing is back, courtesy of Rachel Reeves. The chancellor is reported to be preparing to use a speech next week to declare support for a third runway at Heathrow alongside wider airport expansion in the south-east.The best form of airport expansion is none at all, environmentalists (some of them in the cabinet) will argue, but it looks as if Reeves has dismissed those objections in the name of economic growth. A 1.1bn investment in Stansted, to enable it to grow its annual capacity from 29 million passengers to 43 million, was welcomed by the government last year. Continue reading...
Critical CO stores held in permafrost are being released as the landscape changes with global heating, report showsA third of the Arctic's tundra, forests and wetlands have become a source of carbon emissions, a new study has found, as global heating ends thousands of years of carbon storage in parts of the frozen north.For millennia, Arctic land ecosystems have acted as a deep-freeze for the planet's carbon, holding vast amounts of potential emissions in the permafrost. But ecosystems in the region are increasingly becoming a contributor to global heating as they release more CO into the atmosphere with rising temperatures, a new study published in Nature Climate Change concluded. Continue reading...
by Naomi Mihara, Natalie Donback and Vittoria Torsell on (#6TQ30)
Artisanal shellfish farmers face ruinous losses but money meant to help is going to the powerful fishing industry, say criticsEarly on a warm September morning in southern Italy, Giovanni Nicandro sets out from the port of Taranto in his small boat. Summoning his courage, the mussel farmer inspects his year's work - only to find them all dead, a sight that almost brings him to tears.We have many problems," he says. The problems start as soon as we open our eyes in the morning." The loss is total - not only for Nicandro but also for Taranto's 400 other mussel farmers, after a combination of pollution and rising sea temperatures devastated their harvest. Continue reading...
Move is part of 300m investment that includes deepwater quay and building of hundreds of homes near city centreBelfast harbour is to invest 90m to upgrade its port to serve a wave of wind energy projects and cruise ships as part of a 300m investment plan.A new deepwater quay capable of supporting wind projects will be the largest part of an investment plan that also includes the construction of hundreds of homes at a site near the city centre. Continue reading...
President declares energy emergency, reiterates Paris withdrawal plan and overturns emissions standardsDonald Trump declared a national energy emergency on the first day of his new presidency, as part of a barrage of pro-fossil fuel actions and efforts to unleash" already booming US energy production that included also rolling back restrictions in drilling in Alaska and undoing a pause on gas exports.The emergency declaration, which made good on a campaign-trail promise but could be open to legal challenge, would allow his administration to fast-track permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure.Trump sworn in as 47th president - follow live inauguration updatesFactchecking Trump's speechA who's who of far-right leaders in WashingtonMigrant groups at US-Mexico border await mass deportationsDoge' violates federal transparency rules, lawsuit claims Continue reading...
Banks, asset managers and industry groups move to accommodate US president's anti-net zero stanceThe second Trump administration is expected to strike a blow to efforts to align the global financial sector with the path to net zero, with banks, asset managers and industry groups already moving to accommodate the incoming president's avowed policy of drill, baby, drill".As authorities declared 2024 the hottest on record, atmospheric carbon dioxide leapt by a record amount and fires ravaged Los Angeles, a key private sector climate alliance, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) abandoned a requirement that members be aligned to the Paris agreement. Continue reading...