Environment | The Guardian

High voltage required to use Aemo's emergency backstop is a bit like stopping a car by driving into a tree, Vince Garrone says

Campaigners want rethink of national policy because of wasteful knock-it-down-and-start-again approach'Campaigners are calling for planning rules to consider the environmental implications of knocking down buildings after a controversial redevelopment of Marks & Spencer's historic store on London's Oxford Street was given the green light by the government.Save Britain's Heritage said national policy should consider the embedded carbon linked to a site when considering its future and prioritise reuse of historic buildings amid the climate crisis alongside issues such as preserving important architecture. Continue reading...

The overwhelming majority of Europeans support climate action, but they must be compensated for its costs in tangible waysThis year was not an easy time to be Green. Green parties took a beating in June's European elections, with their seat count plummeting from 71 to 53. In national elections they haven't fared much better. The Green party was nearly wiped out in last week's general election in Ireland, losing all but one of its seats after having been part of a coalition government.At the same time, climate-sceptic parties framing environmental policies as elitist and unfair have surged across the continent. In Germany, for instance, the far-right AfD owes some of its electoral success to its rallying cry against an emerging eco-dictatorship".Bjorn Bremer is an assistant professor of political science at Central European University and a John F Kennedy Memorial fellow at Harvard University. Jane Gingrich is a professor of social policy at the University of Oxford. Hanna Schwander is a professor of political sociology and social policy at the Humboldt University of Berlin. They are all co-conveners of the Progressive Politics Research Network, whose findings are published here Continue reading...

The forests are home to eagles, smelly lichen and fungus that looks like intestines, say conservationists battling to save themBritain's rare rainforests are home to wildlife from eagles to the world's largest slugs and lichen that looks like dragon skin, say conservationists battling to save them.The Woodland Trust has unveiled a list of 11 weird and wonderful" species that make their home in and around temperate rainforests found in the south-west and north-west of England, Wales and Scotland. Continue reading...

Couple discovered animal in their driveway in northern Ontario, where climate crisis can change bear behaviourA man who leapt on" a polar bear to protect his wife in a northern First Nations community in Canada is expected to fully recover from the severe injuries he sustained in the attack.But experts caution that changing environmental conditions will lead to a shift in where and when polar bears are spotted, increasing the risk of surprise encounters. Continue reading...

Some media outlets are already offering forecasts nearly three weeks out - but the BoM advises people to check in on 18 December

Tight correlation' between premium rises and counties deemed most at risk from climate crisis, experts sayConcern over the climate crisis may evaporate in the White House from January, but its financial costs are now starkly apparent to Americans in the form of soaring home insurance premiums - with those in the riskiest areas for floods, storms and wildfires suffering the steepest rises of all.A mounting toll of severe hurricanes, floods, fires and other extreme events has caused average premiums to leap since 2020, with parts of the US most prone to disasters bearing the brunt. A climate crisis is starting to stir an insurance crisis. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

New liquefied natural gas projects could produce 10 gigatonnes of emissions by the end of the decade, close to the annual emissions of all coal plantsA $200bn wave of new gas projects could lead to a climate bomb" equivalent to releasing the annual emissions of all the world's operating coal power plants, according to a report.Large banks have invested $213bn into plans to build terminals that export and import gas that is chilled and shipped on ocean tankers. But a report has warned that they could be more damaging than coal power. Continue reading...

US says current climate rules are satisfactory, prompting condemnation from activists and vulnerable countriesClimate justice campaigners have condemned the US after the world's largest historic greenhouse gas emitter argued against countries being legally obliged to combat the climate crisis.The US intervention came on Wednesday as part of the historic climate hearing at the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where island nations and other climate-vulnerable countries are calling for wealthy polluting nations most responsible for climate breakdown to be held legally responsible. Continue reading...

Mary Lawlor criticizes US's failure to respond to concerns after Alex Connon and John Mark Rozendaal chargesA leading UN human rights expert has expressed dismay after the US government failed to respond to questions about the criminal crackdown on peaceful climate protesters.Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, on Tuesday published a letter sent to US authorities raising concerns about the potential violation of international human rights law after two climate activists, Alex Connon and John Mark Rozendaal, were charged with crimes that carried lengthy jail terms. Continue reading...

Native leaders ready for a fight as Trump calls ANWR, one of the last truly wild places on Earth, the US's biggest oil farm'The Arctic national wildlife refuge (ANWR) is one of the earth's last intact ecosystems. Vast and little-known, this 19m-acre expanse along Alaska's north slope is home to some of the region's last remaining polar bears, as well as musk oxen, wolves and wolverines. Millions of birds from around the world migrate to or through the region each year, and it serves as the calving grounds for the porcupine caribou.Donald Trump has called the refuge the US's biggest oil farm". Continue reading...

Testing found acute lead toxicosis as cause of death of two lorikeets, a honeyeater and three grey-headed flying foxes in Port Pirie

Exclusive: With Brazil's politicians, agribusiness organisations and global traders piling on the pressure, the highly successful 2006 Soy Moratorium is under threatOne of the cornerstones of Amazon rainforest protection - the Soy Moratorium - is under unprecedented pressure from Brazilian agribusiness organisations, politicians, and global trading companies, the Guardian has learned.Soy is one of the most widely grown crops in Brazil, and posed a huge deforestation threat to the Amazon rainforest until stakeholders voluntarily agreed to impose a moratorium and no longer source it from the region in 2006. Continue reading...

The sprawling Florida mansion sits in one of the most vulnerable places in the US to climate-driven disastersA sprawling Florida mansion set beside a powdery white sand beach overlooking the azure Gulf of Mexico is currently the most expensive property listed for sale in the United States, yours for a mere $295m.It is also in one of the most vulnerable places in the country to climate-driven disasters, and faces an almost inevitable flooding event in the coming years. Continue reading...

The Baku Cop29 talks were marked by division and self-interest, with rancorous meddling right until the end

Survey finds 25 percentage point gender gap across all age brackets on whether nuclear power would be positive for the country, with majority of men saying it would

As ICJ hears landmark climate case, Grenada's PM says vulnerable nations expect a long, hard fight for aidIt's a macabre picture: tombs, headstones and wreaths, lovingly selected by family members, floating into the oblivion of the ocean, and with them the remains of loved ones uprooted from their final resting place. Some are dragged back to land, washed up on beaches on the Grenadian island of Carriacou, transforming the beautiful Caribbean shoreline into a chaotic graveyard.This disturbing reality, says Grenada's prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, is a poignant example of the gravity of the climate crisis and its impact on his country. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

Recordings by biologist Heike Vester reveal how oil and gas exploration as well as cruises, fishing boats and even whale-watchers are adding to the din underwaterFrom the moment that the biologist Dr Heike Vester presses play, the sound of the static of the fjord fills the room. First comes the constant, steady rumbling of a boat engine. Then, every eight seconds, like a foreboding bass drum, comes the explosion of seismic airguns - extremely loud blasts used in oil and gas exploration that can travel vast distances underwater.And finally, dancing above it all - and at times drowned out by it - are the soaring vocalisations of whales.Heike Vester at home in Bodo, Norway. Her love of whales comes partly from her interest in matrilineal societies. Photograph: Marthe Molstre/The Guardian Continue reading...

Fossil fuel giant's lawyer says the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility is ignoring years of work by Santos

Vanuatu leads the charge of several nations arguing developed nations have a legal responsibility beyond UN commitments

At least one of the marine mammals was recently spotted in Washington wearing the multipurpose fishy accessoryResearchers suspect that orcas may be reviving a peculiar fashion statement of sorts not seen since the 1980s.Scientists in Washington state have observed at least one orca balancing salmon on its head, a trend known as the dead salmon hat". They spotted the stylish killer whale this autumn in Puget Sound. Continue reading...

New GCSE was announced under previous government in 2022 but now sitting in limbo', says Mary Colwell, one of its architectsThe natural history GCSE has been shelved because it is seen as a Conservative party initiative", one of the architects of the proposed new qualification has said.The conservationist and campaigner Mary Colwell told the Guardian she was hugely frustrated" with the halt to the proposed new GCSE, which had been announced in 2022 and was supposed to be taught in schools by 2025. Continue reading...

Paul Watson, an early Greenpeace member, says his imprisonment in Greenland is a political case'The anti-whaling activist Paul Watson will learn within 14 days whether he will be extradited to Japan, a court has been told, as his four-month imprisonment in Greenland was extended.At a hearing in Nuuk, the capital of the autonomous territory of Denmark, the judge Lars-Christian Sinkbaek said that Watson, who turned 74 on Monday, would continue to be detained in a high security prison pending a decision from the Danish government. Watson's legal team immediately submitted an appeal to Greenland's high court. Continue reading...

Readers led to believe a short-on-facts advertorial exhorting government to let companies extract more gas is straight news coverage

Organisation asked supporters if they want to feel different on our election night' in an ad with half of Trump's face and half of Dutton's

The word probably' will haunt this fish for the rest of its days - a deflating description for a cute, toxic creaturePufferfish are cute, and most pufferfish are toxic. Like people, they spend their weeks moving between states of puffed up and deflated. Or, really, three states: normal, puffed up and then the hangover after the puffing up. Ironically, the pufferfish toxin, called tetrodotoxin, is deadly because it stops a person's diaphragm from moving - in other words, it stops you from being able to puff yourself up. And you could see that as a lesson for wanting to eat them in the first place.You're wondering what is inside a blown-up pufferfish, how they inflate. Firstly: it is not air, or else they would pop up and out of the water like a balloon in a swimming pool. Also, air is hard to come by down there. They turn themselves into absurd-looking spherical objects by sucking water - something called, grossly, buccal pumping" - into their extremely elastic stomachs. They don't have ribs, which helps. This gives predators a fright - but perhaps more to the point, large spheres are hard to swallow. Continue reading...

Researchers at ANU found no real difference between the climate opinions of regional and urban Australians. Remember that as we head into the next federal election, with renewable energy on the frontline

Small Socialist Left party threatens to block budget if government becomes first to issue licences for deep-sea explorationThe Norwegian government has paused its plans to mine the deep sea in the Arctic, after pressure from a small leftwing party.The agreement was reached after the Socialist Left (SV) party said it would not support the government's budget unless it halted the first round of licences for deep-sea mining exploration, planned for the first half of 2025. Continue reading...

With Biden soon to leave the White House, Republicans start an assault on the Environmental Protection AgencyDonald Trump's allies have fired the opening salvoes of his coming administration's attack on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal agency that enforces and regulates laws on air, soil, and water quality among other crucial environmental and health issues.In a letter from Republican House leadership to the EPA administrator Michael Regan, Republicans trained their sites on the agency's scientific integrity policies that are designed to insulate scientists and research from political interference. Continue reading...

Vanuatu envoy makes claim as landmark hearing gets under way at international court of justice in The HagueA handful of countries should be held legally responsible for the ongoing impacts of climate change, representatives of vulnerable nations have told judges at the international court of justice (ICJ).During a landmark hearing at the Peace Palace in The Hague, which began on Monday, Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's special envoy for climate change and environment, said responsibility for the climate crisis lay squarely with a handful of readily identifiable states" that had produced the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions but stood to lose the least from the impacts. Continue reading...

Group of 85 countries and blocs press for ambition in plastic waste treaty after no agreement was reached in BusanBinding global targets to cut plastic production must be at the centre of any continuing negotiations to secure the world's first treaty to tackle plastic waste, a group of 85 countries has said.Talks in Busan, South Korea, attempting to secure agreement between more than 200 countries on the details of a plastic pollution treaty ended in failure over the weekend. Continue reading...

Move to exclude fossil fuel firms from investment portfolios follows years of campaigning by staff and studentsMore than three-quarters of UK universities have pledged to exclude fossil fuel companies from their investment portfolios, according to campaigners.The move, which is part of a wider drive to limit investment in fossil fuels, follows years of campaigning by staff and students across the higher education sector. Continue reading...

Bringing back the long-vanished bird to the UK was hailed as a conservation triumph. Then farmers started finding the corpses of their prized livestock

Direct flights from the US to Nuuk expected to double next year but there are concerns about the expected influxThe capital's new airport has been opened, two more are in the making, and expectations are high: the Americans are coming to Greenland.On Thursday, the first ever international flight into Nuuk, the most populous settlement on the autonomous Danish territory, landed to cheers on the ground and in the cabin of Air Greenland flight GL781 where passengers were served miniature bottles of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne. Continue reading...

Leading the charge towards clean energy would bring some much-needed positive momentum to international climate policyWhen Australia announces its 2035 emissions target to the world, there will be a unique opportunity to promote Australia's ambition to help other countries decarbonise through exports of renewable energy-based commodities, while coal and gas exports will fall.Coal and gas exports from Australia are equivalent to well over a billion tonnes of CO2 when burned in other countries. That is around 3% of global fossil fuel CO2 emissions - far more than Australia's greenhouse gas emissions at home that the national emissions target applies to. Continue reading...

Dave Lewis says the near-constant stream of clean electricity could supply the grid as early as 2030In the south-west of Morocco, a sprawl of wind and solar farms stretching across an area the size of Greater London could soon generate the green electricity powering more than 9m British homes.This is the unflinching vision of Sir Dave Lewis, the former Tesco boss who is hoping to build the world's longest subsea power cable in order to harness north Africa's renewable energy sources and power Britain's clean energy agenda. Continue reading...

As neighbors face an uncertain political future, the city's only Afghan restaurant provides a sense of community - and a bit of happiness'An aromatic blend of spices and bolani, stuffed pan-fried bread, and the voice of Asad Badie, an Afghan pop singer who rose to stardom in the 1980s, foreshadowed a meal experience that one could easily believe was taking place thousands of miles away.In reality, it was almost 1pm in Tucson, Arizona, when Ritiek Rafi and Ahmad Bahaduri started to greet and take orders from customers in Dari and English inside the only Afghan restaurant in the city. Continue reading...

Worcestershire town has been flooded seven times in past four years and shop owners can no longer afford insuranceIn the aftermath of its latest flood, the town centre of Tenbury Wells was a scene of chaos. The main street was caked with a layer of mud, shop windows were smashed and piles of sodden furniture and wares, all ruined, were heaped in the street.On Monday when we came in we wanted to leave, lock the doors and just disappear," said Richard Sharman, the owner of Garlands Flowers. We've lost about 6,000 and we won't get a penny back. Six weeks ago we lost about 4,000 in a flood." Continue reading...

Chair of talks in Busan says progress has been made but a few critical issues' are unresolvedNegotiators have failed to reach agreement on a landmark treaty to curb plastic pollution, the diplomat chairing the talks has said.Nearly 200 nations are taking part in a meeting in Busan, South Korea, which is intended to result in a landmark agreement after two years of discussions. A week of talks has failed to resolve deep divisions between high-ambition" countries seeking a globally binding agreement to limit production and phase out harmful chemicals, and like-minded" nations who want to focus on waste. Continue reading...

Environmentalists say marine park waste regulations need updating to limit grey water and exhaust chemicals as passenger cruise numbers rise

Table to seat 60 being built by local artists and craftspeople in woodland on edge of DartmoorA community in Devon has raised 22,555 to turn a 500-year-old oak tree into what they believe will be the longest table ever crafted from a single English oak tree.The 18 metre-long (59ft) Great Oak Table, capable of seating 60 people, was being built in a small patch of private woodland near Chagford, on the edge of Dartmoor. Continue reading...

Legal petition filed by 170 groups pushes environmental agency to tackle pressing health threat of pollutionA new legal petition filed by more than 170 top environmental groups demands that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) begin monitoring for microplastics in drinking water, an essential first step to reining in pollution viewed as one of the nation's most pressing public health threats.The scale of microplastic water pollution, the extent to which the substance is lodged throughout human bodies, and the many health implications have come into sharp focus in recent years, but the EPA still has not taken meaningful action, public health advocates say. Continue reading...

Policymakers must act as extreme weather events put more pressure on food inflation and production worldwideYour morning - and afternoon - coffee is the latest staple threatened by climate chaos: the price of quality arabica beans shot to its highest level in almost 50 years last week amid fears of a poor harvest in Brazil.It follows warnings that orange crops have been wiped out by the catastrophic floods in Valencia, Spain; and the soaring cost of olive oil in recent years, as the southern Mediterranean has sweltered. Continue reading...

Entire slate of councilors in Milton defeated after grassroots revolt to proposal for facility close to treasured riverA citizens' revolt in a small Florida city ousted an entire slate of councilors who were pushing for a new sewage plant to be built close to one of the state's most pristine and treasured rivers.The Save Blackwater River campaign, in partnership with a citizen action group, toppled all four Milton politicians running for re-election last month in a remarkable victory for grassroots activism. Continue reading...

Report calls for course correction to avoid land abuse compromising Earth's capacity to support human and environmental wellbeing'Land degradation is expanding worldwide at the rate of 1m sq km every year, undermining efforts to stabilise the climate, protect nature and ensure sustainable food supplies, a study has highlighted.The degraded area is already 15m sq km, an area greater than Antarctica, the scientific report says, and it calls for an urgent course correction to avoid land abuse irretrievably compromising Earth's capacity to support human and environmental wellbeing". Continue reading...

Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson talks about his arrest on behalf of the Japanese government, his interesting' Greenland prison, and separation from his childrenThe humpback whales watched by Paul Watson from his prison cell this summer have long since migrated from the iceberg-flecked Nuup Kangerlua fjord to warmer seas. It is over four months since Watson - an eco-terrorist to some and a brave environmentalist to others - was brought here to Anstalten, a high-security jail perched on the frozen coast of south-east Greenland after being arrested while refuelling his ship, MV John Paul DeJoria, in nearby Nuuk, the capital of the autonomous Danish territory.He had been on his way with a 32-strong crew to practise his decades-long policy of non-violent aggression" by intercepting a new Japanese whaling mothership", the 7.5bn ($47.4m) Kangei Maru. But shortly after tying up his vessel in the harbour a nice police car turned up" and 12 armed officers boarded. Continue reading...

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds says there is no route to net zero' that ignores concerns of businesses after wave of closures Jonathan Reynolds: If we delay the UK's drive for electric vehicles, our rivals will overtake usThere is no route to net zero" that ignores the real concerns of businesses, a cabinet minister has warned, as the government prepares to reduce financial penalties handed to carmakers not selling enough electric cars.Ministers are also looking at how cheaper loans could be introduced to help people buy an electric vehicle (EV), after a wave of job losses and closures in which carmakers blamed the onerous fines they were facing. Continue reading...

Nature is going to solve the problem by eliminating the modern humanIn response to Ashish Ghadiali's story last week (Yes, there is a lot of greenwashing, but Cop summits are our best chance of averting climate breakdown", Comment, last week), nearly 70 years ago Gilbert Plass coined the term climate change" in a paper in the journal Tellus.Most of that 70 years has been spent arguing over the reality of climate change, an argument by vested interests that continues to this day. Meanwhile, global warming has continued to rise due to the burning of fossil fuels. Now, polar ice caps and glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, causing sea level rises and threatening the survival of over half the world's population living on islands and in coastal zones near sea level. Continue reading...