Scientists are still puzzled by these tragic events, usually involving pilot whales. Vital clues, however, may lie in the tight-knit social ties that give each pod a unique cultureIn July this year, responders scrambled to Traigh Mhor beach on the Isle of Lewis, off the west coast of Scotland, to reach a stranded pod of long-finned pilot whales. Most had already died. One was refloated and survived. The others were put down with a rifle.It was one of the UK's largest mass stranding events (MSE), and the team retrieved samples from the organs and tissues of every pod member. Though exhausting and upsetting, the work revealed an unparalleled and puzzling insight into an entire whale community.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says current incentives are distorting world trade and hampering fight against climate breakdownGovernments must start to distinguish between the good subsidies they need to fight the climate crisis and the bad ones that are increasing greenhouse gas emissions, the world's trade chief has said.Subsidies and other incentives to burn fossil fuels and encourage poor agricultural practices, amounting to about $1.7tn a year, are distorting world trade and hampering the fight against climate breakdown, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director general of the World Trade Organization, told the Guardian. Continue reading...
A symbol of spring and rebirth, the robin is a favourite of gardeners and inspiration for poets and dreamersWhat is it about the poem Who killed Cock Robin?" It is so sad, and so coolly dark: a miniature drama played out in the shade of a single tree. The sparrow confesses right away, and nobody minds. The fly - I, said the fly, with my little eye, I saw him die" - is a witness of whom no questions are asked. Everyone seems eager for the burial, eager to help, insincere in their mourning, a-sighing and sobbing".Everything is small. The fish catching blood in his little dish", the rook playing parson with his little book". The death of a little bird, and a funeral for a bird the size, and almost the shape, of an orange, and weighing no more than an orange segment.One of the electrons migrates a few nanometers away, where it feels a slightly different magnetic field than its partner. Depending on how the magnetic field alters the electron's spin, different chemical reactions are produced. In theory, the products of many such reactions across a bird's eye could create a picture of Earth's magnetic field as a varying pattern of light and dark. Continue reading...
UN organizers allow groups that have obstructed fossil fuel regulations and other climate action to attend, watchdog findsInfluential industry trade groups, thinktanks and public relations agencies with a track record in climate denialism and misleading the public have been given access to the UN climate talks in Dubai, the Guardian can reveal.Corporate Accountability, a transparency watchdog, has found that UN organizers greenlighted access to groups that have obstructed fossil fuel regulations and other climate action, giving them the same or greater access to the international negotiations as Indigenous communities, human rights groups and climate justice organizations. Continue reading...
Australian climate change minister, Chris Bowen, says umbrella group of countries is united in saying draft agreement is too weakA group of countries including Australia, the US, the UK, Canada and Japan have said they will not be a co-signatory" to death certificates" for small island states, and have demanded a stronger agreement at the Cop28 summit to deal with fossil fuels and address the climate crisis.A statement delivered by the Australian climate change minister, Chris Bowen, on behalf of what's known as the umbrella group of countries, came as tensions flared at the United Arab Emirates over the text of a draft deal proposed by the summit presidency. Continue reading...
Genesis B v EPA is the latest in a series of youth-led constitutional climate cases brought by non-profit law firm Our Children's TrustEighteen California children are suing the US Environmental Protection Agency over its role in the climate crisis.In a lawsuit filed on Sunday, plaintiffs between the ages of eight and 17 allege the federal body intentionally" allows dangerous levels of planet-heating emissions from vehicles, power plants, fossil fuel wells and other pollution sources, despite knowledge that doing so endangers children's health and welfare. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey, Patrick Greenfield, Nina Lakhani and on (#6H253)
Text now being considered by governments calls for reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels'A draft deal to cut global fossil fuel production is grossly insufficient" and incoherent" and will not stop the world from facing dangerous climate breakdown, according to delegates at the UN's Cop28 summit.The text put forward by the summit presidency after 10 days of wrangling was received with concern and anger by many climate experts and politicians, though others welcomed elements of the draft including the first mention in a Cop text of reducing fossil fuel production. Continue reading...
Global heating, pollution, overfishing and falling water levels among factors hitting populations, finds IUCN red list studyNearly a quarter of the world's freshwater fish are at risk of extinction due to global heating, overfishing and pollution, according to an expert assessment.From the large-toothed Lake Turkana robber in Kenya to the Mekong giant catfish in south-east Asia, many of the world's freshwater fish are at risk of disappearing, the first International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list assessment of the category has found. Continue reading...
Broadcaster and RSPCA president says moratorium needed as mortality rates jump, while activists question charity's role in certifying farmsNaturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham has called for a halt to the expansion of the Scottish salmon farming industry, as official figures suggest salmon mortality in the country's farms hit record levels this year.Packham, the president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), described the growing industry as catastrophic" for fish welfare and Scotland's environment. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Report finds agency did not properly investigate event that killed hundreds of fish in Cunsey Beck in 2022An independent report into an investigation by the Environment Agency into serious pollution of a stream feeding into Windermere has found a series of errors by the watchdog.As a result, the agency never identified the cause of the toxic event which killed all life within the waterway.No clear, systematic approach to the investigation with regards identifying and eliminating potential sources.The absence of documented witness interviews.A limited number of sampling locations on Cunsey Beck.A failure to carry out postmortems on the dead fish. Continue reading...
by Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent on (#6H1WG)
A report by the UK Health Security Agency warns that extreme heat could bring a host of tropical diseases transmitted by insectsThe climate crisis could cause up to 10,000 extra deaths in the UK every year by the 2050s as a result of extreme heat and bring a host of tropical diseases, a stark report has warned.The worst-case scenario, published in a damning document by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Monday, would see average temperatures rise by 4.3C, bringing an estimated twelvefold rise in heat-related deaths by 2070. It adds that deaths could increase by one-and-a-half times in the 2030s. Continue reading...
by Jonathan Watts (now) and Natalie Hanman (earlier) on (#6H1A2)
Sultan Al Jaber calls for countries to come together amid disagreements over the future of climate action China would like to see agreement to substitute renewables for fossil fuels'There is some more food-related news from the conference today, writes Fiona Harvey.The Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF) launched on Sunday, a group that's being called the high ambition coalition for food". It has Brazil, Sierra Leone and Norway as co-chairs, and other prominent members include Rwanda and Cambodia.Strengthen national visions and food systems transformation pathways, inclusive of 10 priority action areas and consistent with science-based targets.Update Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) in line with these updated National Food System Transformation Pathways and/or Implementation Plans, by 2025 at the latest.Report annually on targets and priority intervention areasPeasant family farmers, Indigenous and local communities, forest collectors, pastoralists, fisherfolk, and agricultural workers, are among the populations most harshly affected by climate change worldwide. Yet they are also the central actors who can sustainably transform food systems. Supporting their livelihoods through specifically tailored public policies is essential to achieve an agroecological transition towards healthy, resilient and sustainable food systems."Let's face it: climate summits are broken. The delegates talk and talk, while Earth systems slide towards deadly tipping points. Since the climate negotiations began in 1992 more carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels has been released worldwide than in all preceding human history. This year is likely to set a new emissions record. They are talking us to oblivion. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey, Nina Lakhani and Patrick Greenfield on (#6H1F8)
Sultan Al Jaber urges nations to be flexible as talks reach impasse over whether to phase out or phase down fossil fuelsMinisters and negotiators must come to the vital final meetings of Cop28 without prepared statements, without rigid red lines, and be prepared to compromise, the president of the UN climate summit has said.Sultan Al Jaber, whose position is now pivotal to the talks as they enter their final days, on Sunday convened a majlis of all countries, a meeting in the traditional form of an elders' conference in the United Arab Emirates. Continue reading...
One such project in Black Mesa, Arizona, is awaiting initial permits and has sparked fears over water use in an area already grappling with accessibility to itNavajo Nation environmentalists are opposing a self-described jet-setter" and French millionaire's plans for a massive hydropower project they claim will adversely affect the land, water, wildlife, plants and cultural resources of the largest land area held by Indigenous American peoples in the US.The hydropower project in Black Mesa, Arizona, is awaiting approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) for preliminary permits and has incited fears over water use in an area already struggling with water accessibility issues. Continue reading...
Distraught homeowners in Hemsby write farewell messages on houses affected by coastal erosionThe demolition of five seaside houses has begun in Norfolk after coastal erosion put them at risk of collapsing on to the beach below.Distraught homeowners in Hemsby wrote farewell messages on their houses before workers began demolishing one house on Saturday. Gone but not forgotten" was scrawled on one seafront property. Continue reading...
by Ajit Niranjan (now) and Bibi van der Zee (earlier) on (#6H0SA)
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereThe other day, our eagle-eyed reporter Patrick Greenfield spotted former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng striding through the Cop complex.We all wondered what on earth Kwasi, who was at the top of a government which tried to overturn the UK's fracking ban, could be doing at Cop, and whether the chancellor who crashed the UK economy was a vital part of the negotiating team. Continue reading...
by Fiona Harvey, Patrick Greenfield and Damian Carrin on (#6H0YT)
Climate activists likely to be concerned by another fossil fuel-reliant country taking over summit presidencyAzerbaijan has been announced as the host of next year's climate summit after fraught negotiations.Under UN rules it was eastern Europe's turn to take over the rotating presidency but the groups need to unanimously decide on the host. Russia had blocked EU countries and Azerbaijan and Armenia were blocking each other's bids. Continue reading...
UK's former climate chief Alok Sharma says phase-out crucial to limit global warming to 1.5CFailure to agree a phase-out of fossil fuels at the UN Cop28 climate summit would push the world beyond the crucial 1.5C temperature limit and into climate breakdown, the UK's former climate chief has warned.Alok Sharma, who was president of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, said it was vital that governments made a clear commitment in the next few days to eliminate coal, oil and gas. Continue reading...
Guerrilla leader turned president says, faced with having to reduce their carbon consumption, upper classes fear the barbarians are coming'Middle-class fears of losing a high standard of living because of green policies is driving the rise of the far right across the world, the president of Colombia has warned.In a wide-ranging interview with the Guardian at the Cop28 UN climate summit, Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftwing president, said the world had to find carbon-free ways of being prosperous, and that his country's rich biodiversity would be the basis of its wealth after phasing out fossil fuels. Continue reading...
Exclusive: freedom of information request reveals ministers rejected plan to make pledge legally bindingThe UK government has no plans to meet its target for everyone to live within a 15-minute walk of a green space, the Guardian can reveal.Ministers have also scrapped an idea to make the target for access to nature legally binding, a freedom of information request submitted by the Right to Roam campaign shows. Continue reading...
by Rachel Sherrington, Clare Carlile and Hazel Healy on (#6H0RN)
Food and agriculture firms have sent three times as many delegates to the climate summit as last yearLobbyists from industrial agriculture companies and trade groups have turned out in record numbers at Cop28, with three times as many delegates representing the meat and dairy industry as last year.Representatives are present from some of the world's largest agribusiness companies - such as the meat supplier JBS, the fertiliser giant Nutrien, the food giant Nestle and the pesticide company Bayer - as well as powerful industry lobby groups. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Deputy political editor on (#6H0CS)
Blast in Sidcup not being treated as terrorism but counter-terror officers are leading investigationThe London mayor's office has condemned a grotesquely irresponsible" attack in which a camera enforcing the city's ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) was damaged with what appeared to be a homemade bomb, saying lives were put at risk.There was no immediate reaction on the incident from Downing Street or the Home Office, with No 10 saying it could not comment amid a police inquiry, but that it condemned criminality more generally". Continue reading...
by Helena Horton (now) Matthew Taylor (earlier) on (#6GZXG)
Sultan Al Jaber holds press conference at start of second week as summit focuses on children, education and foodCanada has been asked by the Cop28 president, Sultan Al Jaber, to help develop language on the potential phase down or phase out of fossil fuels, its environment minister told reporters on Friday morning.Steven Guilbeault, a former activist who is environment minister for the fourth largest oil and gas producer in the world, announced that Canada would require its fossil fuel industry to cut its emissions between 35% to 38% below 2019 levels starting in 2030 on Thursday. Continue reading...
It's a form of social justice,' says Anne Hidalgo of move to target richest drivers to tackle climate breakdownParis intends to triple parking charges for large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in order to push them out of the city and limit emissions and air pollution, the mayor has said.It is a form of social justice," Anne Hidalgo announced on Friday of the plan to deliberately target the richest drivers to tackle the climate breakdown and air pollution. This is about very expensive cars, driven by people who today have not yet made the changes to their behaviour that have to be made [for the climate]." Continue reading...
Gatorland in Orlando consulting public for name after birth of absolutely extraordinary' leucistic gatorAn incredibly rare form of white alligator has been born at a Florida alligator-themed park, which is now consulting the public for a name.Oh boy, we have some exciting news here at Gatorland," said Mark McHugh, president and chief executive of Gatorland in a statement on Instagram that showed a video of the pale leucistic gator freshly emerged from its shell. Continue reading...
Peace parks' that establish protected areas across borders are one idea from those working to protect marine ecosystems in a region rife with geopolitical sensitivitiesIn Sweden they train crows to pick those up," shouts a passerby, unhelpfully, as my colleague and I fill our jam jars with hundreds of cigarette butts. Half an hour later, it's plastic bottles, tin cans and a pair of boxer shorts.Our team of a dozen volunteers are snorkelling and scuba-diving their way around the Dubai coastline of the Gulf - specifically a stretch of La Mer Bay that has been adopted by Chloe Griffin, a diving instructor who organises these debris dives" for students. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Figures reveal growing push by fossil fuel sector for technologies that scientists say will not stop global heatingCop28 organisers granted attendance to at least 475 lobbyists working on carbon capture and storage (CCS), unproven technologies that climate scientists say will not curtail global heating, the Guardian can reveal.The figure was calculated by the Centre for Environmental Law (Ciel) and shared exclusively with the Guardian, and is the first attempt to monitor the growing influence of the CCS subset of the fossil fuel industry within the UN climate talks. Continue reading...
by Jonathan Watts Global environment editor on (#6H02E)
The Guardian asks five climate experts to explain the key differences between 1.5C and 2CThe world's most ambitious climate target is under threat, both from physics and politics. But what would it mean for the planet and its inhabitants if humanity were to abandon the goal to limit global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels?The inclusion of 1.5C (2.7F) was hailed as one of the great triumphs of the Paris climate agreement of 2015. Until then, international ambition had been limited to 2C (3.6F), much to the frustration of small island states and others on the frontline of climate disruption. Continue reading...
Exclusive: plant from South America, also known as Gunnera, found to spread rapidly and choke native floraWith its dramatic leaves and sprawling structure, the giant rhubarb has long been a popular garden plant, gracing the grounds of stately homes and multiple National Trust properties.But the UK government is now to enact a ban - similar to that on Japanese knotweed - on the plant, also known as Gunnera, meaning it cannot be sold or cultivated, and those who have it in their gardens must ensure it does not spread. Continue reading...
Researchers warn of one of largest ecological disasters of modern times' if the highly contagious disease reaches penguin coloniesBird flu is spreading in the Antarctic, with hundreds of elephant seals found dead, and fears it could bring one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times" if the highly contagious virus reaches the remote penguin populations.The virus was first reported among brown skua on Bird Island, off South Georgia. Since then, researchers and observers have reported mass deaths of elephant seals, as well as increased deaths of fur seals, kelp gulls and brown skua at several other sites. Cases have been confirmed 900 miles (1,500km) west of South Georgia, among southern fulmar on the Falkland Islands. Continue reading...
UN climate chief calls for highest ambition' as nations wrangle over draft agreementNegotiations on how the world can slash greenhouse gas emissions and stave off the worst impacts of the climate crisis will reach a fresh intensity over the next few days, with nations wrangling over whether to phase out or phase down fossil fuels.For the remaining five negotiating days of the Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai ministers will hold a series of meetings to try to break the impasse and present a text that sets out a roadmap for staying within a rise of 1.5C of global heating above preindustrial levels. Continue reading...
Justin Trudeau's government plans to limit emissions through a national cap-and-trade system, a policy first proposed in 2021Canada will require its fossil fuel industry to cut its emissions between 35% to 38% below 2019 levels starting in 2030, it was announced on Thursday.The prime minister Justin Trudeau's government plans to limit emissions from the oil and gas sector through a national cap-and-trade system which he first proposed in his 2021 election campaign, according to the policy announcement. Continue reading...
Stand Together Music, part of rightwing billionaire Charles Koch's advocacy network, collaborates with Pitbull, Machine Gun Kelly and othersLast September, the rapper Killer Mike was DJing hip-hop classics like Snoop Dogg's Ain't No Fun at a music festival afterparty in Louisville, Kentucky. The inspiration for the night's set is freedom of speech, so say what the fuck you want!" he told a crowd of hundreds. Killer Mike, half of the duo Run the Jewels, is known for speaking out against police brutality and racial injustice, as well as campaigning for Bernie Sanders.But this night's set was co-sponsored by Stand Together Music, an organization backed by the libertarian billionaire Charles Koch, who made his fortune in fossil fuels. Other sponsors of the party included the free-speech group Fire (which has received millions of dollars in contributions from the Charles G Koch charitable foundation), as well as the music outlet Spin, an official partner of Stand Together Music. Continue reading...
2023 is first year of potential pair of El Nino years and since 1997, every instance of these pairs has led to mass coral mortalityRecord-breaking land and sea temperatures, driven by climate breakdown, will probably cause unprecedented mass coral bleaching and mortality" throughout 2024, according to a pioneering coral scientist.The impact of climate change on coral reefs has reached uncharted territory", said Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, from the University of Queensland, Australia, leading to concerns that we could be at a tipping point". Continue reading...
A record 84,000 people are in attendance at the UN climate summit in Dubai, including thousands of activists and members of civil society Continue reading...
Environment spokesperson Steve Reed plans to tackle vested interests and expose horror' inflicted on rural communitiesLabour will take on vested interests from water companies to housebuilders and farmers in an effort to restore the UK's degraded natural environment, the party's environment chief has said.Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, said: If the Tories want to have an election fight over that, bring it on, because the British people care about the countryside, they care about nature. They care about living in a beautiful country. They value their access to the countryside. The Conservatives are on the wrong side of all that, and to many, many voters that will tip their votes." Continue reading...
Groups seek more time to comment on US Forest Service proposal to store carbon dioxide amid fears over safety and impactA proposal that would allow industries to permanently stash climate-polluting carbon dioxide beneath US Forest Service land puts those habitats and the people in or near them at risk, according to opponents of the measure.Chief among opponents' concerns is that carbon dioxide could leak from storage wells or pipelines and injure or kill people and animals, as well as harm the trees in the forests and their habitat, said Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. Continue reading...
A lucrative underground trade risks undermining research, creating new pandemics and pushing a recently abundant species to the brinkIn 2019, Jonah Sacha, a researcher at Oregon Health and Science University, received a delivery of 20 monkeys from Mauritius. As part of his research into stem-cell transplants as an HIV treatment, he performs tests on long-tailed macaques.The captive-bred monkeys were legally imported using an approved vendor, and looked healthy. However, when Sacha tested them, one appeared to have latent tuberculosis (TB). Continue reading...
As world leaders gather at Cop28, these charts show how far away the major economies are from their targetsNot a single G20 country has policies in place that are consistent with the Paris agreement's goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C and meeting their fair share" of emissions reduction.The assessment, based on data up to 5 December provided by the Climate Action Tracker, comes as leaders gather in Dubai for the Cop28 conference. Continue reading...
Environment | The Guardian