Environment | The Guardian

New mayor of London calls air pollution ‘our biggest environmental challenge’ and plans to bring the increased ultra low emission zone into force early

CGN, which is helping French energy company with Hinkley Point C scheme, denies it will build reactors independentlyThe Chinese company helping EDF with plans to build new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset has flatly dismissed the idea it would go it alone if the largely state-owned French company dropped out.“As a partner to EDF supporting the Hinkley Point project, CGN [China General Nuclear Power Corporation] has no independent plans to build reactors at Hinkley Point C,” it said in a statement. Continue reading...

Across the world, thousands of protesters are taking on the planet’s biggest fossil fuel companies. We should support them – and if we can, we should join themRight now, thousands of people are taking direct action as part of a global wave of protests against the biggest fossil fuel infrastructure projects across the world. We kicked off earlier this month by shutting down the UK’s largest opencast coal mine in south Wales.Last Sunday, around 1,000 people closed the world’s largest coal-exporting port in Newcastle, Australia and other bold actions are happening at power stations, oil refineries, pipelines and mines everywhere from the Philippines, Brazil and the US, to Nigeria, Germany and India. Continue reading...

Photographs from the Eyewitness series Continue reading...

National Farming Union’s application for banned pesticide use on oil seed rape crops is rejected as government rules against neonicotinoids for the first timeMinisters have rejected an “emergency” application from the National Farmers Union (NFU) to use banned pesticides on a third of all oilseed rape crops.Neonicotinoid pesticides have been shown to be harmful to bees and were banned from use on flowering crops by the EU in 2013, a move opposed by the UK government. But ministers granted a temporary lifting of the ban in 2015 after the NFU argued it was needed to fight the cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB). Continue reading...

Council report recommends granting permission to explore for shale gas under government’s fast-track scheme

Financial jolt triggered by departure could lead to key industries suffering same fate as coal mining, says Patrick McLoughlinFarming and the car industry could disappear from Britain like coal mining in the 1980s because of the financial shock of leaving the EU, Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, has warned.

Climate change and the current strong El Niño are creating costly humanitarian crises. But it’s so much cheaper to avert disaster through building resilienceThe life of a farmer in Somalia is never easy and, right now, it’s about as hard as it gets. The weather no longer seems to follow recognisable patterns and the El Niño phenomenon is exacerbating the crisis.At 47 years old, Maymuno Madobe Cali has seen it all: drought, floods, disease and conflict. She knows only too well how a precious but fragile livelihood can vanish. She lost 26 goats the last time floods and water-borne diseases came to Boodaale and she is praying the same will not happen to her remaining 11 animals. With seven people in her family, another spell of bad weather could push her to the brink. Continue reading...

Havant, Hampshire As I watched, a woodlouse blundered into a translucent tripline and the web vibratedMy gardening gloves had lain abandoned in the shed for several months as the cold, wet spring had thwarted any plans to plant out early crops. When I went to put them on they pulled away from the rough-planked shed wall with a sound like ripping Velcro. As I peeled off a candyfloss puff of cobweb, a rotund spider the size of my fingernail scuttled across the back of my hand and dropped to the floor.A neighbour sauntered over after hearing me yelp. “Kill it,” he advised as we watched the arachnid squeeze into a crack in the wood behind its three-dimensional web. “That’s one of those venomous foreign spiders. They’re dangerous, I’ve seen the news …” Continue reading...

Australian projects are viable already – now the industry needs investors willing to take a risk on large-scale renewable energyCompanies working on large-scale solar thermal projects in Australia say they are tantalisingly close to achieving the dream of building plants big enough to replace coal-fired energy in Australia.Experts speaking at the Australian Solar Energy Exhibition and Conference in Melbourne last week said the technology had been proven in other countries, and projects in Australia were viable, but the challenge was getting major investors to gamble on something new. Continue reading...

Suggestion comes as EDF faces more opposition from its own private shareholders to the Hinkley scheme at its annual general meeting in ParisChinese companies are ready to step in and offer to build new reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset if French company EDF backs out of the government’s flagship energy project, it has been claimed.

Darden Restaurants, the largest full-service restaurant group in the US, is facing pressure to use antibiotic-free meat and pay better wagesDozens of protesters picketed Olive Garden restaurants in seven cities on Thursday, including New York and Los Angeles, delivering a petition with 130,000 signatures that asks the chain to serve more vegetables, use meat raised with minimal use of antibiotics and pay its employees fair wages.Related: Why the egg industry is scrambling to set hens free Continue reading...

Homeopathy sceptic Dame Sally Davies among delegates to hear prince say he treats his cows with alternative medicinePrince Charles has proposed a solution to the growing crisis of antibiotic over-use in animals and humans, telling an international gathering of scientists and government officials in London that he treats his own cows and sheep with homeopathy.In front of the government’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, who once told a parliamentary committee that homeopathy in humans was “rubbish” and that she was “perpetually surprised that homeopathy is available on the NHS”, the prince explained to delegates from 20 nations and organisations why he had turned to homeopathic remedies for animals. Continue reading...

White House announces new regulations to cut methane emissions – a climate pollutant – from the oil and gas industry almost in halfThe Obama administration announced on Thursday new rules to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas industry almost in half – tackling a powerful climate pollutant in the president’s final months in the White House.The rules, stronger than earlier proposals, are aimed at reducing methane emissions from the US by 40% to 45% over 2012 levels by 2025 by requiring companies to capture gas from oil wells, and find and plug pipeline leaks. America is currently the world’s largest oil and gas producer. Continue reading...

Developers of an offshore windfarm planned in the Forth estuary have taken legal action after vital subsidies were withdrawnThe future of one of the UK’s biggest proposed offshore windfarms has been thrown into doubt by a row over the government support it should receive.The Neart na Gaoithe windfarm, based in Scotland’s outer Forth estuary, would have a capacity of about 450MW of power and was originally planned to cost £1.4bn to build, though that is likely to rise to more than £2bn. Continue reading...

Danish company is single largest investor in UK offshore wind power and IPO would be one of Europe’s biggest listings this yearDong Energy, the Danish company that has invested £6bn in UK offshore wind power, is planning to float in what would be one of Europe’s biggest listings this year.Dong is already the single largest investor in UK offshore wind projects and plans a further £5bn of spending over the next five years. Continue reading...

Should we be optimistic that the Paris agreement can save us from serious climate change or is it too little too late? Clive Hamilton looks at both sides of the debateFor anyone who takes notice of the climate change debate, a mass of often-contradictory information comes flooding into our lives. Some of it prompts great alarm. The Great Barrier Reef is suffering severe bleaching. Wild fires are consuming Alberta. Last year was the warmest on record, and 15 of the 16 hottest years on record have occurred since 2001.Yet there are also some positive signs that the world is at last getting serious about the threat. Global investment in renewable energy last year exceeded investment in fossil energy for the first time. Coal use in the United States is falling rapidly. China has stopped approving new coalmines. And the Paris Agreement of December 2015 was hailed as a breakthrough, a turning point in the battle. Continue reading...

Firms face tougher penalties aimed at reducing the number of pollution offencesWater companies have been hit by a series of record fines for major sewage leaks and other pollution incidents.Yorkshire Water was fined £1.1m for illegally discharging sewage that polluted the river Ouse near York, while Thames Water was fined £1m for repeated sewage leaks into the Grand Union canal. Continue reading...

Fossil fuel corporations are causing the climate change fuelling mega-fires – and they should be footing the bill for the devastationAs the fire that ravaged Fort McMurray finally moves past the city, and the province tallies the heartbreaking damage, a search will begin to discover the source of the destruction.Investigators will comb the nearby forests for clues, tracing the fire’s path to what they call its “point of origin.” They’ll interview witnesses, collect satellite imagery, and rule out natural causes—much like the work of detectives. Continue reading...

Energy company has made provision for outlay to increase to almost £21bn to ensure completion of nuclear reactorEDF, the French utility group lined up to build twin nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset, has said the cost of the project could be £2.7bn higher than previously expected, at nearly £21bn.

World’s largest health charity sells its $187m stake in the oil giant in a move welcomed by fossil fuel divestment campaignersThe Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has sold off its entire holding in oil giant BP, in a move welcomed by fossil fuel divestment campaigners.

A World Health Organisation report shows little escape from poisoned air in poorer countries, resulting in 3 million premature deaths worldwide a year

The main party leaders hit the stump in Queensland and Melbourne, but the ghost of a prime minister past just won’t go away, writes Elle HuntTo the news of the day: happy 49th birthday, Bill Shorten! Asked what he was getting, he said: “My present is standing right next to me”, gesturing to his wife, Chloe. Aww/eww – delete as necessary. No word on whether Malcolm Turnbull being named in the Panama Papers counts as a gift.

A raft of apps are aiming to recycle cosmetically challenged perishables and stop £5bn worth of food ending up in landfillWhere most people see a bruised banana, Saasha Celestial-One and Tessa Cook see a chance to share. Their new app, Olio, allows greengrocers, cafes, restaurants and neighbours to photograph and post food that is surplus, unappealing or close to expiry; other app users then request it and are notified where to pick it up.According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, a third of all food is wasted, and more than half of that never reaches consumers. Continue reading...

Three passengers in their 50s and 60s remain in hospital following the blaze on the 25-metre catamaran, which forced 46 passengers to abandon shipA boat fire off the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef that forced more than 40 tourists to escape into life rafts is believed to have started in the ship’s engine.The now-sunken Spirit of 1770 caught fire in waters 18km off the coastal community called Town of 1770 on Wednesday afternoon, close to Lady Musgrave island. Continue reading...

Outdoor air pollution has grown 8% globally in the past five years, with billions of people around the world now exposed to dangerous air, according to new data from more than 3,000 cities compiled by the World Health Organisation. Director Maira Neira says India and China need to make ‘massive efforts because the situation at the moment is really bad for the population’

With new WHO data shedding light on the severity of the problem, we want to hear from readers across the globe on their experiences of air pollution

Hydro Tasmania says state is now powered entirely by renewable energy and can turn off generators brought in during electricity shortageSubstantial rain in Tasmania has enabled the state to turn off its temporary diesel generators that were imported due to electricity shortages sparked by record low rainfall and a broken Bass Strait electricity cable.Following substantial rain, Hydro Tasmania on Thursday confirmed the state is now powered entirely by renewable energy for the first time in 2016.

Great Trossachs forest, Scotland These birds, exhausted but puffed with adrenalin, have been on their feet since dawnNo bluebell has yet shown its colour, no oak has broken a single bud. Spring comes late to these highland glens. But willow warblers have flown in to stir the new season, each dying cadence ringing with life, as exuberant sounding as any mountain burn. Their proclamations carry far, like the peal of church bells, down from a scatter of trees on the hillside to flatter land at the head of the loch.The low sun of early evening gives the loch a glittering sheen and the stilled air allows drunken “pish” expletives and throaty pigeon-like gobbling noises to carry across the moor to a car that serves as a hide. Continue reading...

From selling clothes with a 30 year guarantee to touring Europe in a repair shop - these brands are advancing the circular economy within fashion

Port Talbot seems obvious, but World Health Organisation data shows south coast town registers high levels of two tiny types of particulate pollution

Two cities – one in Iran and another in Nigeria – can claim title because WHO measures pollution in two different waysThe new WHO database of worldwide air pollution measures it in two different ways, and as a result two cities – one in Iran and another in Nigeria – can lay claim to the unenviable title of world’s most polluted city.It all comes down to which minute particles, or particulate matter (PM), in the air are being measured. These particles are between 2.5 and 10 microns in diameter, roughly 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Continue reading...

Outdoor pollution has risen 8% in five years with fast-growing cities in the developing world worst affected, WHO data shows

World Health Organisation report says high pollution puts millions of people in cities including Delhi at risk of early deathEnvironmental campaigners in India have called for the government to implement a “stringent, time-bound” plan to curb air pollution in cities, as a new World Health Organisation report suggests that six of the 10 most polluted cities in the world are in India.The report, which contains data from 795 cities in 67 countries between 2008 and 2013, shows Indian cities have some of the highest concentrations of particulate pollution, which can cause fatal damage to the heart and lungs. Continue reading...

Community energy groups are coming up with renewable energy schemes. Shouldn’t government extend a hand to help them?Yackandandah, like most Australian towns, has had its ups and its downs. One of its biggest ups was the north-east Victorian gold rush. By the 1890s our town was full of miners toiling to extract what was left of its alluvial gold. The only thing holding these folks back was an energy crisis. The miners were unable to source the power needed to sluice and dredge or crush the ore. The solution was a water race from high up on the West Kiewa river, which wasn’t the brainchild of government, or even the mines department – but rather a local man.John Wallace, a Yackandandah resident, recognised a problem that needed immediate action and set about solving it. Continue reading...

The group of more than 40 was forced to flee on life rafts when the 23-metre catamaran began sinking 10 nautical miles from Lady Musgrave IslandEleven people were hospitalised after more than 40 people escaped a tourist boat that became engulfed in flames and began sinking on the Great Barrier Reef off the central Queensland coast.The 23m (75-foot) catamaran, Spirit of 1770, was 10 nautical miles from Lady Musgrave Island, east of Gladstone, around 4pm on Wednesday when its 42 passengers and four crew were forced to jump from the burning boat and seek refuge in life rafts after a fire in the engine room spread. Continue reading...

Exclusive: a series of images taken from around Lizard Island reveal the rapid death of coral across thousands of kilometres of the reef as bleaching takes holdDevastating images showing the complete destruction of coral colonies on the Great Barrier Reef have been obtained by Guardian Australia and illustrate what is happening to coral there that would fill an area the size of Scotland.They reveal the rapid death of coral impacting much of the Great Barrier Reef, with estimates that as much as half of the coral in the northern third of the 2000km reef had this fate. Continue reading...

The ‘red tide’ algal bloom, which turns the sea water red and makes seafood toxic, is believed to be one of the country’s worst recent environmental crisesA “red tide” outbreak is widening in southern Chile’s fishing-rich waters, the government has said, deepening what is already believed to be one of the country’s worst environmental crises in recent years.The red tide – an algal bloom that turns the seawater red and makes seafood toxic – is a common, naturally recurring phenomenon in southern Chile, but the extent of the current outbreak is unprecedented. Continue reading...

The government is campaigning against Labor’s emissions trading scheme but its own Direct Action will only work with large funding increases or as an ETSModelling hailed by the Liberal party as proof its Direct Action plan could meet Australia’s long-term climate promises in fact assumes the Coalition would turn its policy into a type of emissions trading scheme, according to the authors.The environment minister, Greg Hunt, released the modelling, by the Energetics consulting firm, just days before the election was called and told the Australian newspaper it was proof that critics of the government’s policy – who say it has no hope of reaching Australia’s target without changes – were totally wrong. Continue reading...

A new report shows that demand for seafood with sustainable certification now accounts for 14% of the global market – up from less than 1% a decade agoThe global sustainable seafood market hit $11.5bn in retail sales last year, a result of commitments by large restaurant chains and retailers such as Walmart, Whole Foods, Ikea and McDonald’s to source certified seafood and address decades of mismanagement, according to a report released today.Related: Off the hook: can a new study in the Pacific reel in unsustainable fishing? Continue reading...

More than half of beekeepers suffered unsustainable losses, with deadly mite infestations and harmful land management practices piling on pressureMore than a quarter of American honeybee colonies were wiped out over the winter, with deadly infestations of mites and harmful land management practices heaping mounting pressure upon the crucial pollinators and the businesses that keep them.

Report says infrastructure such as electricity grids and communication networks are not adequately protected from the threatPower cuts caused by flooding are a major danger to people’s lives in the UK and “could happen anywhere” because infrastructure such as electricity grids and communications networks are not adequately protected against the threat, according to a new report.The finding, from the Royal Academy of Engineering, calls into question the UK’s preparedness for incidences of weather-related disasters, even as scientists and government advisers have warned that they will become more frequent, owing to climate change. Continue reading...

Trips to the coast, to green spaces in towns and to the countryside all decreased during wet and stormy seasonThe number of trips made to England’s coasts, parks and countryside between December and February was the lowest in four winters, according to a survey.Natural England said visits fell 15% from the same quarter last year, from 751.8m to 637.9m visits. It was the first fall recorded by the agency’s monitor of engagement with the natural environment (Mene) survey since 2011, and the lowest level for the season since 2011/12 when there were 628.4m visits. Continue reading...

Lizzie Carr aims to become the first person to stand-up paddleboard 643km along connected waterways from Surrey to CumbriaA female adventurer is aiming to become the first person to paddleboard the length of England via connected waterways to highlight the issue of plastic pollution.

An architect’s video outlining ambitious proposals for Amman’s biggest urban failure, the Jordan Gate Project, has gone viral. Has previous apathy towards the city’s lack of community life now turned into a hunger for public space?Architect Hanna Salameh is blunt about how his city is different from many others. “We have no concept of sidewalks,” he says. “We really see them as something you cross over to get to your car. I think that’s why so many people throw trash on the sidewalks – we have no connection to our streets. You don’t walk there and you don’t see it as yours.”Instead, the streets of the Jordanian capital are something else entirely: slow-moving strips of metallic colour, car roofs gleaming beneath fast food drive-thru signs and glass-fronted malls in interminable gridlock. If Amman was built for cars, it sometimes seems incapable of dealing with them.

With some Indian Ocean tuna stocks on the brink of collapse, the expedition exposes harmful methods by the world’s largest tuna company, Thai Union, owner of John West Continue reading...

Government is wasting time and taxpayers’ money as it faces a second court challenge over illegal air pollution, say green lawyersThe government spent at least £105,000 in legal costs while fighting and losing a court challenge over illegal levels of air pollution, according to data released through freedom of information rules, and now faces further bills from a new case it is contesting.ClientEarth, the environmental lawyers who defeated the government, say the taxpayers’ money should have been used instead for early and effective action to cut air pollution, which causes 40,000 early deaths a year, according to government figures. Continue reading...

In addition to the estimated $9bn damage to Fort McMurray, ‘the beast’ will affect forests, carbon emissions, air and water pollution and wasteThe explosive wildfire in Canada’s tar sands region that forced 90,000 people to flee last week is still burning. By Tuesday, “the beast” had grown to 230,000 hectares, but had moved into largely unpopulated regions east and south of the town of Fort McMurray, Alberta.Although officials have found 80-90% of the town undamaged, power and water is out, and about 2,400 homes and other buildings have been burned down. Continue reading...

Hoesung Lee, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, voices hope in battle against 2C increase in warming but warns of ‘phenomenal’ costsThe head of the United Nations climate science panel has declared it is still possible to avoid a dangerous 2C increase in global warming – despite more than a dozen record hot years since 2000. But the costs could be “phenomenal”, he said.In an interview with the Guardian, Hoesung Lee, the leader of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), defied the bleak outlook of climate scientists who warn the world is hurtling to a 2C rise far faster than anticipated. Continue reading...

Cumbrians see length of time it has taken to repair crucial A591 link after floods as proof of lack of government interestIts loss has cost businesses 60% of their trade, separated children from their schools and cut the Lake District in half. But five months after floods destroyed one of Cumbria’s key thoroughfares, the road between Grasmere and Keswick finally reopened on Wednesday.That it took so long to repair the A591 after December’s Storm Desmond is seen by many in the Lake District as a sign of the government’s lack of interest in the north of England, despite its claim to want to build a “northern powerhouse”. Continue reading...