Environment | The Guardian

The prime minister floats off to Cumbria, observing the fruits of his ‘money no object’ flood defence promises from nearly two years agoAlways check the small print. When the Environment Agency described the 2005 floods as “the worst in a lifetime”, the government would have done well to make sure just whose lifetime it was referring to: a human or a ferret. These things, like ferrets when they are alive, come back to bite you.It was sod’s law that on the very day the prime minister had summoned the media to a school in Burton upon Trent to boast about how well his government was delivering on its responsibilities, he was forced into a reverse-ferret over flood defences. “We set out in the autumn statement a historic six-year funding deal with record sums going into flood defences,” he said gamely, as if the mere fact that he had planned to spend all this money should have been enough to stop the flood waters rising. Continue reading...

David Cameron claims “The government is doing everything it can to help those who have seen their homes flooded – and to try and prevent further damage” (my italics). To quote a Guardian report of 28 October: “Projects at risk from the cuts include community solar and hydro projects in Cumbria, which will lead to the county losing at least £750,000 in investment.” Will the government now reverse the cuts it so foolishly made to subsidies and incentives for alternative energy?

Defences are built to withstand ‘certain magnitude’ of water, but experts want new measures put in placeFlood defences such as those used in Cumbria were built to withstand flooding “of a certain magnitude”, according to the Environment Agency – but they can be overcome in extreme storms or if they have been poorly maintained.

Labour accuses Tories of dithering to spare mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith embarrassment, while business leaders say holdup thereatens exportsDavid Cameron has been accused of letting down British exporters and ducking and diving for political convenience by planning to delay a final decision on whether to press ahead with the expansion of Heathrow airport.

Storm Desmond’s floods expose the utter madness of government policies, both in the hills and at the Paris talksIt’s as if it had come to remind us of what’s at stake. While the climate negotiations in Paris trudge their dreary road, Storm Desmond takes a great boot to our backsides. Yet still we fail to make the connection. The news records the spectacle and ignores the implications.Flooding on this scale used to be described as a “once in 100 years”, or 200 years event. But in Cumbria, where some 30cm of rain fell in 24 hours, this is the third such catastrophe since 2005. Exceptional events are, perhaps, no longer exceptional. Continue reading...

The summit looks set to clinch a most welcome global accord, but here’s a guide to whether it will be meaningfulMinisters are back in Paris for the final stretch of COP 21 negotiations. A draft is in hand, peppered with the brackets that indicate areas of disagreement. France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, is busy constructing coalitions. The process of paring down the brackets has begun in earnest.Related: I’ve seen 21 years of COP failures. Paris needs to deliver action, not talk | Adil Najam Continue reading...

Environment secretary promises to review investment in flood defences in light of deluge in Cumbria and LancashireMinisters have been accused of failing flood-stricken communities in the north-west of England, after Labour highlighted a £115m fall in spending on risk management and defences this year.Liz Truss, the environment secretary, defended the current level of spending as she was repeatedly pressed by MPs in the Commons about the impact of budget cuts. But she promised to review the “way we invest in flood defences” in light of the latest floods to hit Cumbria and Lancashire. Continue reading...

US, China, Canada and EU among big carbon emitters at UN summit supporting 1.5C target to protect most vulnerable countries such as small island statesThe world’s biggest climate polluters rallied around a stronger target for limiting warming on Monday, saying they were open to the 1.5C goal endorsed by the most vulnerable countries.In the final push to a climate agreement, the US, Canada, China and the European Union declared they were now on board with demands from African countries to adopt an even more ambitious goal to limit warming.

The i-Tree study could transform our cities by confirming the vital status of trees as green infrastructureI strolled through a wood last week and didn’t even realise it. According to a UN definition, London can be classified as a forest, its 8.4 million trees – almost one for every person – adorning and detoxifying this great city. I was on my way to a wood-panelled room in the House of Lords for the launch of a study calculating the value of London’s trees using open-source software developed in America.The i-Tree study, undertaken by volunteers, charities and government agencies including the Forestry Commission and Natural England, shines vivid light into the urban jungle. London may be renowned for the handsome plane trees that dominate its centre, but the capital’s most common tree is actually the sycamore, followed by English oak and silver birch. Continue reading...

Regional leaders get behind initiative to accelerate solar, hydro, wind and geothermal energy production, to reduce reliance on coal and cut emissionsAn Africa-wide mega-scale initiative backed by all African heads of state should see the continent greatly increase its renewable energy over the next 15 years.The African Renewable Energy Initiative (Arei) plans to develop at least 10 GW of new renewable energy generation capacity by 2020, and at least 300 GW by 2030, potentially making the continent the cleanest in the world. Continue reading...

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Heavy rain across North Yorkshire during Storm Desmond causes Malham Cove to briefly come back to life as England’s highest unbroken waterfall. Footage from YouTube user Kitestu shows water cascading over the 200ft (61m) limestone cliff formation on Sunday for the first time, locals say, in hundreds of years Continue reading...

PM said in July that decision would be taken in 2015 over whether to allow third runway, but spokeswoman now only says ‘clear direction’ will be givenDowning Street has said David Cameron will give a “clear direction” on Heathrow expansion before the end of the year, but refused to repeat the prime minister’s promise that there would be a final decision in 2015.Amid intense speculation that the decision is to be delayed by at least six months, Cameron’s official spokeswoman denied that the government’s plans had changed, arguing that ministers had said only that they provide “clear direction on the government’s plans” later in the year. Continue reading...

Companies are starting to see the clear risks from production of commodities such as timber, soy, beef and palm oil, but it is unclear whether they will actThe Paris climate talks have opened with a promise to the world: to secure a historic agreement between nations to bring the runaway train of global warming to a halt. The world’s forests play a key role in fulfilling this promise.

Police had been searching the river Kent in Cumbrian town following reports on Sunday that an elderly man had fallen into the waterA body has been found in the river Kent in Kendal following reports that an elderly man had fallen into the water, as Storm Desmond caused widespread serious flooding across the north-west of England.Police launched a search following a call at 10am on Sunday. Officers, along with an underwater search team, are now working to recover the body. Continue reading...

Existing defences criticised but minister says they bought people time to evacuate amid ‘probably the highest rainfall ever in UK’David Cameron is to visit flood-stricken areas in the north-west amid criticism of the defences that failed to keep water out of people’s homes and businesses.The prime minister chaired a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee on Monday morning, which looked at how to get immediate help for those affected by Storm Desmond and longer term efforts to get areas “back on their feet”. Continue reading...

When Leonardo di Caprio and Robert Redford arrived at the UN Climate Conference, their first priority was to talk to city leaders. It’s one indication of where the power to reduce climate emissions now lies, writes John VidalIn the industrial northern suburbs of Paris, 195 countries are locked in talks to reduce national climate emissions. They sweat it out 24/7 in anonymous, hangar-sized buildings, protecting their interests, giving away as little as possible – exhausted by the 20-year struggle to make even marginal cuts.

Alert will prompt schools and factories to close and force millions of vehicles off roads after smog reached 40 times safe level in some areas

Vladimir Putin assures that his negotiators will not block an agreement that has the backing of other major countriesRussia has pledged not to stand in the way of a deal at the Paris climate change conference, removing another obstacle to a potential agreement, the Guardian has learned.President Vladimir Putin is understood to have given his personal assurance to Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, that his negotiators will not block an agreement that has the backing of other major countries. Continue reading...

Prime minister and Conservative cabinet ministers accused of hypocrisy for snubbing greener Eurostar rail link in favour of flights, reports BusinessGreenThe prime minister and cabinet members have come under fire for flying to the Paris climate change talks, rather than taking the more environmentally friendly Eurostar.BusinessGreen understands David Cameron and energy and climate change secretary Amber Rudd flew the short trip to the opening day of the talks last Monday. Continue reading...

Restoring power to flood-hit homes and getting transport infrastructure up and running is the government’s priority, says the environment secretary, Liz Truss. She was speaking on Monday following a Cobra emergencies committee at Downing Street chaired by David Cameron to discuss the floods over the weekend. The army has been deployed in the north of England to help in the wake of Storm Desmond

The draft negotiating text for a global deal is in. These are some of the people who will now decide the outcome of the talksAs ministers from countries around the world fly in for the crunch second week of the UN climate talks in Paris there are still significant areas of disagreement, but also optimism at the talks that a deal can be done. The negotiating text has been pared back to just over 20 pages – a much better position than at the equivalent point at the Copenhagen talks in 2009. Here are some of the key individuals who will decide the outcome of the talks. Continue reading...

Nine companies have applied to drill for shale gas in 19 sites, each covering 100 sq km, in heavily populated areas of central ScotlandMajor energy and fracking companies have made new bids to exploit large shale gas reserves close to many of central Scotland’s biggest towns and cities.The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) has disclosed that nine companies have applied to drill for shale gas on 19 sites, each covering 100 sq km, in heavily populated areas close to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Motherwell, Linlithgow, Bathgate, Rosyth and Kirkcaldy. Continue reading...

Towns begin to count cost of flood damage and disruption, with schools closed, roads blocked and homes submergedCollapsed and dangerous bridges, main roads washed away and deluged railways meant chaos is continuing to turn lives upside down in the Lake District.Related: Storm Desmond: Cameron to visit flood-hit areas – live updates Continue reading...

People don’t relate to future threats from climate change but seeing images of people dying now from air pollution drives them to act, says former governor of CaliforniaGreen campaigners should stop talking about the risks from climate change in 2050 and talk about “right now”, the former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has said.

Lighting alliance unites Ikea and Philips with India and China in ambitious blueprint for global lighting overhaulGovernments including China, India, the US and companies such as Ikea are backing a plan to have 10bn super efficient light bulbs fitted worldwide to tackle the 5% of global emissions caused by lighting.The public-private partnership is expected to see India sell 0.8bn LED bulbs by 2019 and China committing to sell 5bn by 2018. Continue reading...

Let us know how you’re coping with the disruption as flooding hits communities in the north of England in the wake of Storm Desmond

Government joins 32 nations protesting Japan’s decision to hunt in the Southern Ocean this summerRelated: Japan under fire over decision to resume whalingThe Turnbull government is considering legal action in response to Japan’s decision to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean this summer.

The French glaciologist Claude Lorius talks about a new documentary that tells how the Antarctic surveys of his team alerted the world to the threat posed by carbon emissionsClaude Lorius sits on a rocky outcrop and gazes pensively across a vast, white vista. Next to him a penguin patters past, hesitates and plops into the icy water. It is hard to tell who is most at home.One of the most poignant moments in Luc Jacquet’s breathtaking documentary, Ice and the Sky (La Glace et le Ciel), it is a beautiful scene of quiet contemplation. But then Lorius, 83, has much to reflect on. Fresh-faced and eager, he set out during the International Geophysical Year, nearly 60 years ago, a pioneer on one of the ambitious scientific expeditions to study Antarctica – a poorly mapped continent labelled with little more than “here be dragons”. “It’s hard to describe the fervour gripping my shipmates and I,” he recalls in the film. Continue reading...

Supermarket shelves filled with the exotic give a false impression, warns environmentalist Simran Sethi. Her new book exposes the dangers eating a small number of the same things“Right now, three-quarters of our food comes from 12 plants and five animals,” says Simran Sethi. She is almost incredulous, comparing it to a someone suggesting an investor plough all their money into just one stock. “No sane person would say or do that, but with food that is exactly what is happening.”The assertion might seem surprising: supermarkets appear to be bristling with foods that would have seemed exotic 50 years ago. But, Sethi says, that is an illusion: “On a smaller local level there is more diversity in food, but the global trend that we see is towards sameness; it is towards that same homogenisation we see in clothing or technology – you can go to any part of the world and find someone wearing Levi jeans and holding an iPhone.” Continue reading...

Analysis of the carbon emissions of global food giants Cargill, Tyson and Yara puts agribusiness in the spotlight at UN climate talks in ParisThey may not be household names but collectively global food companies Cargill, Tyson and Yara have a bigger climate footprint than the Netherlands, Vietnam or Columbia, according to a new analysis.

The Fannichs, Highlands The sky is flung wide open, a bright bluebird of a day, as sunlight glitters on the driftsHigh on the hills above Glen Quoich, winter has arrived. The first snowfall of the year begins to stipple the ground at 400 metres above sea level and lies knee-deep in the lee of the peaks. Overnight the air was thick with freezing fog, but now the sky is flung wide open, a bright bluebird of a day, as sunlight glitters on the drifts and the rime frost that has grown in shards from the rough grasses.From the summit of Sgùrr Mòr, we follow a ridge that curves away from the nape of its neck, towards the neighbouring peak. Continue reading...

Democratic presidential candidate to release bold plan as rivals vie to set out green credentials during crunch week for global talks at Paris summitBernie Sanders will unveil a sweeping new plan to fight climate change on Monday, calling for a carbon tax and an ambitious 40% cut in carbon emissions by 2030 to speed the transition to a greener economy.

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 9 December 1915In Kew Gardens they leave the Siberian crabs unharvested, and this year the crop has been of a magnificence never surpassed. Several weeks ago every leaf had fallen, but the thousands of shining fruits still hang on and light up with the sun, the trees from a distance looking as if they were on fire. It is a singular effect, and most beautiful. For the most part the colours in a winter garden are quieter than this, but they are infinitely varied if planting has been intelligently done. Berries, evergreens, the varieties of tint in bark and wood, and the remainder of dried reeds and grasses and bamboos make up the chief sources of colour, but there is no season when some flowers are not to be had, too.One of the things one appreciates most in coming to the country after long sojourning in town is the exquisite variety of shades in the stems of trees and shrubs. In towns even healthy trees are of a uniform black. In a country garden or plantation each kind has its distinct shade of colour. The arbutus is in every way one of the most beautiful of the smaller trees and its bark is one of its chief beauties. This is of a warm Indian red, and the tint runs to the tips of the smallest twigs, threading the glossy deep green leaves with colour throughout. As the bark grows older it peals off in a thin papery curl, leaving a most delicious pale green item revealed. Arbutus Andrachne is even more beautiful in this way than the commoner Arbutus Unedo, and there is a fine hybrid between the two. The shape of this romantic tree is as beautiful as its stem and leaf, and the pretty heath-like white flower is followed by crimson bells about the size of a small cherry, and very persistent. Continue reading...

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, says resources for rebuilding are vital as prime minister prepares for emergency meetingDavid Cameron is to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee on Monday to assess the response to the floods in north-west England.Emergency services remain stretched as they call on extra resources to cope with floods caused by Storm Desmond during the weekend. Strong winds and heavy rain tore through Britain and a major incident was declared in Cumbria, the worst affected county. At least 60,000 homes were left without power and many are now lacking clean water. Continue reading...

There was cheerfulness to be found on the streets but the flooding leaves business owners despondentWarned to expect at least two more days without electricity following the weekend’s floods, Lancaster’s hardy residents faced the darkness with sunny stoicism.“I was telling my kids, this is what it must have been like in the war,” said Rohina Caterina, surveying the muddy floor of her pub, the Stonewell Tavern, which closed on Saturday night when the cellars flooded. “We’ll get through it.” Continue reading...

Contrary to the article by James Hansen, Kerry Emanuel, Ken Caldeira and Tom Wigley (Nuclear power paves the only viable path forward on climate change, 3 December), many scientists around the world remain sceptical that nuclear is the answer, or even part of the answer, to climate change. The academic authors have a fine record in identifying the causes and consequences of climate change, but their proposed solution simply doesn’t make sense.The main problem is that, contrary what many think, nuclear power is a poor method of reducing carbon emissions: its uranium ore and fuel processes have heavy carbon footprints. Indeed, of the ways to reduce carbon emissions in the energy sphere, nuclear is by far the most expensive in terms of pound per tonne of carbon saved. Continue reading...

Richard Branson’s B Team group of chief executives urges Paris climate talks to embrace ‘carbon neutral by 2050’ goalA group of high-profile business leaders has challenged governments to set strong targets and not slam the door on limiting warming to 1.5C.On Monday, a Paris meeting aimed at reaching a global deal to fight climate change kicks up to a gear, with government ministers taking charge of negotiations.