Experts say big flaw is the lack of mandatory requirements, meaning developers could ignore the guidanceHousing where shops, schools, public transport and possibly pubs are close by, with green spaces and access to nature, and where heritage is preserved, should be the norm for all new developments, according to guidelines set out by the government.King's Cross in London, for example, where industrial buildings have been converted into shops, restaurants and public spaces, and where schools and care homes mingle with social and private housing near to a cleaned-up canal and nature reserve, could become the model, according to the new vision. Continue reading...
The storm will stretch 2,000 miles from south-west to east, disrupting travel and threatening power outagesA vast winter storm is set to descend across much of the US starting on Friday, sweeping snow, ice and brutal cold across nearly 2,000 miles from the south-west to the east coast and affecting more than 200 million people.The system is expected to disrupt travel, bring down trees and power lines, and create the risk of prolonged power outages, followed by dangerously cold air. Continue reading...
Our nation's fascination with rubbish knows no bounds - as was proved by one recent online debateEven if you've never been anywhere near it, the Mumsnet message board is legendary. Since it launched in 2000, it has changed the vernacular - am I being unreasonable?" is not just a question, it's a shorthand for the type of person who asks it - and introduced us to the penis beaker (one maverick husband's postcoital hygiene regime, made infamous). It's a screenshot of society, a cultural thermometer; if it's happening on Mumsnet, it's big news. And one of the most popular recent threads is about bins.The post that kicked it off was written by a woman who lived opposite an empty house where tenants had moved out. The landlord popped round late at night to drag the bins out for collection, and the next morning, at 6.45am, she could hear the lorry approaching. The coast was clear, and she still had a backlog of rubbish from Christmas. Deciding it was a victimless crime, she slipped one of her bags in their bin, which easily had room. Enterprising? Without a doubt. Moral, though? Continue reading...
Felling of 500-year-old oak has provoked fury from public and Enfield council, which leases land to Mitchells & ButlersThe restaurant chain Toby Carvery is facing eviction from one of its sites after taking a chainsaw to an ancient oak tree without the permission of its council landlord.The partial felling last April of the 500-year-old oak on the edge of a Toby Carvery car park in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, provoked widespread public dismay and fury from Enfield council, which leases the land to the restaurant's owners Mitchells & Butlers Retail (M&B). Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#72ZV7)
Critics accuse leading firms of sabotaging climate action but say data increasingly being used to hold them to accountJust 32 fossil fuel companies were responsible for half the global carbon dioxide emissions driving the climate crisis in 2024, down from 36 a year earlier, a report has revealed.Saudi Aramco was the biggest state-controlled polluter and ExxonMobil was the largest investor-owned polluter. Critics accused the leading fossil fuel companies of sabotaging climate action" and being on the wrong side of history" but said the emissions data was increasingly being used to hold the companies accountable. Continue reading...
Actor says it is more important than ever' to safeguard city's parks as report finds more than 50 are at riskDame Judi Dench has called for greater protections for London's parks and green spaces, as research finds more than 50 of the city's parks are at risk from development.The Oscar-winning actor has long loved trees, and in 2017 fronted a BBC documentary about her love for them. She plants a tree every time a close friend or relative dies, including for her late husband, Michael Williams, who died in 2001, and the actor Natasha Richardson, who was killed in a skiing accident in 2009, and one for her brother Jeffery Dench, who died in 2014. Continue reading...
Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being feltThe global attack on nature is threatening the UK's national security, government intelligence chiefs have warned, as the increasingly likely collapse of vitally important natural systems would bring mass migration, food shortages and price rises, and global disorder.Food supplies are particularly at risk since without significant increases" the UK would be unable to compete with other nations for scarce resources, a report to ministers says. Continue reading...
Even 25% increase in meat and dairy consumption would require 100m more acres of agricultural land, analysis saysThe Trump administration's new dietary guidelines urging Americans to eat far more meat and dairy products will, if followed, come at a major cost to the planet via huge swathes of habitat razed for farmland and millions of tons of extra planet-heating emissions.A new inverted food pyramid recently released by Donald Trump's health department emphasizes pictures of steak, poultry, ground beef and whole milk, alongside fruits and vegetables, as the most important foods to eat. Continue reading...
by Gloria Dickie in Phuket. Photographs by Mailee Ost on (#72Z21)
The Andaman coast was one of very few places in the world with a viable population but then dead dugongs began washing up. Now half have goneA solitary figure stands on the shore of Thailand's Tang Khen Bay. The tide is slowly rising over the expanse of sandy beach, but the man does not seem to notice. His eyes are not fixed on the sea, but on the small screen clutched between his hands.About 600 metres offshore, past the shadowy fringe of coral reef, his drone hovers over the murky sea, focused on a whirling grey shape: Miracle, the local dugong, is back. Continue reading...
by Mailee Osten-Tan, Nicolas Axelrod, Lisa Bachelor,L on (#72Z22)
Amateur conservationist and social media influencer Theerasak Pop' Saksritawee has a rare bond with Thailand's critically endangered dugongs. With dugong fatalities increasing, Pop works alongside scientists at Phuket Marine Biological Centre to track the mammals with his drone and restore their disappearing seagrass habitat. Translating complex science for thousands online, Pop raises an urgent alarm about climate change, pollution and habitat loss - before Thailand's dugongs vanish forever Continue reading...
by Mailee Osten-Tan, Nicolas Axelrod, Lisa Bachelor L on (#72Z23)
Amateur conservationist and social media influencer Theerasak 'Pop' Saksritawee has a rare bond with Thailand's critically endangered dugongs. With dugong fatalities increasing, Pop works alongside scientists at Phuket Marine Biological Centre to track the mammals with his drone and restore their disappearing seagrass habitat. Translating complex science for thousands online, Pop raises an urgent alarm about climate change, pollution and habitat loss - before Thailand's dugongs vanish forever Continue reading...
Prosecution over death of Quinto Inuma Alvarado seen as test of ability to curb attacks on environmental defendersFive men are due to go on trial on Tuesday over the killing of an Amazonian Indigenous leader, in a legal case that could test whether Peru can hold perpetrators accountable for violence linked to illegal logging and drug trafficking in one of the world's most dangerous regions for environmental defenders.The Kichwa tribal leader Quinto Inuma Alvarado was killed on 29 November 2023, after repeatedly denouncing illegal activity within his community's territory. Continue reading...
Changing temperatures may be behind change in behaviour, which experts fear threatens three species' survivalPenguins in Antarctica have radically shifted their breeding season, apparently as a response to climate change, research has found.Dramatic shifts in behaviour were revealed by a decade-long study led by Penguin Watch at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, with some penguins' breeding period moving forward by more than three weeks. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Campaigners claim changes will let companies off the hook', as government prepares to unveil new white paper for water industryWater companies could be let off fines for polluting the environment under changes announced in the government's new white paper.The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, hailed the changes as once-in-a-generation reforms" featuring tough oversight, real accountability and no more excuses". Continue reading...
by Isaaq Tomkins and Darragh Peter Murphy on (#72YDB)
Trust had $254m invested in companies such as Chevron, BP and Shell in 2024, a nine-year record, analysis showsThe Gates Foundation Trust holds hundreds of millions of dollars in fossil fuel extractors despite Bill Gates' claims of divestment made in 2019.End-of-year filings reveal that in 2024 the trust invested $254m in companies that extract fossil fuels such as Chevron, BP and Shell. This was a nine-year record and up 21% from 2016, Guardian analysis found. Adjusting for inflation, it was the highest amount since 2019. Continue reading...
Experts call for tighter regulation as GPS tracking reveals how people's behaviour affects the lives of some of the world's largest birdsMany people look up to admire the silhouette of raptors, some of the planet's largest birds, soaring through seemingly empty skies. But increasingly, research shows us that this fascination runs both ways. From high above, these birds are watching us too.Thanks to the development of tiny GPS tracking devices attached to their bodies, researchers are getting millions of data points on the day-to-day lives of these apex predators of the skies, giving us greater insight into where they hunt and rest, and how they die. Continue reading...
Errors in measuring microplastic pollution can be corrected. Public trust in science also needs to be shored upIt is true that science is self-correcting. Over the long term this means that we can generally trust its results - but up close, correction can be a messy process. The Guardian reported last week that 20 recent studies measuring the amount of micro- and nanoplastics in the human body have been criticised in the scientific literature for methodological issues, calling their results into question. In one sense this is the usual process playing out as it should. However, the scale of the potential error - one scientist estimates that half the high-impact papers in the field are affected - suggests a systemic problem that should have been prevented.The risk is that in a febrile political atmosphere in which trust in science is being actively eroded on issues from climate change to vaccinations, even minor scientific conflicts can be used to sow further doubt. Given that there is immense public and media interest in plastic pollution, it is unfortunate that scientists working in this area did not show more caution. Continue reading...
Vegan restaurants are closing, RFK Jr is sounding the drum for carnivores, and the protein cult is bigger than ever. But eschewing animal products helps me ward off a sense of impotence - and despairLet's get this out of the way, because I'm itching to tell you (again): I'm vegan, and this is our time, Veganuary! Imagine me doing a weak, vitamin B12-depleted dance. Unlike gym-goers, vegans are thrilled when newbies sign up each January, for planetary and animal welfare reasons, but also, shallowly, for the shopping. This is when we can gorge on the novelties retailers dream up: Peta's round-up for this year includes the seductive Aldi pains au chocolat and M&S coconut kefir.I need retail therapy, because Veganuary has become quite muted and that's part of a wider inflection point in vegan eating that I'm sad about. Where have all the vegans gone?" Dazed asked in November, and now New York Magazine has investigated, with the tagline: Plant-based eating was supposed to be the future. Then meat came roaring back." It details a wave of vegan restaurant closures (plus the high-profile reverse ferret performed by formerly vegan Michelin-three-starred Eleven Madison Park to serving animal products for certain dishes"), declining sales of meat substitutes and a stubbornly static percentage of people identifying as vegan (around 1%). It's not new (rumours of veganism's demise have been swirling around since at least 2024) and it's not just a US phenomenon; many UK vegan restaurants have closed this year, including my lovely local. Continue reading...
Tony Cholerton created Robovacc to inoculate a timid tiger at London zoo - but says it could administer jabs to badgersIt began with the tiger who wouldn't come to tea. Cinta was so shy that she refused to feed when keepers at London zoo were around, and staff wondered how they would ever administer the young animal's vaccinations without traumatising her.So Tony Cholerton, a zookeeper who had been a motorcycle engineer for many years, invented Robovacc - a machine to quickly administer vital jabs without the presence of people. Continue reading...
In historic speech to mark UN's 80th anniversary, secretary general makes impassioned plea for multilateralism and international law amid drastic US funding cutsThe United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, will warn on Saturday of the peril posed by powerful forces lining up to undermine global cooperation" in an address to mark the 80th anniversary of the UN's first major meeting.Speaking in London's Methodist Central Hall - the site where eight decades earlier delegates from 51 countries came together for the inaugural session of the general assembly - the UN head will make an impassioned plea for the virtues of multilateralism and international law to prevail during a period of deepening global uncertainty. Continue reading...
by Damien Gayle Environment correspondent on (#72WYY)
As international treaty comes into force, bill to make it law in Britain is moving at glacial pace' through parliamentThe UK risks being shut out of a historic oceans summit because parliament has failed to ratify the UN's high seas treaty, environmental charities and campaigners have warned.The high seas treaty, formally known as the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, comes into force on Saturday, after two decades of talks. Continue reading...
Todoli foundation produces varieties from Buddha's hands to sudachi and hopes to help citrus survive climate changeIt was on a trip with a friend to the east coast of Spain that the chef Matthew Slotover came across the Garden of Eden", an organic farm growing citrus varieties he had never heard of. The Todoli Citrus Foundation is a nonprofit venture and the largest private collection of citrus in the world with more than 500 varieties, and its owners think the rare fruit could hold the genetic secrets to growing citrus groves that can deal with climate change.The farm yields far more interesting fruit than oranges and lemons for Slotover's menu, including kumquat, finger lime, sudachi and bergamot. Continue reading...
Australia's WorldTour race on my local roads fills me with pride, but as the years go on it feels like hosting international friends in a house that is visibly on fireSweat rolls off my brow as my legs roll powerless beneath me. Eyes fixed on my glowing bike computer screen, watching as my heart rate climbs faster than the power that can be produced by my legs. 150, 160, 170bpm. How long has that been? I wipe the bead of sweat obscuring the timer. Only five minutes.I can barely squeeze in each breath, and the walls feel like they're closing in. Yes, walls. Because it's not the sun's glare making this ride unbearable. Outside, it's freezing. It's October. But inside, we're sealed within sterile white walls and glass windows glistening with condensation, sweat puddling on the floor. Continue reading...
Flood warning raised to highest level with roads washed away and rain forcing evacuation of Kruger national parkLarge areas of north-eastern South Africa and neighbouring Mozambique have been inundated for several days with exceptionally heavy rainfall. Some locations in South Africa recorded hundreds of millimetres of rain over the weekend, such as Graskop in Mpumalanga, where 113mm fell in 24 hours, and Phalaborwa, which recorded about 85mm of rainfall. Rain has continued to fall across the region since the weekend.The deluge has been driven by a slow-moving cut-off low pressure system that has remained anchored over the region, repeatedly drawing in moisture and triggering intense downpours. Further heavy rainfall is expected on Friday and over the weekend. Maputo, Mozambique's capital, could expect daily rainfall totals to exceed 200mm by the end of Friday, while western parts of South Africa and north-western Eswatini may record more than 100mm. Continue reading...
Up to 30,000 customers of South East Water had no supply or low pressure at height of incidentWater has been restored to most homes across Kent and Sussex after almost a week of disruption.South East Water (SEW) said the outage, which began on Saturday, was the result of Storm Goretti causing burst pipes and power cuts. Continue reading...
Floods predicted for NSW south coast after severe storms dumped 180mm in six hours on Victoria's Lorne and Wye River, washing cars into the sea on the Great Ocean Road
Exclusive: David Hinton, who faces calls to resign, will receive payout regardless of performance if he stays until July 2030 South East Water could lose operating licence after outages
In today's newsletter: Numerous studies have found evidence of microplastics in the human body and warned of the risks to our health. But in the race to research this new field scientists may have drastically overstated the dangersGood morning. Microplastics are everywhere. They have been found at the top of Mount Everest and in the deepest ocean trenches. They are in our food, our water and the air we breathe.For a while, research suggested they were inside us too. Studies reported microplastics in our cells, brains, placentas and testicles.Iran | Donald Trump has said he has been assured the killing of protesters in Iran has been halted, adding that he would watch it and see" about threatened US military action, as tensions appeared to ease on Wednesday night.Greenland | Donald Trump reiterated on Wednesday that the US needs Greenland and that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the island, even as he said that something will work out" with respect to the future governance of the Danish overseas territory.UK news | Three Palestine Action-affiliated prisoners have announced the end of their hunger strike after the government decided not to award a 2bn contract to the Israeli arms company subsidiary Elbit Systems UK - with another four who had paused their protest choosing not to continue.Digital ID | The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has insisted that she is pretty relaxed" about what form of digital ID people use to prove their right to work in the UK, amid criticism of the government's latest U-turn.Ukraine | Anti-corruption investigators have accused the former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko of plotting to bribe MPs, including some from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's party, in a bid to undermine him. Continue reading...
by Sophy Roberts. Photographs by Tom Parker on (#72V9P)
In countries such as South Sudan, the great herds have all but disappeared. But further south, conservation success mean increasing human-wildlife conflictIt is late on a January afternoon in the middle of South Sudan's dry season, and the landscape, pricked with stubby acacias, is hazy with smoke from people burning the grasslands to encourage new growth. Even from the perspective of a single-engine ultralight aircraft, we are warned it will be hard to spot the last elephant in Badingilo national park, a protected area covering nearly 9,000 sq km (3,475 sq miles).Technology helps - the 20-year-old bull elephant wears a GPS collar that pings coordinates every hour. The animal's behaviour patterns also help; Badingilo's last elephant is so lonely that it moves with a herd of giraffes. Continue reading...
by Damien Gayle Environment correspondent on (#72V2N)
Pressure mounting for use of glyphosate, listed by WHO since 2015 as probable carcinogen, to be heavily restrictedChildren are potentially being exposed to the controversial weedkiller glyphosate at playgrounds across the UK, campaigners have said after testing playgrounds in London and the home counties.The World Health Organization has listed glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen since 2015. However, campaigners say local authorities in the UK are still using thousands of litres of glyphosate-based herbicides in public green spaces. Continue reading...
There was a time when nobody picked up after their dogs - and it would have been considered disgusting to do so. What caused the change in attitude?A PE teacher from Cardiff called Tony is frozen solid after being caught in an avalanche in 1979. There he remains until global heating sees to his thawing and he pops up in the present day, exactly as he was back then. Comedy ensues. This is make-believe, by the way; it's the premise of Mike Bubbins' BBC series Mammoth. In the masterful opening scenes, to the sound of Gerry Rafferty's Get It Right Next Time, we see Tony being scornful, angry, frightened and disgusted by four things that didn't happen before his big freeze.He scoffs at a bloke carrying a baby in a sling, gives a charity chugger very short shrift, and jumps out of his skin when a youth on a hoverboard zips past him. But it was Tony's disgust at a woman picking up her German shepherd's poo that got me thinking. When did picking up dog poo become the thing to do? Or, put another way, when did just leaving it there become the thing not to do? When did we start becoming disgusted at those who didn't pick it up rather than those who did? This is a pretty seismic cultural shift, I'm sure you'll agree. Continue reading...
Agency to focus rules for fine particulate matter and ozone only on cost to industry, aligning with Trump approachThe Environmental Protection Agency says it will stop calculating how much money is saved in healthcare costs avoided and deaths prevented from air pollution rules that curb two deadly pollutants.The change means the EPA will focus rules for fine particulate matter and ozone only on the cost to industry, part of a broader realignment under Donald Trump toward a business-friendly approach that has included the rollback of multiple policies meant to safeguard human health and the environment and slow climate change. Continue reading...
Fine of 10% of annual turnover among other potential penalties as environment secretary calls for Ofwat reviewSouth East Water could lose its operating licence after residents across Kent and Sussex faced up to a week without water.The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, has called for the regulator to review the company's operating licence. If it were to lose it, the company would fall into a special administration regime until a new buyer was found. Continue reading...
Data leads scientists to declare 2015 Paris agreement to keep global heating below 1.5C dead in the water'Last year was the third hottest on record, scientists have said, with mounting fossil fuel pollution behind exceptional" temperatures.The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said 2025 had continued a three-year streak of extraordinary global temperatures" during which surface air temperatures averaged 1.48C above preindustrial levels. Continue reading...
St Michael's Mount launches major operation to clear up devastation caused by 112mph windsThe tidal island of St Michael's Mount in the far south-west of Britain is usually a place of peace and quiet.But it has become a hive of noisy activity as gardeners equipped with chainsaws and wood chippers get to grips with the devastating damage caused by Storm Goretti. Continue reading...
Study from research firm finds that US greenhouse gas emissions grew faster than economic activity last yearIn a reversal from previous years' pollution reductions, the United States spewed 2.4% more heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels in 2025 than in the year before, researchers calculated in a study released on Tuesday.The increase in greenhouse gas emissions is attributable to a combination of a cool winter, the explosive growth of datacenters and cryptocurrency mining, and higher natural gas prices, according to the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm. Environmental policy rollbacks by Donald Trump's administration were not significant factors in the increase because they were only put in place this year, the study authors said. Heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas are the major cause of worsening global warming, scientists say. Continue reading...