Join an expert panel on Thursday 9 July, 3-5pm BST, to discuss how population growth will contribute to water scarcity, and what can be done about itThe world will face a 40% shortfall in freshwater by 2030, according to the UN’s 2015 World Water Development Report. If the estimation comes true, the consequences could be catastrophic. Food and energy production would suffer and people would be forced to move away from water-stressed areas. Conflicts could follow.
Conservationists from the World Wildlife Foundation in Australia have published this footage filmed from a GoPro strapped to a turtle's back, giving a unique perspective on the Great Barrier Reef. Situated in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, the Unesco world heritage sight is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs, 900 islands and home to almost 6000 different species Continue reading...
Satelite survey reveals urban sprawl ate up 22,000 hectares of forest, farm and wetlands, as planning reforms ‘unlock countryside’ for further developmentThe UK’s spreading cities are relentlessly eating up the country’s green spaces, according to new research, and experts and campaigners believe government planning reforms will aggravate the loss.A satellite survey by a research team at the University of Leicester (UofL) found that between 2006 and 2012, 22,000 hectares (54,ooo acres) of green space was converted to “artificial surfaces†– mostly housing. More than 7,000 hectares of forest was felled, 14,000 hectares of farmland concreted and 1,000 hectares of precious wetland was drained to make way for urban sprawl. That’s a landscape twice the size of Liverpool, transformed forever, in just six years. Continue reading...
Nine German and Austrian utilities selling renewable energy join with green group to launch legal action against state aid for new nuclear power in UKGreenpeace and nine German and Austrian utilities selling renewable energy said on Thursday they are launching legal action against state aid for a new British nuclear power plant, which was approved by the European commission.
Levy on most polluting power stations is scrapped, but largest brown coal-fired plants will be shuttered as Germany moves to cut emissions 40% by 2020Germany agreed on Thursday to mothball about five of the country’s largest brown coal power plants to meet its climate goals by 2020, after months of wrangling between the parties in chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition.
Liberal MP Adrian Pederick proposes sustainable harvesting of New Zealand fur seals, accusing them of ‘causing major havoc’ to the SA fishing industryA South Australian MP wants a fur seal cull along parts of the SA coast because they are causing problems for other wildlife and the fishing industry.Liberal MP Adrian Pederick moved a motion in state parliament on Thursday calling for a management plan and a sustainable harvesting of New Zealand fur seals. Continue reading...
by Katharine Murphy Deputy political editor on (#D2AR)
Government also urged to sign up to further cuts of 40-60% by 2030 ahead of Paris climate talks, in effort to catch up to other countriesThe Climate Change Authority says Australia needs to cut carbon emissions by 30% by 2025 and sign up to further cuts of 40-60% by 2030 to catch up to other countries in the international effort to mitigate the risks of global warming.
Environment minister Greg Hunt claims victory as world heritage committee decides not to list the reef as in danger based on recovery plansGreg Hunt, the federal environment minister, has said a UN decision not to list the Great Barrier Reef as in danger shows that Australia is a “role model to the world†in environmental protection.
Crook, County Durham: We watched the rhinoceros beetle take lumbering steps across our kitchen table like some prehistoric monsterDavid Elliston Allen, chronicler of naturalists in Britain, once described the natural history field club, a Victorian invention popular for its self improvement ethos and convivial excursions into the countryside, as a masterpiece of social mechanics.Perhaps future generations might take a similar view of today’s expanding community of naturalists linked via the web, digital photography and social media, forming virtual field clubs. Continue reading...
All beaches in Ballina Shire closed after 32-year-old man was bitten at Lighthouse Beach, suffering severe injuries to his lower legsA bodyboarder is fighting for his life after being attacked by a shark near Ballina in northern NSW.The 32-year-old man was bodyboarding with two friends at Lighthouse Beach just after 10am on Thursday morning when he was bitten by a shark, suffering significant injuries to his lower legs. Continue reading...
Defra report, published in full after freedom of information battle, admits impact on water quality and wildlife is ‘uncertain’, though possible benefits also listedFracking operations to extract shale gas in Britain could cause nearby house prices to fall by up to 7% and create a risk of environmental damage, according to a government report that has been published in full for the first time.Entitled Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) document was released on Wednesday after a freedom of information battle. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Santa Ana, California on (#D17F)
Husband fights to help both wife and 350lb animal, heading to southern California harbor before setting dolphin freeA dolphin leaped on to a boat in southern California, crashing into a woman and breaking both her ankles.Chrissie Frickman was boating with her husband and two children on 21 June when a pod of dolphins swam alongside them. One of the animals jumped on the vessel, knocking Frickman over and landing on her legs, the Orange County Register reported. Continue reading...
by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Vatican City on (#D16F)
Activist Naomi Klein, who is in an ‘unlikely alliance’ with Vatican on climate change, says she believes a possible divestment policy is under discussionThe Vatican may consider, but is not committed to, divesting its holdings in fossil fuels, a Catholic church official has said, despite Pope Francis’s call for bold action to fight climate change and global warming.The statement – made at a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the pope’s recently released encyclical on the environment – is likely to disappoint climate activists, who have praised Pope Francis’s essay stressing that climate change is mostly a man-made problem. Continue reading...
The debate about where to build extra airport capacity has been a giant distraction. The climate demands drawing a line under aviation’s growthBritain finally confronted the point of a decision on a difficult question that it had ducked for far too long. Or, at least, that is how the Airports Commission presented its endorsement of an extra runway at Heathrow. The airwaves reverberated with the voices of the sort of men who never shrug off a boyhood Airfix fixation, arguing with burning intensity about whether the precise spec and coordinates of the Heathrow proposal, and its Gatwick rival, had the makings of a world-beating hub. A few voices were raised about the “environmental†effect, in the sense of the immediate local environment – questions of noise, of birdlife and the extra fumes that could soon be inhaled by the suffering lungs of Middlesex. These are all real issues, but together with the diversionary debate about “where†rather than “whetherâ€, they pale besides aviation’s contribution to the planet’s slow cooking. If there is a difficult question that has been ducked for too long, then that is the one about decarbonising the economy.To be fair to Sir Howard Davies, his commission did not ignore carbon. The report predicated its projections of passenger growth on two scenarios, both of which it said could respect UK carbon obligations. The first involved a rigid cap on aviation emissions, a little above current levels. The commission stuck a finger in the air and ventured that this might be compatible with a 61% rise in passengers by 2050, a calculation that must rely on engineering advances easing the brute, energy-intensive physics of lifting people and machinery into the air. The emphasis, however, and the basis for arguing that increased capacity was not merely desirable but imperative, was on a second, fairytale future, in which passengers double, under the auspices of comprehensive and globally enforced carbon trading. Continue reading...
by Nicholas Watt, Rowena Mason and Gwyn Topham on (#D136)
Sir Howard Davies’s independent airports commission report makes strong recommendation for third runway at HeathrowTory grandees are warning David Cameron that he will face a heavy parliamentary defeat if he fails to back a third runway at Heathrow airport, in line with the morning’s recommendation by Sir Howard Davies’s independent airports commission.The prime minister and the Tory chief whip, Mark Harper, have been told that the pro-Heathrow contingent in parliament – comprising a sizeable number of Tories, the Labour party, the SNP and the DUP – has a clear Commons majority. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Ocracoke, North Carolina on (#D107)
Victim, about 50, bitten at Ocracoke island beach before being airlifted for treatment of wounds to ribcage, leg, hip, and handsAuthorities say a man apparently bitten by a shark off the North Carolina Outer Banks is being airlifted to a hospital with serious wounds.Related: Teenager bitten by shark no longer in critical condition in North Carolina Continue reading...
Davies report recommends a third runway at Heathrow, but critics are concerned conditions intended to allay their fears will not be upheldThe Davies report has landed, but its recommendations may never take flight. Amid the hysterical antipathy from Sir Howard Davies’ bête noire, London mayor Boris Johnson, were pertinent questions: not least, would the conditions the Airports Commission placed upon building a third Heathrow runway be met?Certainly, the measures would make a real difference. Davies said Heathrow needs to be a better neighbour; the airport accepts it. Some campaigners see an opportunity: a third runway could actually give more respite for those who now live under the approach to Britain’s busiest airport, especially if a ban on night flights is enforced. While new neighbourhoods would clearly suffer, it would share out the pain of aircraft over London more fairly, and enlarge the constituency of people set to erupt at any breach of Heathrow’s promises. Continue reading...
A third runway could throw air quality standards and UK climate targets to the windThe UK government’s Airports Commission has recommended that a new runway at Heathrow should go ahead, but only with a legally binding commitment to control air and noise pollution.If the government decides to act on Howard Davies’ recommendation (and doing so would be a political minefield) Londoners will be forgiven for treating any air quality guarantees with a heavy pinch of salt. Continue reading...
Join experts on Wednesday 8 July, 1-2pm BST, to discuss the role business can play in promoting healthy diets and tackling the obesity epidemicRecent decades have witnessed the rise of cheap, calorie-loaded diets in countries as diverse as the US, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. In the UK, the price of an ice-cream halved between 1980 and 2012 yet the price of fresh vegetables tripled, according to a recent study from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).Meanwhile, the relative prices for fruit and vegetables in the middle-income countries of Brazil, China, Korea and Mexico increased by as much as 91% between 1990 and 2012, while the price tag of processed foods fell by up to 20%, according to the ODI study. Continue reading...
Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman urges David Cameron to make a quick decision on the expansion of Heathrow airport. At prime minister's questions in the House of Commons, Harman urges Cameron not to be bullied by Boris Johnson, the mayor of London. Cameron says there is agreement on the need for additional airport capacity Continue reading...
It’s July and while the northern hemisphere is basking in warm summer temperatures, the southern hemisphere wildlife are in the midst of winter. We’d like to see your photos of the July wildlife near you
by Angelique Chrisafis in Paris and agencies on (#CZTP)
Spell of sweltering weather expected to last several days as temperatures hit 40C and UN urges countries to develop better warning systemsEuropean countries including France, Spain, Italy and Britain have issued weather alerts and the United Nations has urged countries to create better warning systems as a heatwave sweeping western Europe was expected to push temperatures to a nine-year high on Wednesday.Related: Heatwave live: Britain swelters on hottest day of 2015 Continue reading...
Sir Howard Davies from the Airports Commission says Heathrow is a better option for expansion over Gatwick due to the economic benefits. He says Heathrow's plan was the strongest case for future airport capacity, delivering the greatest strategic and economic benefits. The £17bn expansion plan would mean 250,000 more flights a year, providing a £150bn boost to GDP over 60 years and 70,000 new jobs – but would mean demolishing 783 homes Continue reading...
Harmondsworth villagers say they will support direct action against any attempt to bulldoze 750 homes if government backs expansionCommunity leaders in Harmondsworth, the village that would be largely flattened to make way for a third runway at Heathrow, have reacted with anger at Howard Davies’s recommendation that the plan should go ahead – and alleged they were “deceived†by the government.Related: Davies report says new runway should be at Heathrow airport - Politics live Continue reading...
Defence white paper consultation report flags consequences of environmental pressures as a significant security risk for AustraliaThe Abbott government’s energy white paper made headlines for its curious reluctance to mention climate change – but the looming defence white paper may prove to be a different story.A report on community consultations associated with the defence white paper flags the consequences of climate change, extreme weather events and environmental pressures as a significant security risk for Australia – second only to the risks posed by terrorism.
The mayor of London gives his reaction to Sir Howard Davies' report on Wednesday outlining recommendations for airport expansion in the south-east. Johnson, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, says proposed restrictions on a third runway at Heathrow airport would inevitably be overturned and lead to a fourth Continue reading...
Electric car sales have fallen far short of predictions, but the global push to cut carbon emissions and improved techology could see them poised to hit the mainstream, says Renault-Nissan’s head, Carlos GhosnCarlos Ghosn, the fast-talking head of the Renault-Nissan alliance, is not keen to be drawn on targets for electric car sales. A 2011 prediction of 1.5m Renault-Nissan electric vehicles by 2016 turned out to be wildly optimistic. The group just passed the 250,000 mark.Ghosn was not alone. President Barack Obama predicted 1m electric cars in the US by 2015: in January the total was 280,000. Virgin boss Richard Branson, adept as ever at grabbing headlines, said this week that “no new road cars will be petrol driven†within 20 years, calling combustion engines “complicated and antiquatedâ€. Continue reading...
Ghanian cardinal who unveiled the encyclical on climate change is vital to the pope’s vision of an outward-engaging church acting for the poorWhen Pope Francis decided after his election in 2013 that he wanted to transform the Catholic church’s teaching on ecology and equality – and put a call for environmental action at the heart of his papacy – Peter Turkson might not have been considered the best candidate to lead the mission.Although the Ghanaian cardinal was seen as affable and charismatic, his judgment had been called into question a year earlier when he aired an alarmist YouTube video about Islam during a Vatican meeting of bishops. The video, called Muslim Demographics, was criticised as “fear-mongering†and “propaganda†by Vatican Radio. Even the Vatican spokesman distanced himself from the clip, saying it did not represent the bishops’ views. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham, transport correspondent on (#CYWV)
Airports Commission says £17bn expansion is ‘clear and unanimous’ choice but should include night flight ban and laws against ever building a fourth runwayDavies report says new runway should be at Heathrow - Politics liveA third runway should be built at Heathrow, the Airports Commission has recommended, but only if it can meet stringent conditions on noise and air pollution.Those conditions should include a ban on night flights, legally binding caps on noise and air quality – and legislation to rule out ever building a fourth runway. Continue reading...
Wenlock Edge This lone orchid is as wonderful as the whole meadowThe bee orchid opens its beautiful strangeness a few inches above ground. Surrounded by lady’s bedstraw, common whitlowgrass and wild thyme, the orchid appears as a lone curiosity, a magnet drawing attention from the wide world above into the small, intimate world of the meadow.Late, because of a cold start, the wild flowers seem more prolific than previous years, but there are worryingly few butterflies and moths around yet. There are a few small heath butterflies, each the size of a quartered old bus ticket. They are swift and flighty, and their erratic movement through the air and camouflage when they fold up in the grass may be all that protects them from being eaten by birds. Continue reading...
CoE sells £1.6m stake, citing ethical concerns over UK firm’s controversial plans to drill in the Congo national park that’s a last stronghold for endangered mountain gorillasThe Church of England (CoE) has sold its stake in a British oil and gas company over allegations of bribery, corruption and human rights abuses and what it said was the company’s failure to unequivocally rule out drilling for oil in Africa’s oldest national park.London-listed Soco International has been criticised in the past two years by conservationists including WWF and Sir David Attenborough for its attempt to drill in Virunga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is a world heritage site and home to around half the world’s mountain gorillas. Continue reading...
by Katharine Murphy Deputy political editor on (#CYCR)
Australia’s foreign minister says Beijing’s position known ‘for some time’ as world’s largest emitter vows to cut carbon emissions by 60-65% from 2005 levelsAustralia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has played down the significance of China unveiling its post-2020 emissions reduction target, saying Beijing’s position has been known “for some timeâ€.
CIDSE, international alliance of Catholic social justice groups, follows Pope Francis’s environmental encyclical by calling for action against global warming
Erpur Snær Hansen, director of ecological research at the South Iceland Nature Centre, has been investigating the puffin population of the Westman Islands since 2007. If surface sea temperatures remain at current levels or higher, Hansen says, the entire puffin population of south and west Iceland will disappear in the next 10 to 20 years. Continue reading...
In terms of our response to climate change, politicians seem to have largely forgotten about the lighter evenings bill of 2010, which could save up to 450,000 tonnes of CO a year (Report, 23 June). Aesthetic opposition, or obstructional attitudes, as Pope Francis says (Report, 19 June), cannot be allowed to derail this policy any more. Unlike HS2, for instance, lighter evenings is a low-cost policy and can be fully reversed. If advancing the time by an hour is genuinely problematic, then the UK and Irish governments should work together for a compromise solution, such as a half hour advance all year, or extending summer time. This should be in conjunction with other measures, such as safer walking routes, off-road cycling and improved local public transport to save energy and reduce pollution.
National park authority backs plan to dig mile-deep shaft under protected moorland and tunnel 16km inland from coast, with promise of 1,000 jobsA small corner of one of Britain’s most stunning national parks will be dug up to make way for a £1.7bn potash mine after locals were wooed with promises of more than 1,000 jobs – and the idea of restoring the proud mining heritage of the north-east of England.After a four-year planning wrangle, members of the North York Moors National Park Authority were cheered on Tuesday when they narrowly gave the green light to UK firm Sirius Minerals – via its subsidiary York Potash – to dig a mile-deep shaft under heavily protected moorland overlooking Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay. Continue reading...
Environment watchdog investigates RN Yuganskneftegaz for water protection violations due to leak at Nefteyugansk that threatens to enter Ob riverRussia’s environmental watchdog has opened a case against state-owned oil corporation Rosneft after a pipeline leak resulted in oily water filling backyards and flowing out of locals’ taps in Siberia.
by Suzanne Goldenberg, Dan Roberts and agencies on (#CWZY)
President Dilma Rousseff pledged to restore 12m hectares of deforested land and increase renewable energy use by 2030 as part of climate partnership with US
The European commission put bold plans to scrap waste on hold last year, but is preparing to present a new and improved proposalIn December last year, the European commission stepped back from its circular economy package, which had included a ban on sending recyclable materials to landfill by 2025 and a target for EU states to recycle 70% of municipal waste by 2030.While Friends of the Earth condemned the commission’s decision, it was an outcome that the lobby group BusinessEurope had hoped for, arguing that the package would inhibit the competitiveness of European businesses. Continue reading...
The bestselling author, futurist and computer scientist tells Marc Gunther that ideas and well-regulated markets will solve the climate change challengeFuturist and author Ramez Naam is an optimist, even when it comes to the problem of climate change.Related: Naomi Klein: the hypocrisy behind the big business climate change battle Continue reading...
China submits carbon-curbing plan to UN ahead of Paris climate change summit, saying it will ‘work hard’ to peak emissions earlier than 2030 targetChina will aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 60-65% from 2005 levels under a plan submitted to the United Nations ahead of crucial climate change talks in Paris later this year.The pledge has been eagerly awaited as the country is the world’s largest carbon emitter. Continue reading...
With high expectations from the 2012 mayoral election and experienced London Assembly members standing down, the Green Party in the capital needs to choose its candidates for 2016 well
If Britain fails to meet its own ambitions on climate change, we lose opportunities for increased food production, new jobs, and new growth areasIn November, representatives from 196 countries will meet in Paris to try to agree a deal to prevent dangerous increases in global temperatures.Efforts to date aim to begin the “peaceful divorce†between greenhouse gas emissions and economic growth: no longer do the two need to go together. Last year was the first year where the world economy grew but greenhouse gas emissions did not. We wait to see if this is an indication of a broader trend or a blip. Continue reading...
