Environment | The Guardian

There is nothing Australians like more than running over living things in their car

Exclusive: wildfires, once rare in the UK, more than doubled last year to nearly 24,000 with devastating effects on wildlife habitatsWildfires recorded by UK fire brigades surged in 2022 amid extreme heat and droughts, new figures show, as a growing number of fire services invest in new equipment to deal with the rising fire risk due to climate change.Figures obtained by the Guardian under Freedom of Information Act requests show the number of wildfires recorded by fire brigades in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland more than doubled last year, reaching 23,699 in 2022, compared with 9,307 the year before. Continue reading...

IEA says firms are announcing more projects but waiting for government support before investingThe global push for clean hydrogen is being held back by rising costs and lagging" policy support from governments, a report has found.Announcements of low-emission hydrogen projects are rapidly expanding but developers are waiting for government support before investing in them, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The report found hydrogen made through processes that are clean or less polluting account for less than 1% of the gas's total production and use. Continue reading...

Bifenthrin was found in water, sediment and crayfish samples from Hazelbrook Creek, the Environment Protection Authority says

Critics decry lack of political will in Serbian capital to clean polluted air that residents say they can feel and taste'When the Yugoslav prime minister Demal Bijedi promised to clean the country's air at a conference in Belgrade in 1974, a reporter from the New York Times wrote that there was little hope of early relief for the city's residents, who felt the pollution was getting worse. The choking, sulphurous atmosphere of Belgrade and several other major Yugoslav cities reddens eyes, shreds nylon stockings and ruins pianissimo passages in the concert hall because of the nearly continuous coughing it causes in audiences," the writer said.Half a century later, residents of Belgrade are still holding their breath. I have asthma and it's killing me," says Dejan, 40, a graffiti artist and MC who runs a paint shop in the industrial Palilula district. It's not smog, man, it's a black fog. You cannot see." Continue reading...

Tally rises to 27,000 but is still a far cry from former half a million, and Javan and Sumatran rhino remain critically endangeredGlobal rhinoceros numbers have increased to 27,000 despite populations being ravaged by poaching and habitat loss, new figures show, with some species rebounding for the first time in a decade.Rhinos numbered about 500,000 across Africa and Asia in the 20th century but their populations have been devastated. Last year, they began showing signs of recovery in some areas, although two species - the Javan and Sumatran - remain close to disappearing. Continue reading...

UK climate watchdog said policy change would make it more difficult to meet legal commitmentsRishi Sunak is likely to face a series of legal challenges aimed at thwarting his plans to U-turn on net zero policies amid further international condemnation of the proposals.Though the prime minister sought to shrug off criticism on Thursday, the UK's independent climate watchdog joined the voices of concern, saying it was disappointed with changes that would make it more difficult for Britain to meet its legal commitments. Continue reading...

PM's claim he has rescued the electorate from multiple recycling bins a particular focus of online lampooningRishi Sunak's pledge to scrap a series of green measures has prompted ridicule from critics who say they were never a reality - and on social media have taken on a life of their own.You boy, which of the seven bins is it this week?" read the caption above an image of Scrooge - from the 1951 adaptation of A Christmas Carol - in a tweet lampooning the prime minister's claim he had spared people from being forced to recycle in as many different bins. Continue reading...

Move has drawn comparisons to UK, where Rishi Sunak has U-turned on environmental commitmentsThe Swedish government is facing a huge backlash - including threats of no-confidence votes against its climate minister - after slashing the country's climate budget while admitting it will dramatically increase carbon dioxide emissions.The minority-run coalition, which has been in power for just under a year, announced on Wednesday it would be cutting funding for climate and environmental measures next year by 259m krona (19m) and introducing tax cuts on petrol and diesel. Continue reading...

Recent temperatures among highest on record in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney with data stretching back more than 100 years

The prime minister said the UK was still on course to hit net zero targets despite announcements on Wednesday that he was rolling back key policies. Rishi Sunak said the UK was adopting a more 'proportionate and pragmatic way' to reach its climate goals and that he was 'absolutely confident that we are on track to hit all our international and domestic targets'

Prime minister ignores advice of official body and says UK still on track to meet 2050 target

Exclusive: Legislation was blocked by small group of peers who tabled more than 60 amendmentsLabour has urged ministers to resurrect a bill banning the import of body parts of endangered animals hunted overseas, which was blocked by a small group of peers, saying a failure to do so would leave the government complicit in the trophy hunting trade.The hunting trophies (import prohibition) bill, a private members' bill led by two Conservatives, Henry Smith, an MP, and Janet Fookes, a peer, has cross-party support and after passing all Commons stages appeared set to be approved by the Lords. Continue reading...

The BBC's Nick Robinson criticised the prime minister for announcing he had scrapped policies, including a tax on meat, that were never included in government policy. Rishi Sunak has said he is confident the UK will meet net zero by 2050, despite announcing delays to a number of green policies initially set out by the government. Sunak announced there would be a delay to banning petrol and diesel cars, which has sparked outrage from manufacturing companies for the government's lack of consistency

The Shipwrecked Mariners' Society has announced the winner of its 11th annual photography prize, which showcases the UK's relationship with the sea. Ian Watkin's surreal image of a fish embedded in a jellyfish beat more than 1,000 entries Continue reading...

Maria Neira highlights health impacts of dangerous pollution levels after Guardian investigation revealed scale of crisisPoliticians across Europe have a moral responsibility to urgently tackle the continent's dangerously polluted air, according to Maria Neira, the director of the World Health Organization's department of environment, climate change and health.On Wednesday a Guardian investigation revealed that Europe is facing a severe public health crisis, with almost everyone on the continent living in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution. Continue reading...

Decision by UK prime minister to water down key climate policies really shocking to me', says former US vice-presidentAl Gore, the former US vice-president, has described the decision by the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, to water down key climate policies as shocking and disappointing" and not what the world needs from the United Kingdom".Gore, now one of the world's foremost advocates for swift action to avert the climate crisis, told CNN: I find it shocking and really disappointing ... I think he's done the wrong thing. I've heard from many of my friends in the UK including a lot of Conservative party members who have used the phrase, utter disgust'. Continue reading...

More water company regulations and improvements at treatment plants needed to protect rivers, say authorsPollution from treated and untreated sewage is the greatest threat to river biodiversity, causing more damage than runoff from farms, according to research.There is a need for more regulation of water companies and improvements at their treatment plans to protect rivers, say the authors of the study. Continue reading...

Members of parliament and former politicians have reacted with scorn to Rishi Sunak's overhaul of the UK's net zero targets, which involved dropping several key policies and watering down others. Criticism came from across the political spectrum, with Tory MP Simon Clarke describing it as wrong and Green party co-leader Carla Denyer calling it a 'dangerous and desperate U-turn'

Antonio Guterres opened United Nations climate ambition summit with attack on wealthy countries and the fossil fuel industryHumanity has opened the gates to hell" by allowing the climate crisis to worsen, the secretary general of the United Nations has warned at a climate summit of leaders that saw angry denunciations of the fossil fuel industry but was undercut by the absence of many of the biggest carbon-emitting countries.Antonio Guterres opened the UN climate ambition summit, held in New York on Wednesday, with a lacerating attack on wealthy countries and the fossil fuel industry for their ponderous response to the climate crisis. Continue reading...

UK prime minister delays ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars as he pushes back net zero goals

BlueTriton, the company that owns Arrowhead brand, has been taking water from San Bernardino springs for more than 100 yearsCalifornia has ordered the company that owns Arrowhead bottled water to stop using some of the natural springs it has utilized for more than a century, following a years-long campaign by environmentalists to stop the operation.Regulators on Tuesday voted to significantly reduce how much water BlueTriton - the owner of the Arrowhead brand - can take from public lands in the San Bernardino mountains. The ruling is a victory for community groups who have said for years that the bottled water firm has drained an important creek that serves as a habitat for wildlife and helps protect the area from wildfires. Continue reading...

The prime minister has announced the scrapping or watering down of some of the UK's net zero targets, pushing back a ban on diesel and petrol vehicles from 2030 to 2035 and weakening a plan to phase out the installation of gas boilers by 2035

Red wall' constituents critical of prime mininster's plan to water down climate commitmentsRishi likes to jump on his little jet. I don't have a car, I don't fly on planes."In the opinion of Claire Savage, the manager of the Ironstone Miner pub in Guisborough, the prime minister's plan to water down net zero commitments that he says impose a direct cost on consumers is disingenuous. Continue reading...

PM accused of delaying vital work on transforming UK economy as car industry leaders also condemn plans

Labour criticises deputy PM's decision to use 158-seat Voyager instead of a scheduled service as wrong on every level'

My favourite bird, the fastest in the world, calls to something in me

Scientists confirm three birds have died from virus as park authorities redouble efforts to protect islands' endemic birdsNational park authorities on the Galapagos Islands have heightened biosecurity measures to protect the archipelago's unique fauna from the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza after scientists confirmed that three birds had died from the virus.From preliminary tests of the five specimens, three of them have tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza," Danny Rueda, director of the Galapagos national park told the Guardian. Two frigate birds and one red-footed booby were confirmed to have died from the virus on Tuesday, after samples were sent to Guayaquil on the Ecuadorian mainland for examination. Continue reading...

Program, modeled on a Roosevelt scheme, will serve as a major green jobs training program and will employ 20,000 young adultsPresident Joe Biden will use his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training program.In an announcement on Wednesday, the White House said the program would employ about 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires. Continue reading...

With some exceptions, the news industry is still not responding to the true scale and danger of global heatingIn much of what we see, hear and read, the climate crisis has become inescapable. On Netflix, Don't Look Up spent weeks as the most-streamed movie ever. Pop star Billie Eilish sings about hills burning in California. At the bookstore, climate fiction has become a genre of its own, while Jeff Goodell's The Heat Will Kill You First, a harrowing nonfiction account of what life on a warming planet will mean, is entering its second month on the New York Times Best Sellers list.And where is journalism in all of this? Despite our living through the hottest summer in history, as well as wildfires, tropical storms and crazy-hot oceans, the news media continues to be outdone by the rest of popular culture when it comes to covering the most urgent story of our time.Mark Hertsgaard, CCNow executive director, author, and environment correspondent for The Nation, and Kyle Pope, editor and publisher of Columbia Journalism Review, are founders of Covering Climate Now Continue reading...

Home secretary denies government backing away from net zero commitments but says it must take pragmatic approach'Rishi Sunak will not save the planet by bankrupting the British people", the home secretary has said, as she rejected claims that the government was backing away from its net zero commitments.Suella Braverman, one of many Tory MPs on the right of the party who fear green policies may cost the party votes at the general election, said the government's net zero targets were goals, not straitjackets". She commended the prime minister for making difficult decisions" before his expected move to weaken environmental policies. Continue reading...

North Macedonian capital is a PM2.5 hotspot where people live in fear for their health. Is there hope of change?The hills that circle Skopje keep citizens safe when smog grows thick, but they also trap the toxins that make its air among the most menacing of any city in Europe.The mountains are the only escape, says Katarina, a 33-year-old accountant, as she walks home from an evening hike. I was wearing a mask for air pollution before Covid." Continue reading...

The 42 known species of the parasitic plant Rafflesia, known as the corpse flower, are endangered due to destruction of forest habitatsParasitic, elusive and emitting an overwhelming odour of putrefying flesh, Rafflesia - often called the corpse flower - has intrigued botanists for centuries. Now, scientists are warning that it is at risk of extinction and calling for action to save it.The blooms of the Rafflesia have become famous for their odour of decaying meat, produced to attract flesh-eating flies. But the genus - which includes the largest flowers in the world, at more than a metre across - is at risk due to the destruction of forest habitats in south-east Asia. There are 42 species of Rafflesia, and researchers warn that all of them are under threat, with 25 classified as critically endangered and 15 as endangered. Continue reading...

After experiencing a record-breaking number of extremely hot' days in summer, the unusually high temperatures are due to continueMatsutake mushrooms and persimmons have appeared on supermarket shelves, along with seasonal beers and sakes. In Tokyo neighbourhoods, residents carry portable shrines through the streets at festivals to mark the end of summer, and children get ready for school sports days.Autumn, though, has yet to make an appearance in Japan. Instead, experts are warning that the crisp, sunny days that usually offer relief at the end of a sweltering summer are still some way off, with one describing the weather as abnormal". Continue reading...

Despite a $100m effort over 14 months to stop the invasive parasite, scientists say eradication is no longer possible

Majority of offset projects that have sold the most carbon credits are likely junk', according to analysis by Corporate Accountability and the GuardianThe vast majority of the environmental projects most frequently used to offset greenhouse gas emissions appear to have fundamental failings suggesting they cannot be relied upon to cut planet-heating emissions, according to a new analysis.The global, multibillion-dollar voluntary carbon trading industry has been embraced by governments, organisations and corporations including oil and gas companies, airlines, fast-food brands, fashion houses, tech firms, art galleries and universities as a way of claiming to reduce their greenhouse gas footprint.A total of 39 of the top 50 emission offset projects, or 78% of them, were categorised as likely junk or worthless due to one or more fundamental failing that undermines its promised emission cuts.Eight others (16%) look problematic, with evidence suggesting they may have at least one fundamental failing and are potentially junk, according to the classification system applied.The efficacy of the remaining three projects (6%) could not be determined definitively as there was insufficient public, independent information to adequately assess the quality of the credits and/or accuracy of their claimed climate benefits.Overall, $1.16bn (937m) of carbon credits have been traded so far from the projects classified by the investigation as likely junk or worthless; a further $400m of credits bought and sold were potentially junk. Continue reading...

Plans set to be announced on Friday could include delaying ban on sales of new petrol and diesel carsRishi Sunak is planning to row back on some of the government's net zero policies that impose a direct cost on consumers as the Conservatives attempt to create a dividing line with Labour before the next election.The Guardian understands that the move, expected to be announced in a major speech this Friday, could include delaying a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and watering down the phasing out of gas boilers. Continue reading...

Prof Lesley Hughes and others say there is cognitive dissonance' between Labor's stated commitment to the climate crisis and its policiesThe Australian government is missing half the equation" in acting on the climate crisis by backing a shift to renewable energy but having no plan to get out of fossil fuels, according to an author of a new scientific review.Prof Lesley Hughes is a leading climate change scientist and member of the independent Climate Council and government advisory body the Climate Change Authority. Hughes said there is a cognitive dissonance" between Labor's stated commitment to addressing the problem and the pace at which it is moving. Continue reading...

These beady-eyed, bulletproof birds are an adaptive species - and their lift and lilt is like a flight path that takes me safely home

Report says climate change made rainfall heavier but human factors turned extreme weather into humanitarian disasterCarbon pollution led to heavier rains and stronger floods in Greece and Libya this month but other human factors were responsible for turning the extreme weather into a humanitarian disaster", scientists have said.Global heating made the levels of rainfall that devastated the Mediterranean in early September up to 50 times more likely in Libya and up to 10 times more likely in Greece, according to a study from World Weather Attribution that used established methods but had not yet been peer-reviewed. Continue reading...

Media crackdown follows reports that police officers had detained and questioned Libyan reportersLibya's eastern government has ordered journalists to leave Derna after angry protests against the authorities a week after a flood killed thousands of residents.Hundreds of people gathered on Monday outside Sahaba mosque in the city, chanting slogans. Some sat on its gold-domed roof. Later in the evening, a crowd set fire to the house of the man who was Derna's mayor at the time of the disaster, Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi. Continue reading...

Melting ice caps and rising sea levels are urgent but people care more about the floods, wildfires and droughts that are here now, New York summit hearsFloods, wildfires, drought and the onslaught of extreme weather are driving a global health crisis that must be put at the centre of climate action, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.The climate crisis is a health crisis; it drives extreme weather and is taking lives around the world," Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, said. Melting ice caps and rising sea levels are, of course, crucial issues, but for most people they are distant threats in both time and place. The threats of our changing climate are right here and right now." Continue reading...

Chris Byrne says snake nicked my arm and drew blood' when he encountered the reptile in his homeThe owners of conservatories are used to dealing with the odd creature that creeps in - wasps, bees, moths. But Rob Byrne had a much bigger beast to tackle when an 11ft-long (3-metre) reticulated python slithered in through the window of his sunroom in a Hampshire village and gave him a nip.Byrne said he had been locking up his conservatory doors when he noticed a movement at a set of blinds. It tried to bite me and coil around me. It nicked my arm and drew blood," he said. My wife and granddaughter came into the conservatory, saw it, and screamed." Continue reading...

Tour operator says more people are choosing to holiday in cooler autumn months

A decade after Hurricane Sandy, critics of a federal plan that allocates billions to protect the region from rising waters are calling it a failure of imagination'The retired FDNY firefighter Patrick Kilgallen remembers the night well. In late October 2012, the approach of Hurricane Sandy up the US Eastern Seaboard coincided with a spring tide, propelling a surge of storm water that crashed into New York City and its surrounds, causing more than $70bn (56bn) in damages, mostly from flooding.When water from the ocean and bayside came coursing up the street, Kilgallen was with his family at home, one block in from the wooden boardwalk, at Rockaway Beach - a barrier island off Queens that faces the Atlantic Ocean and has become known as the Irish Riviera" for its large population of Irish-American families, including many New York City firefighters and police officers. Continue reading...

Study finds species groups are going extinct 35 times faster than the previous million years because of human activityGroups of animal species are vanishing at a rate 35 times higher than average due to human activity, according to researchers, who say it is further evidence that a sixth mass extinction in Earth's history is under way and accelerating.Scientists analysing the rate at which closely related animal species have gone extinct in the past 500 years have found they would have taken 18,000 years to vanish in the absence of humans, and the rate at which they are being lost is increasing. Continue reading...

Rail networks in most countries have been starved of funding while motorways lengthen, study showsEuropean governments have systematically" shrunk their railways and starved them of funding while pouring money into expanding their road network, a report has found.The length of motorways in Europe grew 60% between 1995 and 2020 while railways shrank 6.5%, according to research from the German thinktanks Wuppertal Institute and T3 Transportation. For every 1 governments spent building railways, they spent 1.6 building roads. Continue reading...

Underinvestment in infrastructure will have serious consequences for environment and security of water supplies, committee saysTherese Coffey has been complacent" in dealing with water companies, risking water shortages as well as extreme environmental consequences, a House of Lords committee has said.In a letter to the environment secretary, the peers criticised her department's dismissive brevity and complacent tone" in response to their report published earlier this year, which found water companies had been too focused on maximising financial returns at the expense of the environment. Continue reading...

Action came as world leaders begin arriving in New York for the UN general assembly and after Sunday's march to end fossil fuelsOne day after the largest climate march since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, hundreds of climate activists blockaded the Federal Reserve Bank in New York to call for an end to funding for coal, oil and gas, with police making scores of arrests.Fossil fuel companies ... wouldn't be able to operate without money, and that money is coming primarily from Wall Street," Alice Nascimento, environmental campaigns director at New York Communities for Change, said hours before she was arrested. Continue reading...

Study in US shows one day a week of remote working cuts emissions by just 2% but two or four days lowers them by up to 29%