Environment | The Guardian

Australia used twice as much electricity as China on a per capita basis and 48% of it came from coal plants, thinktank says

Cary Fowler says world needs to produce 50-60% more food by middle of the century but global heating is expected to reduce yield rates

An image of a peregrine falcon tackling a brown pelican that ventured too close to its nest in California is the overall winner of the world's largest bird photography competition, which had more than 20,000 entries from all over the world competing for a 5,000 grand prize Continue reading...

The party's clashing factions table series of amendments supporting and opposing renewables developmentBritain's energy security and progress to net zero are under threat as the energy bill enters the Commons again.Warring factions of the Tory party have tabled amendments to the bill including relaxing rules on onshore wind permissions, banning certain types of solar developments and softening a ban on oil boilers. Continue reading...

Downing Street is hoping to satisfy Tory rebels, but developers say changes would leave effective ban in placeMinisters will this week announce a series of changes designed to make it easier for developers to win planning permission to build onshore wind turbines.The government could publish proposals as soon as Tuesday on how to adapt the planning system to stop local authorities standing in the way of almost every new wind power development on land. Continue reading...

Their five jaws are arranged in a shape Aristotle described as a lantern' but should have called a horrible beak'Sea urchins are as sinister as they appear. Ten years ago, in California's vast, wavy kelp, sea urchins started to eat and breed, and eat and breed, and over seven years destroyed most of the underwater forests. Then they settled on the floor of their wasteland, forming spiny purple carpets, clicking urchin barrens along 150km of coastline. A major marine heatwave had damaged the kelp and a sea star wasting syndrome" killed the urchins' main predator, sunflower sea stars.Could they be eaten by us or by otters? They could not. They had entered a zombie state and contained very little uni, the rich meat inside the urchin's shell. And they are prepared to stay that way: dormant, alone - until they spot any kelp sprout that dares to breed out of the dead land and eat it before another urchin can. They are method actors performing The Waste Land, and we are students in an English lesson late on a hot afternoon, trying not to fall asleep as we listen to TS Eliot's voice on a scratchy recording, a recording that sounds like it was made in a room full of urchins, faintly clicking their spines:What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow

National response urgently needed to prevent further extinction of native flora and fauna, advocates say

Oil-producing African nations argue they should be able to use fossil fuel resources for economic growthAfrican leaders and campaigners are at odds over the way forward for the continent as a critical climate summit begins in Nairobi.Some countries, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa, have been expanding their renewable energy access and leading transition efforts on the continent, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Continue reading...

At least 3,500 harmful invasive species recorded in every region on Earth spread by human activity, says UN reportInvasive species are costing the world at least $423bn every year and have become a leading threat to the diversity of life on Earth, according to a UN assessment.From invasive mice that eat seabird chicks in their nests to non-native grasses that helped fuel and intensify last month's deadly fires in Hawaii, at least 3,500 harmful invasive species have been recorded globally in every region, spread by human travel and trade. Their impact is destructive for humans and wildlife, sometimes causing extinctions and permanently damaging the healthy functioning of an ecosystem. Continue reading...

Hollow bricks are easy win' to help several endangered species, say experts and Zac Goldsmith who is tabling amendment

This year's heatwaves have been a huge challenge - and scientists predict 2024 will likely break records againIt's been a record-breaking summer of heatwaves across large parts of the US and the world, and trying to stay cool and safe has been an unprecedented challenge.There has been a rise in heat-related fatalities; companies and organizations have been under greater pressures to protect workers; and officials from small towns to the White House have been scrambling to respond. Continue reading...

Recent studies from the US have seen evidence for health harms from oil and gas projects grow substantially stronger', experts say

Since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement banks have provided some $3.2tn to the fossil fuel industry to expand operationsBanks are pouring trillions of dollars into the expansion of the world's most emitting industries in the global south, according to a new report.Developing countries are often on the frontlines of the climate crisis yet lack the resources to enact climate action plans. As such, they require trillions of dollars in aid to decarbonize their economies and adapt to a warming world. Continue reading...

Spanish research centre achieves first tank-bred Atlantic bluefin as NGOs warn of poor welfare, more antibiotic use and water pollutionThe first successful breeding of Atlantic bluefin tuna at a Spanish research centre has spurred at least two companies to ramp up plans for the industrial farming of land-bred tuna.The companies would be the first to use only tank-bred Atlantic bluefin stocks of fertilised eggs or young tuna. Up to now, farming of Atlantic bluefin has relied on catching young wild fish and fattening them in open-sea cages. Continue reading...

Ministers hope to make it easier for councils to pass planning applications for new turbines in move that has Labour supportRishi Sunak is reportedly planning to revoke the ban on building new onshore windfarms in order to head off a row with Conservative MPs for the second time.Ministers are preparing to introduce changes to planning rules that will allow councils to give the go-ahead to turbine proposals where there is broad public support, according to the Telegraph. Continue reading...

Campaigners speak out amid suggestion government could reject Climate Change Committee's adviceRishi Sunak faces electoral carnage" if the government rejects its climate advisers' recommendations on halting airport expansion, a coalition of community groups have warned.The prospect of a renewed political battle around airport growth in various parts of England has been reignited amid concern from campaigners at suggestions the government could reject the Climate Change Committee's (CCC) advice that all such expansions must be halted. Continue reading...

Australia has to make the case it is an attractive place to live with a solid commitment to renewable energy to counter America's Inflation Reduction Act, experts say

An unusually wet winter tamped down conditions so far in 2023, but experts say the state can't afford to rely on luckAs the Labor Day holiday weekend draws the summer to a close, it's been an unusually quiet season for fires across the American west.Roughly 80,000 hectares (2m acres) have burned across the country so far, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), roughly 61% less than the 10-year average for this time of year. The decrease has been particularly pronounced in the fire-prone west, which has grown accustomed to seeing swaths of their parched forests and browning hillsides ignite but has largely been given a reprieve from a summer of smoke-filled skies. Continue reading...

Return to the wild will boost biodiversity, but government accused of backing out of schemeThey were some of the country's most resilient residents, creatures that shaped and nurtured our environment for millennia. Few animals could beat the beaver as a restorer of blighted landscapes, say scientists.This ecological prowess means Castor fiber has a crucial role to play in helping the nation to revitalise its biodiversity and find solutions to the impacts of climate change, these researchers argue. However, they have become alarmed that a government scheme to reintroduce beavers across England is being held back by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Continue reading...

I welcome robust discussion, but this obsession with Ulez is an attempt to sow discord and divisionLondon's ultra-low emission zone expanded to the Greater London boundary on 29 August - making it the largest clean air zone in the world. Five million more Londoners will now breathe cleaner air - helping to prevent early deaths, protect children growing up with stunted lungs and reduce serious health issues such as asthma, cancer and dementia.Nine out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London on an average day already meet the strict emissions standards and their drivers will not have to pay the charge, but will see the benefits of cleaner air. The Ulez will also help to tackle climate change and congestion. Continue reading...

Mayor of London defends scheme and accuses Tories of trying to sow division and discord'

Mylene Vialard, 54, found guilty after Minnesota trial beset by legal irregularities after effort to block fossil fuel pumping stationA non-violent environmental activist has been found guilty of felony obstruction for her role in trying to halt construction of a fossil fuel pipeline through Indigenous territory in Minnesota, in a trial beset by legal irregularities which ended with the prosecutor demanding jail time.Mylene Vialard, 54, was arrested in August 2021 after attaching herself to a 25ft bamboo tower erected to block a pumping station in Aitkin county, northern Minnesota. Continue reading...

Paintings from a climb that retraced an 1800s route on western Europe's highest mountain reveals the extent of the peak's melting iceA British landscape artist who recreated a climb made 150 years ago to document the impact of the climate crisis on western Europe's highest mountain says what he found was so grim it reminded him of the dark paintings" of Francisco de Goya.James Hart Dyke ascended Mont Blanc's ancien passage north face, the route taken in 1786 by the first climbers to reach the summit. It was also the same one taken in August 1873 by French painter Gabriel Loppe, whose climb inspired Hart Dyke's own. Continue reading...

Typhoon Saola has made landfall in southern China after leaving a trail of destruction in Hong Kong. Thousands of trees were felled and boats sank in the city's harbour. Nearly 900,000 people had been evacuated in Hong Kong and China while business, transport and schools were suspended in advance of the typhoon making landfall

From wilting wheat to stressed pollinators, US farmers and fishermen see unexpected climate effectsThis week, farmers across the midwest are preparing for temperatures to reach 115F (46C) as a heat dome covers the region. After a tricky growing season - that seesawed between drought and unseasonably heavy rains - many midwestern farmers worry the extreme heat will scorch, or at least stunt, their already struggling crops.To say it's been a hot summer would be an understatement. According to Nasa scientists, July was the hottest month ever recorded. Off the coast of Florida, surface ocean temperatures soared over 101F, bleaching coral reefs. In Arizona, Phoenix residents sweated through a record 31 consecutive days above 110F. Even animals that spend much of their time in the sky, like birds, struggled to keep cool in the sweltering heat. Continue reading...

From clean water activists to Nessie hunters and Chrissie Hynde to Phoebe Bridgers: the best original photographs from the Observer commissioned in August 2023 Continue reading...

Community around Juniper Hill Field wants to stop wildflower-rich land being divided into small plotsA hilltop meadow of flower-rich limestone grassland in the Cotswolds is under threat, according to residents, after it was divided into four-acre plots for people seeking to buy leisure land" in the countryside.The Save Juniper Hill Field campaign wants to list the eight-hectare (20-acre) field close to the poet Laurie Lee's childhood home as an asset of community value" to stop it being parcelled up by Woodlands.co.uk, which specialises in buying tracts of land and reselling it in relatively small plots. Continue reading...

Local Aboriginal land council says at least six crocodiles have been found shot dead in the past two months

Two years after Galataport opened to fanfare as a tourism success story, not everyone is happy about how it has transformed the Turkish coastlineEven if you don't see them, the sound is inescapable. Mammoth cruise ships have become so familiar to those living near the Istanbul port that some local people have taken to studying the arrival times to avoid having to look at them. But they can't escape the noise: a booming horn that ricochets over the surrounding hills. Ships from one particular cruise line even honk the theme to the television show The Love Boat as it pulls into port.They're huge," says a waiter, who gave his name as Ali, at a municipal cafe on a hill that directly overlooks Galataport, the purpose-built dock and luxury complex for cruise ships. It completely obscures the view when they arrive." Continue reading...

Search under way for two cubs after man shoots rare bear dead, reportedly telling police he fired out of fearItalian politicians and wildlife experts have condemned the fatal shooting of an endangered brown bear, as a search was under way for her two cubs.Amarena was one of the most popular of the Marsican brown bears in the Abruzzo national park in central Italy, often pictured in and around the area with her offspring. Continue reading...

Expansion of metallurgical coalmine in Queensland will add 31m tonnes alone with activists accusing Albanese government of being reckless

Garie beach, currently only accessible via hour-long hiking trails, will have controversial anti-shark technology restored in heavily criticised move

George Eustice given consultancy job with Augean, which had to pay 36,000 after groundwater contaminatedA former UK environment secretary is to take a consultancy role with a waste management firm that had to pay 36,000 after an Environment Agency (EA) investigation found contamination of groundwater at a site.George Eustice, who was the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs from February 2020 until September 2022, is joining Augean, a waste treatment company with sites across the UK. Continue reading...

Graham Stuart says if reforms to energy charter treaty not passed by November, UK would consider exitThe UK could pull out of the international energy charter treaty if attempts to reform it fail, the energy minister, Graham Stuart, has said.The energy charter treaty (ECT) is a system of secret courts that enables companies to sue governments over policies that would cut their future profits. Companies have sued over phasing out coal-fired power stations, ending offshore oil drilling and banning fracking, with some receiving large taxpayer-funded payouts. Continue reading...

Experts warn that global heating is exacerbating inherent dangers of high altitude mountaineeringAvalanches in the Himalayas are causing an increasing number of deaths and threatening the safety of climbers, research suggests.While high-altitude mountaineering comes with an inherent avalanche risk, global heating is exacerbating the danger during the climbing season in the Himalayan mountain range, experts warn. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs, including hungry puffins, arctic rabbits and curious bears Continue reading...

There has been a lot of commentary about how to measure the cost of renewables - but much of it misses the point

Stronghold Digital Mining contends it is repurposing waste material, but those living near by are outraged by the proposalA crypto-mining company in Pennsylvania is seeking to burn tires to produce bitcoin, prompting an outcry from residents and environmental groups.Stronghold Digital Mining says it is repurposing waste materials, while opponents worry about the risks of emissions to human health. Continue reading...

Activists say that whales will still suffer agonising deaths despite new regulations and monitoringAnimal rights groups and environmentalists have described as hugely disappointing" the news that Iceland has given the green light for commercial whaling to resume, after a temporary ban introduced this year came to an end.The Icelandic government said there will be tougher regulations in place - including better equipment, training and increased monitoring - but campaigners said these were pointless and irrelevant" because whales will still suffer agonising deaths. The hunted whales are shot with grenade-tipped harpoons. Continue reading...

Conservation officers believe animal was shot and dragged into Squamish River in British ColumbiaConservation officers in Canada are asking the public for help after the body of a grizzly bear was discovered floating in a British Columbia river.This week, the province's conservation service said it was investigating the illegal killing of the bear, after remains were discovered near the town of Squamish. Continue reading...

Money owed by Recharge Industries to the Geelong Cats include unpaid hospitality packages that typically involve premium match-day seating

Discovery that most canids in Australia are not hybrids with wild dogs leads researchers to push to change policy and terminology

Do the charity's accusations that the government has reneged on a range of environmental pledges stand up to scrutiny?If the RSPB hoped to raise awareness about the perplexing concept of nutrient neutrality" their post calling Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove and Therese Coffey LIARS!" worked: it has, to date, been viewed by five million people.You lie, and you lie, and you lie again," the conservation charity declared on X, formerly Twitter, listing a number of environmental statements from the trio over recent years. Continue reading...

Analysts estimate the category 3 storm has already racked up a preliminary cost of $9.36bn, straining the insurance industryHurricane Idalia could become the costliest climate disaster to hit the US this year, analysts say, with massive implications for the insurance and risk management industries.The category 3 storm that barreled into Florida's west coast from the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, then carved a path of destruction and flooding through Georgia and the Carolinas, has a preliminary price tag between $9.36bn, based on early estimates, from risk analysts at UBS, and $18bn-$20bn calculated by AccuWeather. Continue reading...

Prof Hugh Durrant-Whyte calls for overhaul of environmental regulation to prevent further fish deaths

Plant Heritage calls for volunteers to grow rare pollinator-friendly plants in their homes or gardensPeople in the UK are being urged to keep rare plants in their living rooms or gardens to help create a national collection" that can save pollinator-friendly plants from becoming extinct.Plant Heritage, a charity that works to keep rare garden flowers growing even when they are out of fashion, has started a campaign to protect pollinator-friendly plants and is asking for volunteers to set up a collection.Astrophytum: With large yellow flowers in late spring and summer, these North American cacti will survive in a cool glasshouse if kept dry. International plant breeders have created many highly ornamental hybrids and cultivars, too.Campanula: Also known as bellflowers, these distinctive open, bell-shaped flowers can be blue, pink, purple or white. There are about 80 species and 232 cultivars available.Colocasia: These dramatic foliage plants can be grown outside in a warm, sheltered spot, or in greenhouses or conservatories. There are 19 cultivars available. Continue reading...

June hunt in Alaska that killed 99 bears and five wolves prompts activists to renew their call for crackdown on rogue states'The US federal government has been accused of simultaneously paying to protect endangered species while funding state-organized hunts of large, endangered predators, like gray wolves and grizzly bears, that increase the likelihood of their extinction.A coalition of more than 35 animal welfare and Indigenous groups in late 2021 formally petitioned the US Department of the Interior to develop rules to withhold money from state agencies that fund the slaughters". But the department has not responded to the petition, the groups allege. Continue reading...

Beccy Speight says frustration at weaker protections' prompted criticism of Sunak, Gove and Coffey

Sites cover less than 1% of planet and although protected are at risk from climate breakdown and human consumption, say expertsA fifth of known life on Earth can be found in Unesco world heritage sites, according to the first survey of the planet's most important cultural and historical landmarks.From the Great Barrier Reef to the Kazakh steppe, nearly three-quarters of all recorded bird species, two-thirds of all mammals and more than half of all hard corals have been recorded at world heritage sites even though they cover less than 1% of the planet, according to the new analysis produced by Unesco and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Continue reading...

Hurricane Idalia tore into Florida with powerful winds splitting trees in half, ripping roofs off hotels and turning small cars into boats. After coming ashore in the state's Big Bend region, the storm swept into Georgia where it flooded roads and sent some residents fleeing to higher ground Continue reading...