New ecocide bill in Scottish parliament aims to criminalise environmental destruction in line with EU directiveCompany directors who cause severe or reckless damage to nature could face jail terms or hefty fines under a bill that aims to criminalise environmental destruction in Scotland.The proposed law, which would be the first of its kind in the UK, is designed to put a class of environment offences known as ecocide on a similar legal footing to other grave crimes such as murder. Continue reading...

One person missing and Blatten devastated after huge cloud of ice and rubble inundates evacuated townA huge section of a glacier in the Swiss Alps has broken off, causing a deluge of ice, mud and rock to bury most of a village evacuated earlier this month due to the risk of a rockslide.Drone footage broadcast by Swiss national broadcaster SRF showed a vast plain of mud and soil completely covering part of the village of Blatten, the river running through it and the wooded sides of the surrounding valley. Continue reading...

Tax expected to generate nearly $100m annually, to be used for projects such as replacing sand on eroding beachesHawaii's governor signed legislation that boosts a tax imposed on hotel room and vacation rental stays in order to raise money to address the consequences of the climate crisis.It's the first time in a government in the US imposes such levy to help cope with a warming planet. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Andre Correa do Lago says answers have to come from the economy' as climate policies trigger populist-fuelled backlashThe world is facing a new form of climate denial - not the dismissal of climate science, but a concerted attack on the idea that the economy can be reorganised to fight the crisis, the president of global climate talks has warned.Andre Correa do Lago, the veteran Brazilian diplomat who will direct this year's UN summit, Cop30, believes his biggest job will be to counter the attempt from some vested interests to prevent climate policies aimed at shifting the global economy to a low-carbon footing. Continue reading...

Court rejects argument that man's home is at risk from glacial flood but sets precedent that polluters may be held liable for costsA German court has rejected a climate case brought by a Peruvian farmer against the German energy company RWE, but set a potentially important precedent on polluters' liability for their carbon emissions.The upper regional court in Hamm confirmed that companies could be held liable for climate damages in civil proceedings but rejected the argument by the farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya that his home was at direct risk of being washed away by a glacial flood. Continue reading...

Government's draft legislation also includes ban on releasing disposable party balloons into the environmentThe Spanish government is preparing a law that will oblige wet wipe manufacturers to cover the costs of cleaning huge wads of their product from the country's clogged-up sewers and water-treatment plants.The draft legislation, which is intended to help Spain meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and comply with EU legislation on reducing single-use plastic products, will also ban people from disposing of wet wipes down the toilet, as well as prohibiting the deliberate release of disposable party balloons containing plastic into the environment because of the marine pollution they cause. Continue reading...

The keeper's death led to questions over safety, rattled the tightly knit group of sentinels and renewed de-staffing fearsOn a cloudy but calm morning early in April, a helicopter touched down on a string of remote islands off British Columbia's Pacific coast. One person alighted; two others climbed onboard and the aircraft rose into the sky.The lone man made his way towards Triple Island lighthouse, an octagonal concrete tower erupting from the trio of islets. Fringed with barnacles, rockweed and algae, the rocky cluster sits on Canada's west coast, a seascape notorious for its battering storms, heavy fog and hostile waters. Continue reading...

Flamingo Lodge - constructed from repurposed shipping containers on stilts - replaces Florida facility battered by hurricanes Katrina and WilmaA collection of repurposed shipping containers, welded together and fitted out to create an innovative new eco-hotel inside one of the country's most popular national parks, offers a vision of revival and resilience at the beginning of another potentially active Atlantic hurricane season.The containers exist as the elevated 24-room Flamingo Lodge at the exposed southern tip of Florida's Everglades national park. It was built to replace the 1960s-era cinderblock construction that was finally demolished in 2009, four years after back-to-back hurricanes, Katrina and Wilma, tore it apart. Continue reading...

As Ofwat imposes two fines totalling 123m, environment secretary says era of profiting from failure is over'

The government has suggested the material, which it describes as low risk, could also be used in roads and infrastructure in other parts of Japan.Slightly radioactive soil from near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will be transported to Tokyo and used in flower beds in the prime minister's garden, in an attempt to prove to a skeptical public that the material is safe.The decision comes 14 years after the plant suffered a triple meltdown in the world's worst nuclear accident since Chornobyl. Continue reading...

Data also shows small but shocking' likelihood of year 2C hotter than preindustrial era before 2030There is an 80% chance that global temperatures will break at least one annual heat record in the next five years, raising the risk of extreme droughts, floods and forest fires, a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has shown.For the first time, the data also indicated a small likelihood that before 2030, the world could experience a year that is 2C hotter than the preindustrial era, a possibility scientists described as shocking". Continue reading...

Unless something extraordinary happens, Labor's new environment minister, Murray Watt, looks set to extend the life of a huge Woodside gas plant in Western Australia.The decision hinges on the impact of the plant's continued operation on Murujuga rock art. A summary of an 800-page rock art monitoring report, released by the WA government, suggested concerns were overblown. However Adam Morton, Guardian Australia's climate and environment editor, says a deeper reading of the report is ringing alarm bells for some rock art experts

Nestle is among UK companies taking part in project to design out' waste by redistributing surplus productMillions of meals worth of wasted food could be redistributed thanks to an artificial intelligence tool being trialled by companies across the UK, including Nestle.The AI tool, which has already generated an 87% reduction in edible food waste at one of the Swiss conglomerate's factories over its first two-week trial period, is intended to design out" food waste by providing real-time monitoring, tracking and insights of wasted ingredients and products. Continue reading...

The TV naturalist's comments come after a Guardian investigation into the complex supply chain behind the fish on sale on Britain's high streetsRead more: The hidden cost of your supermarket sea bassNaturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham has condemned British supermarkets for a dereliction of duty" over food labelling and sourcing, as a joint investigation by the Guardian and environmental website DeSmog reveals that the retailers are selling fish from farms that import large quantities of fishmeal from Africa.Factories in Senegal grind down small, edible fish into meal that is then sold on to fish farms in Turkey, fuelling unemployment and food insecurity in the African country. Continue reading...

Wind turbines have become a financial lifeline in rural areas, but state legislators are now targeting themAs a Republican state lawmaker for 16 years, a Texas rancher and a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, John Davis's conservative credentials are impeccable. But Davis has become horrified at his party's assault upon an increasingly vital lifeline to many rural, conservative areas of the US - clean energy development.Davis allowed seven wind turbines to be situated on his ranch, in the rolling hill country near Menard, west of Austin, and has seen the income provide opportunities not only for his family but also his local community in what is one of the poorest counties in Texas. Continue reading...

Band of water where marine life can survive has reduced in more than a fifth of global ocean between 2003 and 2022Great swathes of the planet's oceans have become darker in the past two decades, according to researchers who fear the trend will have a severe impact on marine life around the world.Satellite data and numerical modelling revealed that more than a fifth of the global ocean darkened between 2003 and 2022, reducing the band of water that life reliant on sunlight and moonlight can thrive in. Continue reading...

Haze hits Sydney suburbs on Tuesday morning after crossing NSW from SA and Victoria

Friends and colleagues of Phillips, killed in the Amazon in 2022, completed his book, which coincides with launch of investigative Guardian podcastThree years after the British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian activist Bruno Pereira were murdered in the Amazon, two major new projects will celebrate their lives and work - and the Indigenous communities and rainforests both men sought to protect.Friends of Phillips have completed the book he was writing at the time of his death - How to Save the Amazon - which will be published in the UK, the US and Brazil on 27 May. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese visits mid-north coast as police warn of un-Australian' looting during clean-up

Experts are calling for stricter limits on numbers of those flocking to Baja California Sur to swim with the animals in the wild. But some local tour operators are not convincedJust after sunrise in the small village of La Ventana in Baja California Sur, the beach is bustling with wetsuit-clad tourists. They climb into Mexican fishing boats and race out into the windy blue bay, cameras at the ready. The fishers turned tour guides follow a couple of ocean safari yachts, which follow directions from pilots sent up in spotter planes. The goal of this 40-boat cavalcade? To enable swimming with orcas in the wild.Swimming with orcas in Mexico falls into a legal grey area as it exploits loopholes in two Mexican laws that protect endangered marine wildlife. This has become particularly problematic in the past five years since selfies with the whales on social media have led to an increase in the number of people wanting to try the activity. Continue reading...

Governments must help households to make the switch to cleaner energy, and change the rules so that the benefits and costs are fairly shared

Braunschweig court gives two former executives prison sentences for roles in emissions test-cheating scandalA German court has convicted four former Volkswagen managers of fraud and given two of them prison sentences for their part in the dieselgate" emissions test-cheating scandal that erupted almost a decade ago.The former head of development Heinz-Jakob Neusser received a suspended jail term of one year and three months from the court in the city of Braunschweig, according to the news agency Bloomberg. Continue reading...

Upemba lechwe considered one of world's rarest large mammals with fewer than 100 thought to remainA photograph of Africa's forgotten antelope" has been published for the first time as the elusive creature dives towards extinction.Fewer than 100 Upemba lechwe are thought to remain, with an aerial survey in the Kamalondo depression of the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo having recorded 10 individuals. Continue reading...

Environment minister Murray Watt is due to make a decision on whether to extend the controversial North West Shelf development in coming days

Exclusive: Disaster Relief Australia pushes for funding deal as it positions itself as alternative to ADF in aftermath of floods, fires and cyclones

Volunteers, organized by landscape architecture firm Terremoto, clear invasive plants and restore native fauna: It's a years-long relationship with the land' Continue reading...

Brutal heat and drought expected to blanket country from Nevada to Florida as experts worry climate cuts will burnThis year's summer months promise to be among the hottest on record across the United States, continuing a worsening trend of extreme weather, and amid concern over the impacts of Trump administration cuts to key agencies.The extreme heat could be widespread and unrelenting: only far northern Alaska may escape unusually warm temperatures from June through August, according to the latest seasonal forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

For decades, the men and women of the Venezuelan Crocodile Specialist Group have been raising younglings of the critically endangered species in a race against time to avoid its extinction Continue reading...

Local options such as rooftop solar and battery storage could play larger role in backing up power system, Aemo says

Green groups and industry warn axing of Moonlight Range Wind Farm project risks undermining confidence in renewables

Crisafulli government's $88m plan for more shark nets and baited drum lines at popular beaches may fall foul of federal laws

A groundbreaking tree-planting programme is uniting farmers and rewilders, as portions of common ground in the Yorkshire Dales national park are being restored to their ancient glory

Shane Jones is unapologetic about his plan to double mineral exports to $3bn over the next decade despite criticism over potential environmental impactsNew Zealand's minister for resources, Shane Jones, said he will not be guilt-tripped by apocalyptic images" of mining and its effects on the environment put forward by his critics, as he embarks on a major mining push.Jones, a member of the minor populist coalition party New Zealand First, wants to double mineral exports to $3bn over the next decade, to boost economic growth and minimise the country's reliance on imported resources, even if it results in environmental trade-offs. Continue reading...

Stark warnings about threatened coastal areas should prompt fresh efforts to protect those most at riskIn his classic study of the 17th-century Dutch golden age, The Embarrassment of Riches, the art historian SimonSchama showed how the biblical story of Noah's ark resonated in a culture where catastrophic floods were an ever-present threat. The history of the Netherlands includes multiple instances of storms breaching dikes, leading to disastrous losses of life and land. These traumatic episodes were reflected in the country's art and literature, as well as its engineering.In countries where floods are less of a danger, memories tend to be more localised: a mark on a wall showing how high waters rose when a town's river flooded; a seaside garden such as the one in Felixstowe, Suffolk, to commemorate the night in 1953 when 41people lost their lives there. Continue reading...

Like many in the region, the third-generation farmer is burying his dead stock. He says he is at breaking point'

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Ten years after the reintroduction of western quolls and brushtail possums into the Ikara-Flinders Ranges national park, rangers say populations of the once-locally extinct mammals are flourishing. In a joint effort between Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered Species and the South Australian government, the animals live in 'safer havens' in the park where predator numbers have been reduced Continue reading...

Differing interpretations of public access rights are at heart of Brockwell case pitting campaign group against festival fansPublic parks have been a cherished part of British life since the 19th century; for the Victorians they represented a commitment to cultivate public good within the public realm".But differing interpretations of this vision for municipal green space are at the heart of a debate over a very 21st-century issue: music festivals. Continue reading...

Nettles, hedge garlic, sticky weed: Britain in May is a lush salad bar that I can't resist, and it's doing wonders for my skinI had a daughter during one of the bone-cold early months of this year, which means that my full-time job is now to produce a yield. Between the hours of dawn and midnight, with a few lactic minutes in between, I am a feeding machine for a new person.And it is this, perhaps, that has led to my somewhat strange new eating habits. Pregnancy may traditionally be the time associated with cravings and aversions - the old cliches of sardines and jam, coal and creosote, bread and crackers. But here, in my postnatal feeding frenzy, I'm eating nettles by the handful. I am chomping on sticky weed. I have been biting the heads off dandelions (bitter - like really serious dark chocolate) and sucking the nectar from inside honeysuckle. This recent chlorophyll gala has, of course, coincided with England's greatest month: May. Some of us love the look of May, some of us enjoy the smells. But for me, this year, the greatest heady, verdant, leaf-rich pleasure of my life is to eat May by the bushel.Nell Frizzell is a journalist and authorDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Reefs off the Keys have lost 90% of healthy coral cover in 40 years, but replanting effort aims to make reef more resilientA taskforce of experts looking into the mass bleaching and decline of Florida's delicate coral reefs is planting more than 1,000 nursery-grown juveniles from the reef-building elkhorn species in a new effort to reverse the tide of destruction.Record ocean heat in 2023 hastened the death spiral for reefs in the Florida Keys, which have lost 90% of their healthy coral cover over the last 40 years, largely because of the climate emergency, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). Continue reading...

New rules for zoos and aquariums include guidance on elephant enclosures and ban on touching fishZoos will be obliged to boost conservation efforts and improve animal welfare under the first revision of mandatory standards for the sector in more than a decade.Under the update to the Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain, last set out in 2012, elephants will need to be kept in larger enclosures and birds of prey must be kept in large aviaries rather than being tethered. Continue reading...

Backbencher says it's time to resolve the issues of access to the English countryside once and for all'Labour backbenchers are pressing the government to revive a right to roam policy in England after a supreme court ruling enshrined the right to wild camp on Dartmoor.The court ruled this week that camping on the national park was legal after a multimillionaire hedge fund manager tried to remove the right to camp on his Devon estate, and by extension from the rest of the park. Continue reading...

Two-month-old black bear, who was starving in a California forest, is youngest cub the San Diego center has cared forHuman bears, some would say, are taking care of a two-month-old cub that spent days without his mother, starving in a California forest.The small black bear cub was rescued by campers in Los Padres national forest after being found alone and starving. The infant bear is now recovering at San Diego Humane Society's Ramona Wildlife Center, and is believed to be the youngest cub the organization has ever cared for. Continue reading...

President aims to construct new nuclear reactors as he implements his own energy policies and undoes Joe Biden'sDonald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Friday intended to spur a nuclear energy renaissance" through the construction of new reactors he said would satisfy the electricity demands of data centers for artificial intelligence and other emerging industries.The orders represented the president's latest foray into the policy underlying America's electricity supply. Trump declared a national energy emergency on his first day in office over and moved to undo a ban implemented by Joe Biden on new natural gas export terminals and expand oil and gas drilling in Alaska. Continue reading...

MPs had previously backed Conservative amendment to ask developers to provide hollow bricks for endangered birdsProviding every new home with at least one swift brick" to help endangered cavity-nesting birds has been rejected by Labour at the committee stage of its increasingly controversial planning bill.The amendment to the bill to ask every developer to provide a 35 hollow brick for swifts, house martins, sparrows and starlings, which was tabled by Labour MP Barry Gardiner, has been rejected by the Labour-dominated committee. Continue reading...

The Brazilian photographer has died at 81, leaving behind a career filled with striking images taken around the world. Through the lens of his camera, Sebastiao tirelessly fought for a more just, humane and ecological world,' a statement from his family read.

Brazilian photographer's work highlighted injustice and introduced rainforest to the world

Party spokesperson says policy has clear benefits for securing jobs and energy independence'Reform UK has promised to reverse the government's ban on fresh North Sea oil and gas drilling as a day one" priority if elected to power, with the taxpayer taking a stake in the projects.Richard Tice, the party's deputy leader, has met with senior UK oil executives in recent weeks to pledge the party's support for the industry, which has been hit hard by the government's windfall tax and moves to block fresh North Sea exploration licences. Continue reading...

Chris Weston, CEO of Britain's biggest water company, faces questions over paused' executive bonus schemeThe chief executive of Thames Water has been ordered to tell MPs whether any executives have received payments from a controversial bonus package taken from a 3bn loan.Britain's biggest water company admitted last week that senior managers were in line for substantial" bonuses linked to an emergency 3bn loan. Thames claimed the payouts were vital to retain staff and prevent rival companies from picking off" its best employees. The disclosure provoked fury as the company has said its finances are hair-raising" and that it came very close to running out of money entirely" last year. Continue reading...

Farm country voted for Trump in 2024, but many of his actions - from tariffs to federal cuts - are hurting growersDonald Trump may have won the votes of the US's most farming-dependent counties by an average of 78% in the 2024 election. But the moves made by his administration in the past few months - imposing steep tariffs, immigration policies that target the migrant labor farmers rely on, and canceling a wide range of USDA programs - have left many farmers reeling.The policies of the Trump administration are wreaking havoc on family farmers. It's been terrible," said John Bartman, a row crop farmer in Illinois. Bartman is owed thousands of dollars for sustainable practices he implemented on his row crop operation as part of the USDA's Climate-Smart program. Continue reading...