Environmental law charity claims energy firm cannot achieve net zero goal with current transition planAn environmental law charity has lost an attempt to revive a lawsuit against Shell over its climate strategy after the high court in London refused permission to bring a case against the energy company.ClientEarth, which holds 27 shares in Shell, argues that the company cannot achieve its aim of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 with its current climate transition strategy, and its directors are therefore breaching their duties to shareholders. Continue reading...
Licences UK has approved in last two years will result in carbon dioxide matching annual emissions of Denmark, Greenpeace findsNew oil and gas licences for the North Sea that the UK government has approved in the past two years will produce as much carbon dioxide as the annual emissions of nearly 14m cars, or the entire yearly emissions of Denmark, analysis has shown.This amount - about 28m tonnes of carbon dioxide over the lifetimes of the fields - will be increased more than eightfold, if potential licences under consideration are also granted, according to data from public sources analysed by Greenpeace. Continue reading...
Discovery of dark bordered beauty males where caterpillars were released raises hopes species can be revivedA moth on the brink of extinction in Britain and reared for the first time in captivity has been found flying at a site where its caterpillars were released.The dark bordered beauty is clinging on in just three places in Britain but its numbers are being increased by a conservation project to establish new populations in the Scottish Highlands. Continue reading...
New suit charges that the EPA disregards ethanol production's impact on endangered species as it is directed to study under lawThe US biofuel program is probably killing endangered species and harming the environment in a way that negates its benefits, but the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is largely ignoring those problems, a new federal lawsuit charges.The suit alleges the EPA failed to consider impacts on endangered species, as is required by law, when it set new rules that will expand biofuel use nationwide during the next three years, said Brett Hartl, government affairs director with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), which brought the litigation. Continue reading...
Footage from the Greek island of Rhodes shows a huge fire and thick plumes of smoke rising, which has forced 19,000 people to flee and threatened resorts and coastal villages. Firefighters were struggling to contain 82 wildfires across the country, 64 of which started on Sunday, the hottest day of the summer so far
UK minister declines to advise people not to travel to island despite Greece undertaking largest-ever evacuation effortUp to 10,000 British tourists are stranded on the Greek island of Rhodes, the UK government has said, as wildfires sweep across the popular holiday destination.A Foreign Office minister declined to advise people not to travel on Monday, suggesting instead that they contact their tour operator. Continue reading...
Indigenous people and experts say Moscow's military push and increased shipping and mining will destroy Arctic environmentThe Barents Sea port of Severomorsk is the base of the Russian navy's Northern Fleet and, since 2014 - when Russia first invaded eastern Ukraine - it has become the main administrative hub for all of Russia's Arctic military activities.As the war in Ukraine grinds on, Russia is not so quietly expanding its military activities in this region, too. In the past six years, Russia has built 475 military sites along its northern border. The Kola peninsula and the archipelagos of the Barents Sea have seen dozens of new airstrips, bunkers and bases. Continue reading...
Oil and gas facilities along the Gulf coast have long been a major market for speciality insurance carriersResidents of coastal Louisiana are facing growing risks from flooding and extreme weather, with options for home insurance vanishing as insurers leave the state. But the fossil fuel industry operating nearby has no such worries.Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals have been springing up along the fragile Gulf coast, securing insurance even as their product contributes to the climate crisis and its growing risks, including more intense hurricanes and increased coastal flooding that are driving away residents. Continue reading...
Government claims 98% success rate for cloud seeding but critics urge improving irrigation and water supply systemsAmid a historic heatwave and months of drought, Mexico's government has launched the latest phase of a cloud seeding project it hopes will increase rainfall.The project, which began in July, involves planes flying into clouds to release silver iodide particles which then, in theory, will attract additional water droplets and increase rain or snowfall. Continue reading...
by Aubrey Allegretti Chief political correspondent on (#6D70A)
London mayor is open to ideas to mitigate impact on residents, but not on scheduling of policy some blame for loss of byelectionSadiq Khan is open to new ideas for mitigating the impact of the anti-pollution levy in London being expanded next month, but refusing to back down on the planned timing of its implementation.Despite pressure from some in Labour for city hall to rethink the policy they believe lost the party the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection on Thursday, the mayor is determined for it to come into force. Continue reading...
Teamsters union members are prepared to hold the largest single-employer strike in US history over heat protectionsAs a UPS delivery driver in Dallas, Texas, Seth Pacic is intimately familiar with the dangers of extreme heat. After a long day's work through record-breaking temperatures in summer 2011, he found himself dry heaving in the parking lot, incapable of driving home until he spent an hour and a half in the air-conditioned office.It was one of the worst feelings I've ever had in my entire life," he said. I didn't feel like I fully recovered for a couple of weeks." Continue reading...
Fossil fuel-producing members dispute goal of tripling renewable capacity by 2030The G20 bloc of wealthy economies meeting in India failed to reach a consensus on phasing down fossil fuels on Saturday after objections by some producer nations.Scientists and campaigners are exasperated by international bodies' foot-dragging on action to curb global heating even as extreme weather across the northern hemisphere underlined the climate crisis facing the world. Continue reading...
by Michael Savage, Toby Helm and Robin McKie on (#6D6KC)
Science and business leaders say lurch away from climate agenda after byelections would be deeply unpopular with voters and damage UK's reputationBritain's leaders have been warned against a politically suicidal" lurch away from their green pledges as concerns grow that both major parties may dilute their plans to combat the climate crisis in the wake of a shock byelection result.Senior figures from business, the scientific community and across the political divide warned that any watering down of climate policies would be deeply unpopular with voters, set back the international fight to reach net zero and damage Britain's green reputation. Continue reading...
by Michael Savage, Toby Helm and Skyler King on (#6D6FD)
Labour takes in lessons of Ulez debacle while Sunak emboldened to put clear blue water between parties after byelection results Read more: the general election will be a referendum on Sunak, not UlezAs a beaming Rishi Sunak appeared for a fleeting early morning media clip in Ruislip's Rumbling Tum cafe in west London on Friday, anyone tucking into their fry-ups who was unaware of the results of last week's three byelections could have been forgiven for thinking that the prime minister had secured a huge breakthrough.The Labour party has been acting like it's a done deal - the people of Uxbridge just told all of them that it's not," he told the film crew in his brief visit. When confronted with the actual reality of the Labour party, when there's an actual choice on a matter of substance at stake, people vote Conservative." Continue reading...
by Amanda Ulrich in Death Valley national park on (#6D6FQ)
National park has seen remarkable temperatures this summer with some intentionally, and some accidentally, caught in the heatwaveAround every desolate curve of road in Death Valley national park, official signs warn of peril.Heat kills!" cautioned one flyer at popular Zabriskie Point, as tourists streamed by on Thursday afternoon to marvel at a dramatic vista beyond. A photo of a red tombstone completed the dire message: Don't become a Death Valley victim." Continue reading...
Body found near where two-year-old Matilda Sheils was carried away as search continues for her nine-month-old brother, ConradThe body of a young girl was recovered on Friday in the Delaware River and was believed to be a two-year-old who was one of two children swept away from their family's vehicle by a flash flood last weekend, authorities said.The body was found in the early evening near a Philadelphia wastewater treatment plant about 30 miles (50km) from where Matilda Sheils was carried away, authorities said in a nighttime news conference. Continue reading...
Campaigners' pressure sees London mayor withdraw approval for stoves billed as better for the environmentThe mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has withdrawn his endorsement of wood-burning stoves promoted as environmentally friendly" after a surge in sales of the appliances, which contribute to harmful air pollution.In 2018, Khan endorsed the Ecodesign stoves, which comply with new regulations in an EU directive on minimum energy efficiency standards that came into force on 1 January last year, in order to encourage householders to switch from open fires and older stoves to more modern technology. He said Londoners could make a big difference by using the right kit". Continue reading...
Despite extreme heat and weather in the US, most Americans aren't cowering in fear. There's a psychological reason for itThis summer in the United States, millions of people have experienced the intense effects of the climate crisis. The heat dome" that has gripped the south-west for the past three weeks is expanding into the south-eastern states. Catastrophic flooding in the north-east has claimed lives and wiped out farmers' crops. And the worst wildfire season in Canadian history has not only caused tens of thousands of Indigenous people to be displaced, but the accompanying smoke has also billowed over into the north-eastern and midwest US, setting records for poor air quality. In many cases, these events have caused irreparable damage and trauma to those directly affected, and can certainly feel like they're encroaching on those people on the periphery. And yet despite the fact that we're living through a climate disaster, most Americans aren't cowering in fear every day about the future of our planet. There's a psychological reason for that.For one, the climate crisis is a much lower priority for Americans than other national issues, such as the economy and healthcare costs. That isn't to say that we aren't concerned: two-thirds of Americans say they are at least somewhat worried" about global warming, while 30% are very worried", per a Yale University survey. But because of the nature of the way that many humans experience fear, connecting this emotion to something as vast and complex as the climate crisis is difficult. According to Brian Lickel, a social psychologist who researches human responses to threats, we aren't designed to remain in a high state of fear for long. A very fundamental feature of the normal kind of expected emotional processing is hedonic adaptation," he said. Our emotion system is designed to be labile, to go up or have certain responses, but then to not stick there." Continue reading...
Country braces for hottest July weekend in 50 years as firefighters battle 79 forest blazesThe heatwave engulfing Greece is expected to be the longest in the country's history, with temperatures forecast to reach a 50-year high for July this weekend.Kostas Lagouvardos, the director of research at the Athens National Observatory, told ERT television: According to the data, we will probably go through 16-17 days of a heatwave, which has never happened before in our country." Greece defines a heatwave as a period when temperatures reach or exceed 39C (102F). Continue reading...
Labour leader tells policy forum the party needs to learn from loss of west London seatSir Keir Starmer has said the Labour party must be doing something very wrong" over the controversial Ulez expansion policy after its loss in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection.In a speech at the national policy forum in Nottingham on Saturday, the Labour leader said that despite the party's success at the Selby and Ainsty byelection, its loss in Uxbridge and South Ruislip showed there was still a long way to go". Continue reading...
by Emily Cataneo in Jamestown, Virginia on (#6D6C4)
Fruit and nut explorers traverse the US on an ecological mission to preserve the last cultivars of old and important plantsEliza Greenman plucks a wrinkly, canoe-shaped leaf from a tree and cradles it in her hands before sliding it into a plastic freezer bag. She's standing beneath a mulberry tree in a field on the banks of the Mattaponi River, a tributary that cuts through eastern Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay. Greenman had to sleuth to find this historical mulberry, which is meandering, ancient, studded with unripe, spiky white fruits, gnarled with English ivy and a distinctive wave pattern on its bark.It's so cool to imagine that this field was potentially all just mulberries," Greenman says, staring out at the shimmery rye across the road. Continue reading...
Avatar and Titanic director says Titan sub team failed to address most obvious risks' and voices support for deep-sea miningExploring the greatest depths of the ocean is safer than getting an elevator and safer than getting on an airplane" James Cameron has said. But the Canadian director of Hollywood blockbusters added that the team behind the recent ill-fated expedition to the Titanic lacked the imagination to engineer against the most obvious risks" to any deep sea voyage.In an interview with the Guardian, Cameron said that when he travelled to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench - the deepest known point on the Earth - in a custom-made submersible, we imagined just about every risk that was humanly possible - and we engineered against all of them." Continue reading...
Virus has spread around the world, with 200,000 wild birds dead in Peru alone and concerns Australia could be nextMillions of wild birds may have died from bird flu globally in the latest outbreak, researchers have said, as the viral disease ravages South America, with 200,000 deaths recorded in Peru alone.The highly infectious variant of H5N1, which gained momentum in the winter of 2021, caused Europe's worst bird flu outbreak before spreading globally. The disease reached South America in November 2022, and has now been reported on every continent except Oceania and Antarctica. Continue reading...
Erratic behavior observed in some sharks could be result of them ingesting bales of cocaine cast overboard by passing traffickersMove over, Cocaine Bear. Here come cocaine sharks.In what could be the plotline for the next cheesy marine-themed disaster movie, scientists think crazed and hungry sharks could be feasting on bales of hallucinatory drugs dumped off the Florida coast. Continue reading...
The country's first mining boom' drove its oyster reefs to near extinction. But a new generation of artists has a voice their ancestors never didMegan Cope calls it the first mining boom", one that drove Australia's oyster reefs to near extinction. First, British colonists raided the enormous piles of shells and animal bones Indigenous people had gathered after feasting and ceremony, mixing these middens with water into a lime slurry for building the new colony.Then, once these Aboriginal architectural forms" - sites of carbon-dated evidence of traditional life - were exhausted, the colonisers began demanding live oysters to eat. They sent fishers to deploy harmful extractive processes on the reefs. Within 15 to 20 years of the British arriving, the landscape changed so incredibly," says Cope. Our ancestors were witness to that, but powerless, of course." Continue reading...
Tourism sites including Acropolis to close during hottest parts of day as temperatures set to remain over 40CGreece is set to endure its hottest July weekend in 50 years, a top meteorologist has warned, as the country wilts under a prolonged heatwave set to last well into next week.Government ministries have advised people to work from home where possible and not to venture out unnecessarily. The exceptional temperatures also mean key tourism sites will be closed during the hottest part of the day. Continue reading...
Protest on private lot the latest episode highlighting tensions as climate crisis diminishes Seattle's urban canopyWith ropes, a harness, a hammock and a bucket pulley system, masked activists in Seattle have taken residence in the branches of an old, thick cedar tree to prevent it from being cut down to make way for new homes.The protest on a private lot is the latest episode highlighting tensions behind tree policy in Seattle as the climate crisis increases temperatures and urban canopy decreases. Continue reading...
Experts fear for health of corals and other marine life as about 1m sq km of ocean experience prolonged elevated temperaturesA marine heatwave has broken out along more than 2,000km of the Queensland coast, raising concerns for the health of corals on the Great Barrier Reef and other ocean life.Satellite data managed by the US National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) shows the heatwave started to emerge at the end of June. Continue reading...
Surfers Against Sewage's annual audit finds 12 companies responsible for 70% of branded pollutionCoca-Cola, McDonald's and PepsiCo have been named as the biggest packaging polluters in the UK, according to an annual audit.The campaign group Surfers Against Sewage examined more than 30,700 individual polluting items collected by 4,000 citizen scientists alongside coastlines, canal paths, bridleways and city streets over a 12-month period up to 5 June 2023. Continue reading...
Activist and photographer Alicia Bruce has documented the residents and landscape of Menie in Scotland, detailing 16 years of Donald Trump's impact on the area where he built a golf course. Her work honours the community who have refused to bow down, sell up or be pushed around by Donald Trump'. I Burn But I Am Not Consumed is published by Daylight Books Continue reading...
Humans are eating more seafood than ever, and we are removing fish from the ocean at a far greater rate than they can replenish. What can be done?Seafood is a vital source of protein for more than 3.3 billion people. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects the need for a 15% increase in global fish consumption by 2030; its director-general, QU Dongyu, calls the growth of fisheries and aquaculture vital in our efforts to end global hunger and malnutrition".There's one big problem: the growth rate of the global wild-fish catch peaked in 1963 and plateaued in the 1990s. It has been in slow decline the past few years. When it comes to the wild-fish catch, we are most likely past peak fish". Continue reading...
After hottest day ever, researchers say global heating may mean future of crop failures on land and silent dying' in the oceansSuccessive heatwaves threaten nature's ability to provide us with food, say researchers, as they warn of an unseen, silent dying" in our oceans amid record temperatures scorching the Earth.Heatwaves are ripping through Europe, the US and China, with the global hottest day ever recorded at the start of July, endangering human life as well as the land and sea it depends on. Continue reading...
Our planet faces ecological catastrophe. Private flights are untenable and morally indefensibleLast Friday, I was arrested along with a group of climate activists for blocking the entrance to the East Hampton airport in New York and stopping private jet arrivals and departures. Many people have asked me why.The truth is I am terrified of the future of our climate, and I believe that non-violent civil disobedience is the best way to create transformative change. I have covered disruptive protest and social issues in my films, and supported movements through philanthropy. So, at 63, I decided it was time for me to stand in protest with other activists, to put my body on the line.Abigail E Disney is an Emmy-winning documentary film-maker and activist and the great-niece of Walt Disney Continue reading...
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on (#6D4T7)
Detailed analysis finds plant diets lead to 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than meat-rich onesEating a vegan diet massively reduces the damage to the environment caused by food production, the most comprehensive analysis to date has concluded.The research showed that vegan diets resulted in 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than diets in which more than 100g of meat a day was eaten. Vegan diets also cut the destruction of wildlife by 66% and water use by 54%, the study found. Continue reading...
Campaigners lose judicial review of decision to approve plan by UK Oil & Gas to drill on agricultural landFossil fuel prospectors have cleared another hurdle on their path to drill for oil and gas near an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) in the Surrey Hills after campaigners lost a judicial review of the plan.Opponents of the plan to sink an exploration well near the village of Dunsfold argued it was inconsistent with a decision to refuse a similar application on the basis of the greenhouse gas emissions it would produce. Continue reading...
Trade association, which promotes hydrogen for home heating, called for clean heat market mechanism to be pushed back to 2026Lobbyists for the gas boiler industry are trying to delay the introduction of new government measures to speed up the take-up of heat pumps, a leaked document shows.The move, in a draft document obtained by the DeSmog investigative journalism group and seen by the Guardian, appears to be part of an intensive two-year lobbying effort by a key gas boiler industry organisation, which has been critical of heat pumps, and promoted hydrogen for home heating to government and opposition parties, despite strong evidence of its unsuitability. Continue reading...
Susan Hall's lack of enthusiasm for active travel reflects a view within the party in sharp contrast with other major European citiesAmong the political strands exposed by the Conservatives' decision to pick Susan Hall to stand for London mayor - not least the apparent unlikeliness that she can win - is one that might seem niche but is in fact arguably very telling: what it says about active travel.Anyone who has observed Hall in her six years as a London assembly member, and especially her energetic and often outspoken Twitter feed, will have realised she is not a fan of cycle lanes, cycling, or indeed of cyclists themselves. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: How countries have responded to record-breaking temperatures - and what it will take to change minds and policy Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.When the temperature in Sicily is approaching 50C, you know something is wrong.New Zealand | Two people died and six people were injured after a shooting at a building site in Auckland city centre, hours before the Women's World Cup is due to start. The gunman was also dead. New Zealand's PM, Chris Hipkins, said the World Cup would proceed as planned.Politics | Almost 200,000 families living under Labour-run councils are affected by the two-child benefit cap, a Guardian analysis has revealed. Keir Starmer's decision not to scrap the policy if Labour wins power has led to attacks from anti-poverty campaigners and disquiet from senior figures in the party.Health | MPs have urged the government to introduce restrictions on the packaging and marketing of disposable vapes to tackle the alarming trend" of children using these addictive products. The health and social care committee said there should be restrictions on how e-cigarettes are sold, in line with those applied to tobacco products.Slavery | Caribbean countries are considering approaching the UN's international court of justice for a legal opinion on demanding compensation from 10 European countries over slavery, as the fight for reparative justice is stepped up. Ralph Gonsalves, the current leader of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, said he is also looking for an apology from the British government and expressed disappointment in Rishi Sunak's lack of engagement in the matter.Strikes | A strike by train staff in the RMT union will severely affect rail services across Britain in the next week. About 20,000 RMT members at 14 train operators will strike for 24 hours on Thursday and again on Saturday, coinciding with the end of a week-long overtime ban by train drivers in the Aslef union. The 10 days of transport disruption will coincide with the peak summer holiday getaway weekend. Continue reading...
Tatton Park flower show features garden of flowering plants whose heady scents at night attract crucial but invisible' pollinatorsGardens should be as attractive to pollinators at night as they are in the day, horticulturalists have said, as they present a moth-friendly version at a flower show in Cheshire.The RHS nocturnal pollinators experience garden at Tatton Park flower show, which began on Wednesday, showcases flowering plants that produce heady scents at night to attract moths, which a 2020 study found were crucial but invisible" pollinators. Continue reading...