The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

As the climate crisis changes habitats across the Arctic and drives the animals closer to people, the search is under way for new ways to live togetherIt's pretty easy to know when there's a bear in your community - you hear the shots going off," says Churchill's mayor, Mike Spence. That's the conservationists' patrols - they use a 12-gauge shotgun with a noise-banger cartridge on it as a deterrent. The sound also means our people know there's a bear in the community."The town of Churchill, on the west shore of Hudson Bay in the far north of Manitoba, Canada, is known as the polar bear capital of the world. The fact that bangers" - rather than live rounds - are being used here marks a significant shift in attitudes. Back in the early 1970s, people would shoot a bear," says Spence. Now people use a shotgun to move the bear out of the community." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lib Dems call for water companies to be more transparent with their data on sewage spillsThames Water has pumped at least 72bn litres of sewage into the River Thames since 2020 - roughly equal to 29,000 Olympic swimming pools - new figures reveal.Water firms have no legal obligation to report the amount of sewage discharged, only the number of hours that it was released. But campaigners argue this data is insufficient as this does not properly quantify how much sewage is in England's rivers. Continue reading...

National Sea Country Alliance Summit told that the agendas of environmental groups do not always align with First Nations priorities

Analysis finds concerns about environment key factor in having fewer or no children - but reasons differ around worldIt was just over a decade ago that Emma Smart and her husband, Andy, first decided they would not have children. Back then, her friends and family did not understand.When you tell people you didn't want to have children, that was a big social no-no," she recalled. And then when they asked you why, and you said for environmental reasons, that was completely unheard of. Continue reading...

Energy firm's lawsuit seeks indefinite block on protesters targeting its infrastructure

Rotifers could be accelerating risk by splitting particles into thousands of potentially more dangerous nanoplasticsA type of zooplankton found in marine and fresh water can ingest and break down microplastics, scientists have discovered. But rather than providing a solution to the threat plastics pose to aquatic life, the tiny creatures known as rotifers could be accelerating the risk by splitting the particles into thousands of smaller and potentially more dangerous nanoplastics.Each rotifer, named from the Latin for wheel-bearer" owing to the whirling wheel of cilia around their mouths, can create between 348,000 and 366,000 nanoplastics - particles smaller than one micrometre - each day. Continue reading...

Some states have implemented free school meals, and Maine has a constitutional amendment to guarantee the unalienable right to food'The US must acknowledge the right to food in order to transform its broken food system in the post-pandemic era and make it more resilient in the face of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, according to a United Nations hunger expert.Whether we're talking about right to food, food justice or food sovereignty, there has been growing momentum over the last 10 years to understand that food is not just something we just leave to be determined by what is available or by corporations or the status quo," said Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food. Continue reading...

Coyotes claim route is 100% safe', but dozens have died and Colombian coast guard have rescued more than 1,000 peopleSome time before dawn on an October morning, Jancerlin Martinez, 33, was preparing to embark on the next leg of her journey to the United States, where she hoped to join relatives in Florida. She had left Venezuela with her sister Jaerlin, 26, and brother Joencer, 19, a few days earlier, eager to provide a better future for her unborn child.Martinez had saved for two years for the trip, before traveling overland to the Venezuelan border, and then flying with her siblings to the Colombian island of San Andres. From here they planned to cross the Caribbean to Nicaragua, before continuing overland through Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. Continue reading...

Report by non-profit researchers tallies incidents exposing people to dangerous toxins through fires, explosions, leaks and spillsHazardous chemical accidents are occurring almost daily, on average, in the United States, exposing people to dangerous toxins through fires, explosions, leaks, spills and other releases, according to a new analysis by non-profit researchers.The report, prepared by Coming Clean, in conjunction with a network of environmental and economic justice organizations in the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, documents what it calls an alarming frequency" of accidents, and comes a month before US regulators are expected to release final rules aimed at preventing such incidents. Continue reading...

Opposition climate and energy spokesperson had pointed to SMRs as a solution to Australia's energy needs, but experts raise questions over price tag

Government's Energy Company Obligation has managed to upgrade only 65,000 homes since April 2022, figures showLabour has attacked the Conservatives over the speed of government efforts to upgrade Britain's draughty housing stock, as analysis showed a leading household energy efficiency initiative was proceeding at what the party called a glacial pace".Just 65,000 homes have been upgraded under the government's Energy Company Obligation (Eco) scheme since it was relaunched in April last year, according to analysis of statistics released by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Continue reading...

Indigenous people's parliament says action required including lower speed limits and more fencesSweden's Sami parliament is calling for more protection for reindeer after more than 10,000 were killed by motorists in the last five years, turning roadsides into animal graveyards".According to police, between October 2018 and October 2023 there were more than 10,000 road accidents in northern Sweden involving at least one reindeer, meaning the number killed is likely to be far higher. Continue reading...

Annual scorecard' of major firms insuring oil, gas and coal projects puts household names Allianz, Axa, AIG and Aegis in Top 10Insurers operating in the Lloyd's of London market are the world's biggest underwriters of fossil fuel projects, research has found.Fifty years after the insurance industry first warned about the impact of the climate crisis, it is continuing to contribute to the climate emergency, the Insure Our Future campaign, a global group of 24 NGOs, said in its annual scorecard" on 30 major insurers and their involvement in fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Attendees of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship were treated to a grab-bag of cherrypicked talking points from some speakers that ignored the risks of climate change

Campaigners call Graham Stuart's comments laughable' and say Conservatives are weaponising climate actionOil and gas are not the problem" for the climate, but the carbon emissions arising from them are, the UK's net zero minister has told MPs.In words that suggested the UK could place yet more emphasis on technologies to capture and store carbon, Graham Stuart said fossil fuel production was not driving climate change, but demand for fossil fuels was. Continue reading...

Regulator under pressure to act after finding executive payouts at three English suppliers were not justified

Ballot initiative to transform grid backed by climate advocacy groups fails amid fears over cost and performanceMaine voters turned down an attempt on Tuesday to oust the state's corporate-owned electric utilities and replace them with a non-profit backed by climate advocacy groups.In one of several ballot initiatives, Maine voters rejected the proposed takeover of the two investor-owned utilities that distribute 97% of electricity in the state. Continue reading...

Data shared with Guardian reveals Texas oil and gas fields emitting far more methane than New Mexico, feeding calls for stiffer rulesOil and gas production in Texas is spewing out double the rate of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, than in the more regulated state of New Mexico, new satellite data shared with the Guardian shows, prompting calls for tougher curbs of super-emitter" sites that risk tipping the world into climate breakdown.Satellite imaging of methane leaks across the Permian basin, a vast geological feature at the heart of the US oil and gas drilling industry, show that sites in Texas have emitted double the amount of the gas than in New Mexico, per unit of production, since 2019. Continue reading...

Millions of people's lives wrecked by droughts that used to happen once every 250 years but now expected once a decadeExtreme droughts that have wrecked the lives of millions of people in Syria, Iraq and Iran since 2020 would not have happened without human-caused global heating, a study has found.The climate crisis means such long-lasting and severe droughts are no longer rare, the analysis showed. In the Tigris-Euphrates basin, which covers large parts of Syria and Iraq, droughts of this severity happened about once every 250 years before global heating - now they are expected once a decade. Continue reading...

Campaigners call for urgent action after data shows almost all bird types reducing in abundanceWoodland birds are facing an accelerating decline in the UK, with species at risk of extinction if the government does not act, experts have said.Data released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has revealed that almost all bird types are reducing in abundance, despite years of warnings from nature bodies that action needs to be taken to protect habitats and save species. Continue reading...

Trash Free Trails' report finds average of 41 pieces of litter a kilometre as calls grow for deposit returns schemeLitter is blighting the UK's footpaths, with an average 41 pieces found a kilometre, according to a major study. Particularly frequently found brands included Lucozade, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Monster and Walkers.The State of Our Trails report, conducted by Trash Free Trails, is the first UK study that aims to establish a scientific understanding of the environmental consequences of the tonnes of litter in our landscapes. It drew together more than 1,600 submissions by 4,500 volunteers and with the data the authors have estimated as many as 9.1m individual pieces of litter could be found across the UK's 220,000km of public rights of way. The surveys took place between July 2020 and August 2023. Continue reading...

Alarming' new research warns of risk to British woodlands from disease, extreme weather and wildfires, unless call to action' is heeded nowUK forests are heading for catastrophic ecosystem collapse" within the next 50 years due to multiple threats including disease, extreme weather and wildfires, researchers have warned, with trees dying on a large scale.The study, published in the journal Forestry, was put together by a panel of 42 researchers, with 1,200 experts consulted. Lead author, Dr Eleanor Tew, head of forest planning at Forestry England and visiting researcher at the University of Cambridge, described the finding as sobering and alarming". Continue reading...

More native plants and species at risk of extinction as Australia enters worst bushfire season since 2019's black summer

First found in rocks on a logging trail in Canada, the 500-million-year-old microfossils are believed to be forerunners of the algaeHalf a billion years ago, the ocean was filling up with animals for the first time, including scuttling trilobites and spiky worms. Little is known, however, about what was happening further down the food chain.Now, a British palaeontologist believes he may have found fossilised phytoplankton - forerunners of the tiny but vital algae that today suck masses of carbon out of the atmosphere and produce about half the oxygen we breathe. The fossils, dating back to the Cambrian period - 538m to 485m years ago - are microscopic, roughly the width of a human hair, and lived in the ocean back when there was no life on land. Continue reading...

Auditor general says key measures to cut emissions by 40-45% to meet Paris accord commitment delayed or not prioritizedCanada's emissions reduction plan is insufficient to meet its target to cut emissions by 40% to 45% below the 2005 level by 2030, according to a new a report released by the country's auditor general.The audit found the government's plan insufficient because key measures needed to meet the 2030 target were delayed or not prioritized, according to a statement from the office of the auditor general on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Two fires, in Madison county and Patrick county, broke containment lines amid dry conditions and high windsThe Virginia governor, Glenn Youngkin, declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as firefighters responded to two wildfires amid dry conditions and high winds.The declaration allows Virginia to mobilize additional resources, staff and equipment to help with the response, the governor's office said in a news release. The operation involves the Virginia national guard, the department of forestry, the department of emergency management and other agencies. Continue reading...

William says hope does remain' at event rewarding innovative solutions to climate emergencyScientists who developed a cleaner and more sustainable way to make batteries for electric cars were among the winners of this year's Prince of Wales's 1m Earthshot prizes.The awards, announced at a ceremony in Singapore on Tuesday, are aimed at rewarding innovative solutions to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies.PA Media contributed to this report. Continue reading...

Sydney Water says the city cannot wait until the dams are empty to take action'

Analysis of federal lobbying documents by Food and Water Watch finds industry targeted dozens of pieces of legislationThe US chemical industry likely spent over $110m during the last two election cycles deploying lobbyists to kill dozens of pieces of PFAS legislation and slow administrative regulation around forever chemicals", a new analysis of federal lobbying documents has found.The industry's onslaught was effective: only eight pieces of legislation that targeted PFAS made it through Congress, the paper prepared by the Food and Water Watch (FWW) nonprofit found. Continue reading...

Decision to pause levy on home heating oil in Atlantic Canada has experts concerned about efforts to combat climate crisisFor nearly a decade, Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has repeated a simple message: pollution should not be free". His government imposed a national carbon tax and emerged victorious at the country's top court after a handful of provinces challenged the constitutionality of the law.But in recent weeks, Trudeau undid years of careful messaging after he announced a temporary pause on the carbon levy for home heating oil. Continue reading...

Move announced by interior minister is part of ambitious Kenyan plan to plant 15bn trees by 2032The Kenyan government has announced a surprise public holiday on 13 November for a nationwide tree planting day, part of its ambitious plan to plant 15bn trees by 2032The interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, made the announcement via an official notice posted to social media. Continue reading...

Government not putting enough effort into flood resilience despite likelihood of more frequent and severe storms, experts sayThe UK is ill-prepared for the disaster future storms could wreak, scientists have warned, after Storm Ciaran swept the country.Experts believe a warming atmosphere caused by emissions from burning fossil fuels will make storms more frequent and severe in the UK. This autumn, storms have caused thousands of homes in the UK to flood, and last week almost 150,000 households were left without power. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: In his first King's Speech, the new monarch will announce his government's annual priorities - including a slate of climate-unfriendly policies Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning to all our readers, but especially King Charles, who we wish lots of luck with his debut speech as monarch for the state opening of the UK parliament today (he delivered the Queen's Speech last year, but only as a stand-in).His first King's Speech, in which Charles will set out the government's legislative priorities for the new parliamentary session, features plenty of policies (here's a summary) designed to create dividing lines between the Conservatives and Labour ahead of the next general election.Israel-Hamas war | The Israeli military says it has completely encircled Gaza City, in effect cutting Gaza in two, as Israeli ground troops appeared poised to enter the dense urban sprawl from the south. Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would consider tactical little pauses" in fighting to allow the entry of aid or the exit of hostages but would not countenance a general ceasefire. Read Jason Burke's report on the conditions for civilians in UN-run shelters and hospitals in Gaza.Covid | The Conservative peer Michelle Mone has acknowledged for the first time that she was involved with a company that was awarded government PPE contracts worth 200m during the Covid pandemic. Mone and her husband Douglas Barrowman have previously strongly denied any connection to PPE Medpro.US news | Donald Trump took the stand in a Manhattan federal courthouse on Monday and angrily claimed the financial statements at the heart of his $250m civil fraud lawsuit were worthless" and the trial was a witch-hunt". The judge threatened to have Trump removed from court and warned him that the trial is not a political rally".Health | Almost 300,000 women in the UK at higher risk of developing breast cancer are being given access to a drug that can halve their risk in a major step forward" in the fight against the disease. The drug, anastrozole, displays remarkable" potential to reduce the number of people who go on to develop the disease, the head of the NHS said.NFTs | The company behind the Bored Ape crypto art craze is looking into reports that people have been suffering from eye burn, extreme pain and impaired vision after attending one of its events, which was lit by UV lights. More than a dozen people who attended last weekend's ApeFest festival in Hong Kong complained of eye pain and vision problems. Continue reading...

UK's coal-hungry blast furnaces likely to be replaced, making economic case for mine dead in the water' says local MPNews of the likely closure of the UK's steel blast furnaces has prompted calls for the government to reconsider approval for a controversial Cumbrian coalmine that had been planned to supply the industry.On Monday, British Steel announced that it plans to replace its two blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, while Tata Steel is considering closing its two at Port Talbot, in a dramatic reshaping of the UK steel industry. Both companies will instead rely on much cleaner electric arc furnaces, which use 87 times less coal. Continue reading...

NGOs report allegations of abuse and harassment at Kasigau Corridor conservation project in southern Kenya over 12 yearsMale staff at a leading Kenyan carbon-offsetting project used by Netflix, Shell and other large companies have been accused of extensive sexual abuse and harassment over more than a decade, following an investigation by two NGOs.The Kasigau Corridor conservation project in southern Kenya, operated by the California-based firm Wildlife Works, generates carbon credits by protecting dryland forests at risk of being destroyed in key elephant, lion and wildlife habitats west of Mombasa. The scheme was the first ever forest protection scheme approved by Verra, the world's leading certifier of carbon offsets, and has also been accredited for its biodiversity and community benefits, probably generating millions of dollars in revenue in carbon-credit sales. Continue reading...

Consumer groups issue formal notice to European Commission over greenwashing' claims that bottles are 100% recyclable' or 100% recycled'Big drinks companies are misleading customers with claims that their plastic water bottles are fully recycled or recyclable, according to consumer groups who have issued a formal complaint to the European Commission.The Bureau Europeen des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC) said claims that water bottles from brands owned by Coca-Cola, Danone and Nestle are 100% recyclable" or 100% recycled" are misleading because recycling rates are far lower in practice and bottles contain items that cannot be made from recycled material. The consumer rights group, which represents national groups across Europe, also said green imagery on bottles gave the false idea" of environmental neutrality. Continue reading...

Interbreeding may have boosted wildcat immunity to domestic cat diseases, but now threatens their survival as a distinct speciesHumans weren't the only creatures to fall under the sway of free love in the 1960s. After 2,000 years of keeping one another at paw's length, wildcats and their domestic cousins began to interbreed about 60 years ago, a new study suggests.Doing so may have helped to protect their offspring against diseases harboured by domestic cats, but this interbreeding is now threatening the survival of wildcats as a distinct species. Continue reading...

Exclusive: study finds militaries have generated about 430m metric tonnes of CO emissions since 2015 Paris accordsThe US and UK militaries owe" at least $111bn in reparations to communities most harmed by their planet-heating pollution, a first-of-its-kind study calculates.The research employs a social cost of carbon" framework - a way to estimate the cost, in dollars, of the climate damage done by each additional tonne of carbon in the atmosphere. Continue reading...

Tanya Plibersek tells state she may reconsider approvals because of catastrophic' impact on Maugean skate

Nineteenth-century technology is finally being phased out in New York City, but its past is deeply entwined with American historyUntil recently, my girlfriend and I lived in a steam-heated apartment in Manhattan. A creaky former tenement building, it had no radiators, just scalding-hot cast iron pipes that punched through the units like fire poles. The pipes terminated a few inches from our ceiling with valves that hissed and sputtered, leaking rusty orange water. And they weren't just heaters, but alarms, clanking like pots and pans every morning around 6.45am when the boiler flipped on in the basement.This 19th-century technology certainly heated our apartment - but far too well. So every wintertime we would have to throw the windows wide open just to cool down. (My girlfriend enjoyed the contrasting sensations, like ice cream on warm pie. It always felt like a big waste of energy, but it was pleasant in its own old-school New York way," she says.) Continue reading...

Berry Creek's struggle to recover is a harbinger of what's to come in the era of climate crisisAn eight-mile wall of flames. Nearly 200,000 acres burned in 24 hours. Sixteen deaths.In any other modern decade, the events that unfolded in and around Berry Creek, California, in 2020 would have stood apart for their sheer devastation. Continue reading...

The Queensland Conservation Council says new entity will take proactive actions' to ensure state's environmental laws are enforced

Campaigners accuse government of failing to stick to promises made at Cop26 climate summit in 2021

UK Museum Cop held at Tate Modern says the sector has a responsibility to speak out about climate and biodiversity crisis'National and regional museums across the UK have agreed to take collective action on the climate crisis, including managing collections more sustainably and using their position to engage audiences with the issues.Representatives of museums, organisations in the sector and funders took part in the first UK Museum Cop at Tate Modern in London last week. Among those attending were museums and organisations from Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Brighton, Leeds, Derby, Liverpool, York, Sheffield and London, as well as national bodies from England, Wales and Scotland. Continue reading...

Wrap report says 12% reduction in carbon impact negated by 13% rise in textiles produced and soldA fashion industry push to reduce the environmental impact of the clothing it sells is being undermined by an ongoing addiction to buying new clothes, with the average Briton buying 28 items every year.Asos and Primark are among the big names signed up to Wrap's voluntary environmental pact, Textiles 2030. Continue reading...

Thames Water has provided bottled water to people in Guildford, Godalming and surrounding areasThousands of people have been left without water after Storm Ciaran caused problems at a treatment works in Surrey, Thames Water has said.A major incident was declared as at least 13,500 homes in Guildford, Godalming and the surrounding areas were left without water or with low pressure by 2.50pm on Sunday, while a further 6,500 were expected to lose supply later in the day. Continue reading...

Governments draw up blueprint for fund to be administered at first by World Bank after tense Abu Dhabi talksCountries have agreed key measures to supply funds to the world's most vulnerable people to repair the damage from climate breakdown.Governments from richer and poorer countries drew up the blueprint for a new loss and damage" fund after a tense two-day meeting under UN guidance in Abu Dhabi that ended late on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Final testing being done in project to give North Yorkshire site new life as source of geothermal energyA former fracking site in the North Yorkshire village of Kirby Misperton, once a lightning rod for environmental protests, may soon be a new frontier in Britain's clean energy revolution. For the first time in the UK, an abandoned gas well could begin a second life as a source of geothermal energy.It is a far cry from its beginnings as a highly contested site where frackers hoped to tap fresh reservoirs of gas trapped in layers of shale beneath the earth's surface. In 2016, Third Energy was granted permission to carry out fracking at an existing well but its plans were ultimately thwarted by a government moratorium on using the technology in the UK. Continue reading...

Federal treasurer says Australia's energy transition is essential to meeting Paris agreement climate targets