The Guardian


Labor and Greens could agree to compromise on non-fossil fuel industries in safeguard mechanism
Greens in internal negotiations over backing down on demand for ban on new coal and gas projects in Labor’s climate policy
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Labor could agree to treat existing non-fossil fuel industries – such as cement, aluminium and steel – differently to new coal and gas developments in a bid to reach agreement with the Greens on a signature climate policy.
But it is unclear whether the possible compromise on the design of the safeguard mechanism would be enough to win support for the Albanese government’s plan, which requires major industrial polluting sites to reduce emissions intensity onsite cuts or buy carbon offsets.
Continue reading...Dieselgate: Millions of ‘extremely’ polluting cars still on Europe’s roads, says report
The research group that first exposed the scandal say ‘it’s not over’ and that governments must act
Thirteen million diesel cars producing “extreme” levels of toxic air pollution are still on the roads in Europe and the UK, according to a report, seven years after the Dieselgate scandal first exploded.
The non-profit research group, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), revealed in 2015 that many diesel cars were highly polluting, emitting far more nitrogen oxides on the road than in official testing. The scandal led to a more rigorous test being introduced in the EU in 2019.
Continue reading...Decline of more than 500 species of marine life in Australian reefs ‘the tip of the iceberg’, study finds
Increasing ocean temperatures present ‘existential threat’ with knock-on effects for ecosystems and commercial fisheries, researchers say
More than 500 common species of fish, seaweed, coral and invertebrates that live on reefs around Australia have declined in the past decade, a study has found, as experts warn “not all is well in the ocean”.
Global heating was likely the main driver of the falls, with marine heatwaves and a rise in ocean temperatures hitting species that live on rocky and coral reefs.
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Continue reading...Birds of Australia: Elizabeth Gould’s stunning illustrations – in pictures
The Australian Museum’s new multimedia exhibition, The Birds of Australia, traces the journey of the 19th-century naturalist and ornithologist John Gould and his wife, illustrator Elizabeth Gould, as they travelled through New South Wales and recorded the unique birdlife, identifying hundreds of species new to western science
- The Guardian and Birdlife Australia’s bird of the year returns later in 2023
- The common and scientific names in brackets reflect the current taxonomy
Burrowing badgers halt train services in the Netherlands
Dutch authorities try to tempt out animals, which dig setts under quiet and raised train embankments
Leaves on the tracks, signal failures and strikes can all cause train delay headaches, but commuters in the Netherlands are facing railway havoc caused by badgers burrowing under the lines, with authorities struggling to tempt the protected animals out.
In the densely populated country, there is limited natural space for the country’s 7,000 badgers. They often dig out their homes, or setts, under relatively “quiet” train embankments, which are ideally situated away from people and also slightly raised, which prevents the sett from flooding.
Continue reading...Pressure grows on shipping industry to accept carbon levy
World Bank among those urging levy to fund climate action in developing world and encourage fleets to upgrade
Pressure is growing on the international shipping industry to accept a carbon levy on ships that would fund climate action in the developing world, with the World Bank among those pushing for the measure at a crucial international meeting this week, the Guardian has learned.
A levy on the greenhouse gas emissions produced from shipping would encourage companies to upgrade their fleets, run them more efficiently and seek cleaner fuels and technologies.
Continue reading...Birdwatchers elated as Alpine swifts flock to Britain and Ireland in rare numbers
Funnel of south-westerly winds help push birds towards Irish coast and UK mainland as far north as Scotland
An “unprecedented” influx of alpine swifts has been reported by birdwatchers across Britain and Ireland.
Dozens of these migrating birds, which usually fly thousands of miles from sub-Saharan west Africa to southern Europe to breed at this time of year, have been spotted around the Irish coast as well as in parts of Wales, England and even as far north as Scotland.
Continue reading...A radical climate strategy emerges: charge big oil firms with homicide
Authors of paper accepted for publication in Harvard Environmental Law Review argue firms are ‘killing members of the public at an accelerating rate’
Oil companies have come under increasing legal scrutiny and face allegations of defrauding investors, racketeering, and a wave of other lawsuits. But a new paper argues there’s another way to hold big oil accountable for climate damage: trying companies for homicide.
The striking and seemingly radical legal theory is laid out in a paper accepted for publication in the Harvard Environmental Law Review. In it, the authors argue fossil fuel companies “have not simply been lying to the public, they have been killing members of the public at an accelerating rate, and prosecutors should bring that crime to the public’s attention”.
Continue reading...Somalis are dying because of a climate crisis they didn’t cause. More aid isn’t the answer | Abdirahman Abdishakur
Despite billions spent on the humanitarian response, Somalia faces another year of drought and hunger. We desperately need money, but it needs to be better spent
In Somalia, we are climate-vulnerable, yet we barely contribute to climate emissions. If we are to cope, we need justice in the form of financing.
We’ve seen droughts, but never six consecutive failed rainy seasons. We’ve known displacement, but never 3 million internally displaced people. We were at the brink of famine in October last year, we narrowly averted it, and we’re facing similar conditions today, with 8.3 million people needing urgent assistance.
Continue reading...Water firms focused on returns at expense of environment, say peers
Lords committee criticises Ofwat for failing to ensure firms invested enough in sewage network
Water companies have been too focused on maximising financial returns at the expense of the environment, a House of Lords committee has found.
The investigation by peers into the regulation of the privatised water industry found Ofwat, the regulator, had chosen to keep bills low for customers at the expense of investment in the industry, which is now sorely lacking.
Continue reading...Drought threatening British moth species with local extinction
Some species of insect no longer being seen in areas that are becoming drier and hotter
Drought is threatening some British moth species with local extinction, a study has found, as the insects are no longer being seen in areas which are becoming drier and hotter.
The new research, published today by wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation and Northumbria University, looked at data gathered over a 40-year period by volunteers of Butterfly Conservation’s National Moth Recording Scheme.
Continue reading...Officials challenged to drink town water where millions of fish died in Australian river – video
Officials at a heated town meeting in Menindee, outback New South Wales, are challenged to drink a mug of town water in front of the crowd after assuring the community that it meets Australian drinking water standards. The request is issued by Jan Fennell, a resident who says the town is tired of being given instructions by authorities without being granted meaningful involvement or reassurances
- Menindee residents ask officials to drink town’s water as reassurance after massive fish kill
- ‘All this here will kill this river’: traditional owners grieve for the Darling-Baaka after mass fish death
Number of city dwellers lacking safe water to double by 2050
UN report predicts water demand will increase by 80% as crisis threatens to get out of control
The number of people lacking access to safe drinking water in cities around the world will double by 2050, research has found, amid warnings of an imminent water crisis that is likely to “spiral out of control”.
Nearly 1 billion people in cities around the world face water scarcity today and the number is likely to reach between 1.7 billion and 2.4 billion within the next three decades, according to the UN World Water Development Report, published on Tuesday ahead of a vital UN summit. Urban water demand is predicted to increase by 80% by 2050.
Continue reading...Labor was presented with a fait accompli on Aukus, but scepticism in the party is rightly rising | Kim Carr
We were not given a chance to scrutinise the nuclear submarine deal, and critical questions remain unanswered
- The three big questions Australia’s leaders must answer about the Aukus deal | Gareth Evans
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On the morning of 16 September 2021, the federal ALP caucus was presented with the shadow cabinet’s fait accompli of support for the Morrison government’s Aukus submarine deal.
Caucus members were told that on the previous afternoon, the leader, Anthony Albanese and several shadow ministers had received a two-hour briefing on the proposal from the government. No documents were provided at the briefing. On the basis of that, and the shadow ministry’s endorsement, Labor MPs were expected to leap into bipartisan support for the Aukus deal.
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Continue reading...UK fishing vessels ‘underreporting’ whale, dolphin and porpoise bycatch
Only 19 cases of cetacean bycatch reported under Defra scheme, but experts say figure much higher
Only a handful of instances of accidental bycatch of whales, dolphins and porpoises have been recorded under the UK government’s self-reporting initiative, despite the likelihood that hundreds are being caught by fishing vessels.
Fishers have been encouraged to voluntarily record the bycatch of marine mammals in an attempt to reduce the accidental catch, which would benefit the fishing industry and the health of the seas.
Continue reading...Hundreds of trees to be felled for Cambridge bus route to tackle climate change
Councillors vote to chop down trees in Coton Orchard for busway from Cambridge to Cambourne
Hundreds of trees in an orchard designated as a habitat of principal importance in England should be felled to build a new busway to tackle climate change, councillors in Cambridgeshire voted on Tuesday.
The county council voted by 33 to 26 to approve a new public transport busway, which will use optically guided electric or hybrid buses on its route, to provide links between Cambridge and Cambourne, an expanding new town eight miles outside the city.
Continue reading...The IPCC’s climate report has drawn the battle lines for Cop28: oil profits or a livable future | Simon Lewis
A pact to phase out fossil fuels in November’s UN climate talks is the only credible response to the warnings of scientists
Yesterday the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a new synthesis report. The document is important because 195 governments commissioned it and the summary was agreed line by line. It is accepted fact by nations worldwide, and a shared basis for future action.
The report’s conclusions are terrifying and wearily familiar. Every region is experiencing “widespread adverse impacts”. Almost half the world’s population is “highly vulnerable” to climate change impacts. Expected repercussions will escalate rapidly. It concludes that there is a “rapidly closing window of opportunity” to secure a livable future.
Simon Lewis is professor of global change science at University College London and University of Leeds
Continue reading...Campaigners fear loophole will let new homes in England be fitted with gas boilers
Regulation may allow ‘hydrogen-ready’ boilers that can run on fossil fuel gas, and are unlikely ever to use hydrogen
Ministers are preparing to allow new houses to continue to be fitted with gas boilers, long after they were supposed to be phased out, campaigners fear.
A loophole being considered for the forthcoming future homes standard, a housing regulation in England intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from newly built homes in line with the net zero target, would allow new homes to be fitted with “hydrogen-ready” boilers.
Continue reading...Menindee reacts to latest fish kills: 'An Australian disaster like bushfire and floods' – video
Members of the Menindee community are trying to come to terms with how another mass fish kill incident has occurred in the Darling-Baaka River. 'This is an Australian disaster and it should be treated as such: like a bushfire, like a flood. Fish kills and unhealthy river systems have got to be taken seriously," says Barkandji woman Denise O’Donnell
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- ‘All this here will kill this river’: traditional owners grieve for the Darling-Baaka after mass fish death
- Flood and heat: why millions of fish are dying in western NSW
Labor MP breaks ranks on Aukus citing 'considerable risks and uncertainty' – video
Federal Labor MP Josh Wilson says he is not convinced Australia should pursue nuclear-powered submarines. The member for Fremantle says the cost and timeframes are likely to blow out and he is 'concerned about the question of nuclear waste' given that 'we haven’t yet managed a storage solution for low-level waste after 40 years'
- Guardian Essential poll: support for Aukus and Indigenous voice declines
- The Aukus deal is a crime against the world’s climate future. It didn’t have to be like this