The Guardian
UK installations of heat pumps 10 times lower than in France, report finds
Analysts call on government to make pumps mandatory for all new homes and scale up grants for installation in existing properties
The UK is lagging far behind France and other EU countries in installing heat pumps, research has shown, with less than a tenth of the number of installations despite having similar markets.
Only 55,000 heat pumps were sold in the UK last year, compared with more than 620,000 in France. Twenty other European countries also had higher installation rates than the UK.
Continue reading...Extreme heatwave live updates: hundreds of millions from US to Europe and Asia hit by severe heat
Italians told to prepare for most intense heatwave ‘of all time’ as one third of Americans remain under extreme heat advisories and records fall in Japan
- Millions in US under warnings as record heat expected to continue
- Southern Europe braces for second heat storm in a week
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the extreme heat gripping large parts of the planet. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be following the latest as Southern Europe braces for a second heat storm in a week while in America, more than 100 million people swelter under extreme heat advisories, with record-breaking heat expected to continue. Meanwhile there are deadly floods in South Korea and heat warnings in Japan.
Here is where things stand:
Italy, Greece and Spain, along with Morocco and other Mediterranean countries, have been told temperature records could be broken on Tuesday.
A new anticyclone that pushed into the region from north Africa on Sunday could lift temperatures above the record 48.8C (120F) seen in Sicily in August 2021, and follows last week’s Cerberus heatwave.
Temperatures in Rome are poised to climb to 42C or 43C on Tuesday. Nighttime temperatures remain above 20C, making it a struggle for people to sleep.
On the Canary island of La Palma, more than 4,000 people were evacuated from properties after a forest fire swept through the north-west of the island.
In the US there were advisories from coast to coast on the weekend, with the south-west and parts of the west hard hit and officials warning that conditions could get worse in Arizona, California and Nevada.
In Phoenix, Arizona, the forecast for Sunday was for 118F (47.7C) and it was expected to be the city’s 17th consecutive day of 110F (43.3C) or higher.
Emergency room doctors in Las Vegas have been treating more people for heat illness as the heatwave threatened to break the city’s all-time record high of 117F (47.2C).
The hot, dry conditions sparked a series of blazes in southern California south-east of Los Angeles.
In Japan, authorities issued heatstroke alerts to tens of millions of people in 20 of its 47 prefectures as near-record high temperatures scorched large areas and torrential rain pummelled other regions. Japan’s highest temperature ever - 41.1C first recorded in Kumagaya city in 2018 - could be beaten, according to the meteorological agency.
In South Korea, nine people died in a flooded tunnel, after heavy rains for the last four days triggered floods and landslides that killed at least 37 people and left nine missing. The country is at the peak of its summer monsoon season, with more rain forecast through Wednesday.
China on Sunday issued several temperature alerts, warning of 40-45C in the partly desert region of Xinjiang, and 39C in southern Guangxi region.
The human-caused climate crisis is supercharging extreme weather around the world, driving more frequent and more deadly disasters, from heatwaves to floods to wildfires.
Continue reading...The Guardian view on a water crisis: Uruguay points to a wider issue – and to solutions | Editorial
The South American country is running dry. But it can draw upon a history of social and political organisation to protect access
Almost two decades ago, Uruguay led the way as the world’s first country to enshrine the right to clean water in its constitution. Now it is parched and desperate. Residents can cross the reservoir serving Montevideo on foot. The capital has declared a water emergency, with officials warning that it is a matter of days before it runs dry. For months they have been eking out tap water supplies by adding brackish estuary water, telling pregnant women and people with serious health conditions not to drink it. Authorities have cut taxes on bottled water and are distributing it for free to the estimated one in seven people for whom it is unaffordable. Others are turning to wells.
The main culprit is the worst drought in more than 70 years. Though Uruguay is naturally rich in water, rainfall is highly variable due to the impact of La Niña and El Niño weather patterns. The problems are exacerbated by global heating, which makes dry years drier and rainy years wetter, as well as increasing evaporation losses. Neighbouring Argentina is beset by shortages already. Many more countries around the world face similar challenges – or soon will.
Continue reading...The French don’t need President Macron to tell us to make do and mend | Agnès Poirier
‘In France, we have no petrol, but we have ideas.” So goes a popular French saying born in the 1970s during the oil crisis. Said differently, France is a champion of quirky initiatives that can feel both admirable and somewhat pointless. The latest in a series of eco-friendly measures taken by the French government is the “repair bonus”. Instead of throwing into the bin a pair of ripped trousers, a bag with a broken strap or a moth-eaten polo neck, the state will pay for them to be mended at your local cobbler or retoucheur (sewing workshops). From October and for the next five years, we will be able to claim back between €6-€25 of the costs of mending our clothes and shoes with artisans who have joined the scheme.
The hope is to help create a virtuous circle, change habits for the planet’s sake (700,000 tonnes of clothing is thrown away in France every year), sustain local artisans and even create jobs in what we now need to call the “refashion” sector. Three years ago, a similar scheme encouraged my compatriots to fix their old toasters or rickety washing machines, rather than dispose of them out of frustration. Legislators even obliged companies to revise their obsolescence strategy by publishing a “repairability index” for each item produced. Consumers can now buy new home appliances knowing in advance how easy (or difficult) they are to repair.
Continue reading...Top UK energy firms to warn Rishi Sunak: ‘Don’t back off green agenda’
More than 100 companies are set to send a letter to the PM voicing fears about the disastrous effects of Britain’s overreliance on gas
More than 100 of the UK’s biggest energy companies will tell Rishi Sunak this week not to back off the green agenda after a report by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned of catastrophic effects on the economy of continued overreliance on gas.
The energy sector is becoming so alarmed at what it sees as the Sunak government’s mixed messages on switching to more renewable energy that big UK companies are ready to go public with a letter to Downing Street within days.
Continue reading...Agricultural shows boom across the UK as record crowds flock to the fields
Once the preserve of farmers, now the dog trials, sheep shearing and food stalls are starting to appeal to everyone
One of the highlights of the Great Yorkshire Show for Bridlington farmer Geoff Riby – other than his ram winning the Beltex male champion in the sheep class competition – was watching Lorenzo the Flying Frenchman perform in the main ring at the Harrogate show ground.
Riby has exhibited at the fair since 1972 and has seen this annual event evolve from an industry trade fair promoting tractors to the sort of festival that would feature one of France’s most skilled equestrians on the bill.
Continue reading...Five arrested after climate protest at Ineos oil refinery in Scotland
Police say alleged offences include breach of the peace after 200 people march to plant and four climb on roof
Five people have been arrested after environmental activists staged a day of resistance at the Ineos oil refinery near Falkirk.
Four people climbed on to the roof of the Ineos gas power station at Grangemouth and held up a banner on Saturday afternoon. Earlier, about 200 people marched to the fence of the Ineos plant, which powers the oil refinery, from a climate camp approximately a mile away.
Continue reading...Europe might be nice this time of year but there is something about an Australian winter | Maddie Thomas
I love it when sunshine pierces through an icy-cold morning
It’s 7C. At 6am, the sky is still dark. There may be a hint of the light to come, but for now it is still dancing with the stars.
By 7am, the sun lifts just above the horizon, stretches over headlands and lights the clouds like a match – boom – turning the sky from pink to orange to blue. It starts to warm those who watched the sunrise, and offers some solace to early morning swimmers now shivering in their towels.
By 8am, the sun has enough oomph to hit you square in the face. It washes over tired commuters leaning against bus windows, warms the backs of those waiting for their coffee and splinters through the shadows of high-rises in the city.
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Continue reading...Invasive snake wrestled into submission by hunters is Florida’s longest
Video of capture of Burmese python measured at 19ft – as long as an adult giraffe is tall – was posted on Instagram
A snake believed to be the longest invasive Burmese python ever recorded was captured by two Florida hunters after a mighty struggle.
Stephen Gauta and Jake Waleri caught the humungous reptile in Big Cypress national preserve near the Everglades in southern Florida earlier this week after it lunged at Waleri, 22, who then wrestled it back to the ground.
Continue reading...With our food systems on the verge of collapse, it’s the plutocrats v life on Earth | George Monbiot
Climate breakdown and crop losses threaten our survival, but the ultra-rich find ever more creative ways to maintain the status quo
According to Google’s news search, the media has run more than 10,000 stories this year about Phillip Schofield, the British television presenter who resigned over an affair with a younger colleague. Google also records a global total of five news stories about a scientific paper published last week, showing that the chances of simultaneous crop losses in the world’s major growing regions, caused by climate breakdown, appear to have been dangerously underestimated. In mediaworld, a place that should never be confused with the real world, celebrity gossip is thousands of times more important than existential risk.
The new paper explores the impacts on crop production when meanders in the jet stream (Rossby waves) become stuck. Stuck patterns cause extreme weather. To put it crudely, if you live in the northern hemisphere and a kink in the jet stream (the band of strong winds a few miles above the Earth’s surface at mid-latitudes) is stuck to the south of you, your weather is likely to be cold and wet. If it’s stuck to the north of you, you’re likely to suffer escalating heat and drought.
Continue reading...Foreign Office cannot say how many climate officials it has
Exclusive: Former envoy raises concerns over possible ‘deliberate defunding of climate diplomacy under Sunak government’
The UK Foreign Office has said it does not know how many of its officials and diplomats are working on climate change and energy issues, in response to freedom of information requests.
The government has frequently described itself as a world leader on climate issues and the Foreign Office recently stated that “climate change remains an area of utmost importance and is a central focus of our diplomatic relations on a daily basis”.
Continue reading...Residents await results of fresh sampling from NSW goldmine that breached pollution rules – video
After revealing that sampling from the Cadia Hill goldmine showed a vent was emitting dust at more than 11 times the limit of air pollution regulations, the NSW Environment Protection Authority announced interim test results from dust samples were within regulatory limits. While management says the Newcrest-owned mine is now operating in compliance with licence conditions, residents and experts remain concerned
Continue reading...Just Stop Oil protesters disrupt BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall
Two demonstrators removed almost immediately after sounding air horns and throwing confetti on the stage
Two Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted the opening night of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall after running on to the stage, setting off confetti cannon and sounding air horns.
The pair were taken off stage at the west London venue within moments of unfurling their orange banners on Friday evening, according to footage on social media.
Continue reading...Big oil has sold lies about the climate crisis for decades. Now we must sell the truth | Jonathan Freedland
The fossil fuel industry has spent billions on winning over the public. The climate movement must learn from its tactics
You may think we have all the proof we need. More of it is in front of us right now, with heatwaves scorching through Europe, breaking records, wreaking havoc. In Athens, they closed the Acropolis on Friday as temperatures at the site headed towards 48C. In Lisbon, visitors expecting perfect blue skies have been disappointed to find them streaked with grey – not clouds, but smoke from forest fires. In Italy, there was no spring this year: floods gave way to unbearable heat with barely a pause.
It’s happening all over – biblical downpours in New York state, unquenchable fires in Canada – and yet humanity is not acting as if it is confronting a planetary emergency. Extreme weather is fast becoming the norm in the US, and yet Americans tell pollsters it is a low priority, ranking it 17th out of 21 national issues in a recent Pew survey. Even when the impact is personal, as it was for many Australians when bushfires raged through the country in 2019, opinions prove stubbornly hard to shift: one study found that among those “directly impacted” by the fires, around a third saw no connection to the climate. They were “unmoved.”
Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...‘People see rubbish, but I see money’: the professional recyclers cashing in on Australia’s bottles and cans
Return and earn schemes have diverted tonnes of waste from landfill. For some people, it is also a source of income
Sitting on a milk crate outside Sydney’s Wynyard station, with a plastic poncho, a cardigan and a beanie to stay warm on a bitter night, Tepyanee waits.
It’s getting late; if she has to wait much longer, she risks missing the last train home and getting stranded – it wouldn’t be the first time. Last week she missed the last connecting service home and remained on the platform overnight until the first train at dawn.
Continue reading...Deep-sea mining causes huge decreases in sealife across wide region, says study
Scientists caution against rush to mine the seabed, and say it could be decades before the full impact on marine life is known
Animal populations appear to decrease where the deep sea is being mined, and the impact on marine life of the controversial industry may involve a wider “footprint” than previously expected.
According to analysis of seabed ecology undertaken after drilling tests in 2020 in Japan – the country’s first successful extraction of cobalt crusts from deep-sea mountains – there was a decrease in marine life such as fish and shrimp at the site a year later. The density had dropped even further in areas outside the impact zone, by more than half.
Continue reading...Time to end war on birds and find a way to coexist, say experts
Discovery that some species build nests from anti-bird spikes highlights growing awareness in UK that deterrents don’t work
It seems like the ultimate revenge: birds have been found constructing nests from the very spikes meant to deter them from perching on buildings. But while humans have no shortage of tactics to wage against unwanted birds, experts say it’s time to abandon the war.
Though there are myriad ways to deter or remove birds from city roofs, train stations and other settings – from spikes to fire gel, professional falconers and even plastic owls – it seems many only lead to a temporary reprieve.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak must stick to £11.6bn climate commitment, say MPs
Tories, including former net zero tsar, among signatories to letter urging PM not to let down developing countries
Rishi Sunak must uphold his £11.6bn climate finance commitment, Conservative parliamentarians, including the former net zero tsar, have said.
Writing to the prime minister in a cross-party letter, they say recommitting to the target and clearly demonstrating how it would be met would “avoid doing further damage to the UK’s climate leadership, and help to build a safe and more prosperous future”.
Continue reading...Football and pollution: I have always felt bad because I know what a flight causes | Sofie Junge Pedersen
I worry about the climate but didn’t think more than 40 Women’s World Cup players would sign up to create a positive environmental legacy for the tournament
If I had to pinpoint one moment when I started to really think about climate change it would be in 2009 when Cop15 was held in Copenhagen. Since then, my interest has just been growing and I have become more and more concerned about the future.
My efforts to change my behaviour and reduce my carbon footprint didn’t come all at once, but gradually I have adjusted things in my life to be more carbon friendly. What is driving me is that the countries and the people that are least responsible for this situation are the most affected by the climate changes. That is unfair.
Continue reading...Environment charity bids to encircle London in ‘M25 for nature’
CPRE London hopes to surround capital in trees by weaving existing areas of green belt in outer boroughs
An environmental charity is bidding to create an “M25 for nature” that would encircle London in woodland, hedgerows and street trees to boost biodiversity, carbon capture and wellbeing.
The countryside charity CPRE London hopes to weave together existing areas of green belt in the city’s 18 outer boroughs to create an uninterrupted ring of trees around the capital.
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