The Guardian

Six experts say failure to reform climate finance risks undermining trust in Paris agreement

Taxes on international transport could provide new flows of finance to developing countries to help them reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of climate breakdown, a group of climate finance experts have said.

Rich countries are failing on their pledge to provide $100bn a year to help poor countries cope with the climate crisis, and the way in which climate finance is organised needs urgent reform, the six academics argue in an article in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Increasing land grabs endangering forest communities and wildlife as governments expand mining and agriculture to combat economic impact of Covid

Indigenous communities in some of the world’s most forested tropical countries have faced a wave of human rights abuses during the Covid-19 pandemic as governments prioritise extractive industries in economic recovery plans, according to a new report.

New mines, infrastructure projects and agricultural plantations in Brazil, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Indonesia and Peru are driving land grabs and violence against indigenous peoples as governments seek to revive economies hit by the pandemic, research by the NGO Forest Peoples Programme has found.

Labels to be attached to posts directing users to Facebook’s Climate Science Information Center

Facebook has said it will start labelling misinformation about the climate crisis in a small trial limited to the UK.

Labels will be attached to certain posts directing users to Facebook’s Climate Science Information Center, a repository of fact-checked claims about the environment.

Health experts call for regular testing of staff and animals after coronavirus found at 400 breeding units across Europe

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All mink farms are at risk of becoming infected with Covid-19 and spreading the virus, and staff and animals should be regularly tested, EU disease and food safety experts said on Thursday.

Mink are highly susceptible to coronavirus, which spreads rapidly in intensive farms that often breed thousands of animals in open housing caged systems (outdoor wire cages covered with a roof). Humans are the most likely initial source of infection.

Denmark, the world’s largest exporter of mink fur, announced that it would cull up to 15 million mink in November, after discovering a mutated variant of the virus that scientists feared might have jeopardised the effectiveness of future vaccines.

New group has written to Noble Foods near River Wye, where chemical runoffs are said to be causing serious damage

The heads of some of the biggest agricultural suppliers are being targeted in a campaign to stop their activities polluting rivers.

River Action, a new group focusing on the state of UK rivers, is launching its first campaign by writing to the chief executive of Noble Foods, one of the biggest egg producers operating around the River Wye, where pollution from increasing numbers of free range poultry farms is said to be seriously damaging the river.

Bushy variety of cotoneaster works best in areas of heavy traffic, say researchers, while other plants can cool buildings or reduce flooding

Bushy, hairy-leafed cotoneaster is a “super plant” that can help soak up pollution on busy roads, horticultural experts have said.

Scientists at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) looked at the effectiveness of hedges for soaking up air pollution, comparing different types of shrubs including cotoneaster, hawthorn and western red cedar.

Our rural rights of way need to be reclaimed and protected. But time is running out, and I urge people to join the cause

As Covid lockdowns drag on, and full spring is still some way away, it’s inevitable that thoughts should turn to getting outdoors. That’s what is behind the constant questions about domestic or foreign holidays; and it’s what sells the seemingly endless stream of stories about cold water swimming or moving to “the country”.

It’s not just a matter of fleeting wish fulfilment. Travel and tourism are a mainstay of the British economy, accounting for about 10% of jobs and nearly 10% of GDP. Walking, cycling and generally spending time in the British countryside are among our favourite pastimes, spanning everything from high-end glamping to quick local walks with the dog.

Reef water quality report card gives condition of marine environment a ‘D’ grade relative to earlier reports

A government report card has found the marine environment along the Great Barrier Reef’s coastline remains in poor health, prompting conservationists to call for urgent action ahead of a world heritage committee meeting this year.

The reef water quality report card, released on Wednesday, said the health of corals and seagrass meadows in inshore areas had not improved, but water quality was slightly better than previous years.

To reach this conservation goal, the country will have to conserve more than 400m acres of land and waterways in the next 10 years

It was an executive order that made waves in environmental circles: after only a week in office, President Joe Biden pledged to preserve 30% of US lands and waters by 2030.

The so-called 30 by 30 conservation goal has already met with bipartisan support in Congress, and it aligns with science-based global preservation targets to reach an eventual target of 50% by 2050.

Exclusive: With 30% of infertility unexplained, pollution could be an ‘unignorable’ risk factor, scientists say

Exposure to air pollution significantly increases the risk of infertility, according to the first study to examine the danger to the general population.

The analysis of 18,000 couples in China found that those living with moderately higher levels of small-particle pollution had a 20% greater risk of infertility, defined as not becoming pregnant within a year of trying.

Local action alone can’t fix the Tories’ broken planning system. We need a national fightback

It would be easy to imagine the English countryside is a lovely place. Everyone has been talking about discovering the wonder of nature during lockdown and there are constant reports of droves moving out of towns and cities for more pastoral locations.

In many ways, however, the opposite is true. Look around and you’ll find local actions groups protesting, petitioning and even praying to save precious stretches of countryside from destruction. If you are one of the escapees from town, I’d check your new view isn’t earmarked for development.

More Nationals supporting Joyce amendment and Liberal Craig Kelly says he will consider it

The deputy Liberal leader, Josh Frydenberg, has rejected Barnaby Joyce’s call to allow the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in coal in a bid to slap down a growing Nationals revolt.

The Morrison government has deferred the looming internal brawl on coal by removing its own bill from the daily program, but on Wednesday more Nationals came out in support of the Joyce amendment and Liberal Craig Kelly said he would consider it.

Environmental audit committee says chancellor must use budget to spur low-carbon growth

Ministers should cut VAT on repairs for electrical goods and green home improvements, to help people reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their everyday lives, an influential committee of MPs has urged.

Funding for green home grants to install insulation and low-carbon heating, should also be restored to kickstart a “green recovery” in the UK, said the environmental audit committee in a report on how to “grow back better” from the coronavirus crisis.

Election year could deliver the best result in the party’s 40-year history, and send a message on climate targets from Europe’s most powerful state

Pre-pandemic, Europe’s green parties were on a roll. In France last summer, supporters hailed a “green wave” after regional polls handed the Europe Ecology party control of showcase cities such as Lyon, Strasbourg and Bordeaux. Austria’s Greens are the surprise junior partners in a conservative-led coalition government, delivering pioneering measures to curtail short-haul air travel. In the 27 EU member states, five governments now have Green members sitting at the cabinet table.

If ambitious net zero targets are to amount to more than earnest virtue signalling, this infiltration of the political mainstream is both overdue and necessary. And now comes the biggest test – and the greatest opportunity – of all. Consistently running a comfortable second in the polls to Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, and already governing in coalition in 11 states, Germany’s Greens are well-placed to form part of the country’s first “black-green” coalition after September’s federal elections. The CDU’s recent endorsement of the centrist Armin Laschet as its new leader suggests it sees such an alliance as a likely route to staying in power, as Ms Merkel steps down after 16 years in office. The Greens will decide this spring which of its two co-leaders should be its candidate for the top job: the media-savvy and charismatic Annalena Baerbock, or the equally ambitious moderniser Robert Habeck, talked up in some quarters as Germany’s Emmanuel Macron.

Foundation Food Group allegedly asked workers to sign blank sheets of paper, and impeded compensation and healthcare claims

Meat plant workers who were injured and displaced after a fatal accident in the US last month are alleged to have been intimidated and offered limited medical care.

A liquid nitrogen leak at a Foundation Food Group poultry plant in Gainesville, Georgia, killed six people in January and hospitalised at least 11 others.

The site chosen to offset the massive Badgerys Creek project was already earmarked for protection. Experts accuse the government of ‘double-dipping’

There are serious flaws in the environmental offsets being used to compensate for the new western Sydney airport now under construction in Badgerys Creek, a Guardian Australia investigation has found.

All up, 1,780ha of bushland will be razed to make way for the new travel hub – an area bigger than the Adelaide CBD.

Fires used by just 8% of population but cause triple the particle pollution of traffic, data shows

Domestic wood burning has become the single biggest source of small particle air pollution in the UK, producing three times more than road traffic, government data shows.

Just 8% of the population cause this pollution by burning wood indoors, according to a separate government-commissioned report. It found almost half of those burning indoors were affluent and many chose a fire for aesthetic reasons, rather than heat.

Even before a child is born in the US, their race plays a huge part in how they'll experience heat and pollution. 

It starts with America's history of racist housing policies that segregated families of color into undesirable neighborhoods – and we can actually see the effects of those policies today: lots of pavement, little green space, and ultimately more heat. Meanwhile, in areas where white families live, the neighborhoods tend to have a lot more trees and shade, which leads to less heat. And as the climate warms, it's black families who are most likely to be stuck in extremely hot areas.

Recent research is showing us that this isn't just about being uncomfortable. Heat has an effect on everything – from pregnancies to our long-term health to our ability to learn.

As part of our environmental justice series, the Guardian's Alvin Chang and Oliver Milman explain how the climate criss and race have become inextricably linked in the US

Experts in Cambridge are on night vigil as the moonflower is about to blossom in a UK first, an event being livestreamed for all

Cambridge botanists are eagerly waiting for a rare and unusual cactus called the moonflower to bloom for what is thought to be the first time in the UK, an event that begins at sunset and is over by the time the sun rises the following day.

Experts at Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden (CUBG) have been on night watch for several days, even setting up a live stream so the public can get a glimpse of the flowering of the Amazonian plant Selenicereus wittii.

Animals traded for pet industry, bushmeat, traditional medicine, ivory and lab use declined locally by up to 99.9%

Wildlife populations decline by an average of 62% in areas where species are traded, pushing some closer to extinction, according to a new report.

The first analysis to quantify the impact of the legal and illegal wildlife trade looked at 133 land-based species and found the most endangered – which typically have smaller populations – are most at risk, with average declines of 81%. In some cases this resulted in local disappearances, with certain populations of spider monkeys and Baird’s tapir declining by 99.9%, according to an international team of researchers led by Sheffield University.