The Guardian
Hundreds of teens join Greta Thunberg in climate protest outside UN
Swedish climate activist and young strikers gathered in New York to call on adults to act on the climate crisis
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was joined by hundreds of American teenagers protesting outside the UN headquarters in New York on Friday calling for adults to act on the crisis of global heating.
Related: Greta Thunberg 'wants a concrete plan, not just nice words' to fight climate crisis
Continue reading...Climate, green energy and the Amazon fires | Letters
The letter on Wednesday (Clearer green energy targets are needed, 28 August) was quite right in recognising the UK’s lofty ambitions to become one of the cleanest and most innovative energy systems in the world on our path to becoming a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. But I take issue with the suggestion that our ambitions are not matched by our actions. We’re investing £274m to develop cheap, high-performance and durable batteries. We’re removing regulatory barriers to allow more storage facilities across the UK. We’re supporting small-scale localised energy generation through our smart export guarantee – continuing our world-leading support for the solar industry.
As members of the EU, we were obliged to implement the VAT increase for solar technology and storage. Once we leave, it may be possible to review this. All of this is supported by upgrades to the country’s energy infrastructure through our smart meter rollout and smart systems and flexibility plan. This enables homeowners to save money by putting them in control of their energy use, such as by charging electric vehicles or storing energy in a battery when it is cheapest.
Continue reading...Share of coal in UK's electricity system falls to record lows
Average of 0.7% of total second-quarter electricity generated came from most polluting power plants
The share of coal in the UK’s electricity system has fallen to record lows in recent months, according to government data.
The figures show electricity generated by the UK’s most polluting power plants made up an average of 0.7% of the total in the second quarter of this year. The amount of coal used to power the electricity grid fell by almost two-thirds compared with the same months last year.
Continue reading...The week in wildlife – in pictures
A rabbit in a buckwheat field and armadillos and snakes challenged by wildfires in Bolivia and the Amazon
Continue reading...Birders claim first sighting of brown booby in UK
Hundreds flock to St Ives, Cornwall to catch a glimpse of the yellow-footed seabird
Hundreds of birders have flocked to Cornwall to seek what could be the first ever UK sighting of a brown booby.
The large, yellow-footed seabird is usually found fishing in tropical waters on the far side of the Atlantic, around the Caribbean and Venezuela.
Continue reading...Extinction Rebellion protesters block street in central Manchester
Activists protesting against climate emergency set up camp kitchen in busy Deansgate
Extinction Rebellion protesters have begun blocking Manchester’s Deansgate in protest at the “huge contradictions” of a city region that has declared a climate emergency planning to massively expand its airport.
A yellow boat bearing the words “Planet Before Profit” was parked at the John Dalton Street junction and a tipper truck arrived packed with straw bales. Soon, guerrilla gardeners had set up a nursery of plants on what is one of Manchester’s most polluted streets, and a camp kitchen began to be erected.
Continue reading...Only 10% of sugarcane growers in reef catchment properly managing runoff
Great Barrier Reef report grades sugarcane sector ‘very poor’ with just 9.8% adopting proper management practices
Less than 10% of sugarcane growers in Great Barrier Reef catchments are using appropriate land management practices for reef health, according to a major report that underlines the need for new regulations proposed by the Queensland government.
The federal and Queensland governments’ water quality report card for 2017-2018 says the condition of inshore reefs on the Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated to an overall grade of “D” – which means “poor”.
Continue reading...Salmon farming in the Beagle Channel enters troubled waters | Hannah Summers
Victory for community concerned about the industry’s environmental costs strengthens calls for shakeup of rules along Chilean coast
A growing wave of resistance to the expansion of salmon farms along the Chilean coast has led to an important victory in the fight to protect a pristine fjord in southern Patagonia, home to indigenous groups and an array of stunning wildlife.
Dolphins, whales and colonies of penguins thrive in the 240km-long Beagle Channel, an area of outstanding natural beauty between Chile and Argentina which attracts tourists from all over the world.
Continue reading...Shark and otter species given new protections – in pictures
Moves to protect glass frogs and the woolly mammoth, however, were defeated at the summit of the 183-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites)
Sites holding SKM's recycling waste left in lurch as Victoria denies access to clean-up loan
Landowners who store waste on behalf of the company will not receive any part of $10m assistance package
Companies holding tens of thousands of tonnes of waste on behalf of recycling group SKM have been told they will not receive any assistance from a multimillion-dollar state government loan aimed at helping clean up SKM sites, and say the material they are holding may end up in landfill.
This week, the Victorian government announced a $10m loan to receivers KordaMentha to “help clean up SKM sites and resume waste processing”.
Continue reading...Great Barrier Reef outlook now 'very poor', Australian government review says
Five-yearly report says climate change is escalating the threat and window of opportunity for action is now
The outlook for the Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated from poor to very poor according to an exhaustive government report that warns the window of opportunity to improve the natural wonder’s future “is now”.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s outlook report, published every five years, is grim. It reports that coral reefs have declined to very poor condition and there has been widespread habitat loss, degradation and alteration that is affecting fish, turtles and seabirds.
It warns that without urgent national and global action to address climate change its outlook will remain very poor and there will be consequences for its values as a world heritage property.
Related: Cane growers support front group working to undermine Great Barrier Reef science
Continue reading...Australia's carbon emissions rise again, largely thanks to LNG industry
Latest data shows greenhouse gas emissions rose 0.6% in the year to March, but government points to benefit of LNG exports
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise despite the Morrison government claiming it is taking “sensible, responsible action” to address the climate crisis, the latest official data shows.
National emissions increased by 3.1m tonnes in the year to March to reach 538.9m tonnes, a 0.6% jump on the previous year, the report released on Friday revealed.
Continue reading...Brazil: fires reported in Amazon's indigenous reserves spark fear
Bolsonaro issues decree banning fires for 60 days amid fears loggers and land grabbers targeted remote areas during blazes
Fires have been reported in protected indigenous reserves of the Brazilian Amazon, raising fears that loggers and land grabbers have targeted these remote areas during the dramatic surge in blazes across the world’s biggest rainforest.
Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, who has been widely criticised for failing to respond quickly to the crisis, issued a decree on Thursday banning fires in the Amazon for 60 days – a move environmentalists described as largely symbolic.
Continue reading...Why it’s payback time on climate change | Letters
The principle of restorative justice (Glasgow University to pay £20m in slavery reparations, 24 August) also applies to the issue of climate change. I am of a generation that has profited hugely (knowingly or not) from the careless use of fossil fuels. Reports on the Amazon fires just serve to emphasise the urgent need to take action to eliminate carbon emissions and absorb carbon already in the atmosphere.
Reparations in this case are due to the younger and future generations and should start with us “silver rebels” sharply curtailing our emissions and joining with Extinction Rebellion in the collective (international) efforts to eliminate emissions in the next decade, through which many of us elderly hope to live. The “silver rebels” might have less to lose if arrested in the cause. The Guardian’s daily carbon counter will show us how we are all doing.
Daniel Scharf
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Low-carbon technology fund is tonic for Scottish gin maker
Orkney Distillery aims to be the first producer powered by hydrogen and renewable energy
A craft distillery in Scotland could become the greenest gin and whisky producer in the world as part of the government’s plans to cut industrial climate emissions.
The Orkney Distillery has secured a slice of the government’s £390m fund to help develop low-carbon technologies that could reduce carbon emissions from industry. It hopes to use the funds to become the first gin distillery in the world to run on hydrogen made from renewable energy rather than liquid petroleum gas.
Continue reading...Trump administration to roll back Obama-era methane regulations
EPA will reverse standards to install controls to curb leaks of methane, a potent pollutant contributing to the climate crisis
The Trump administration is rolling back requirements that oil and gas drillers correct leaks of methane – a potent heat-trapping pollutant contributing to the climate crisis.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced the proposal Thursday, against the wishes of some major oil companies.
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg: young activists will push leaders to address climate crisis
‘Leaders know that more eyes are on them, much more pressure is on them,’ says Swedish activist in Guardian interview
Unprecedented pressure exerted by young activists will push world leaders to address the unfolding climate crisis, even with a recalcitrant US under Donald Trump, Greta Thunberg has told the Guardian.
Thunberg, the teenager whose school climate strikes have ignited a global youth-led movement, said that her journey to New York on a solar-powered yacht was symbolic of the lengths young people will take to confront the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Plastic pollution: ‘I’m giving up. You probably should too’ – video
After four years of leading volunteer beach cleans in the west of Wales, Alan Cookson is quitting because of the insurmountable plastic problem around Britain’s coastlines. We join him as he leads his last beach clean to find out why he believes we need to change our approach in the fight against plastic pollution
'Like mopping up a flood': throwing in the towel over beach plastic pollution
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg reaches New York after two-week sailing journey across Atlantic – video
The 16-year-old climate activist arrived in New York on Wednesday in a zero-carbon emissions sailing boat, completing her 15-day voyage from Britain to take part in a UN climate summit. 'It was a bit rough sometimes but it went incredibly well, and I didn't feel seasick, so I was extremely lucky,' she told reporters
Continue reading...Nuclear power in Australia not realistic for at least a decade, Ziggy Switkowski says
Expert who led 2006 review says ban on nuclear should be lifted, but much more overseas evidence is needed on small modular reactors
It will be about a decade before it is clear whether small nuclear reactors are suitable for Australia and would take about 15 years to bring a plant online if a decision was made to build one, one of the country’s leading experts has said.
But Ziggy Switkowski, who headed a 2006 review of nuclear power for the Howard government, said the technology had no chance of being introduced unless Australia had a coherent energy policy.
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