The Guardian

At least six energy companies prospecting for first windfarms in almost a decade after Labour lifts limits

Renewable energy companies have begun work on new onshore windfarms in England for the first time in almost a decade after the new government reversed restrictions the Conservatives had put in place on turbines.

At least half a dozen renewables developers have begun identifying potential sites for full-scale windfarms in England after the Labour party swept to power last week with the promise to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

From climate crisis being a crime story to presenting basic weather news in the context of climate change, here are some lessons from journalists

Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope of Covering Climate Now (CCNow) hail the winners of their organization’s annual global climate journalism awards, and here describe some lessons they have taken from the more than 1,250 entries.

Mark Hertsgaard is executive director and co-founder of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration committed to more and better coverage of the climate story, and the Nation magazine’s environment correspondent

Kyle Pope is executive director of strategic initiatives and co-founder of Covering Climate Now, and a former editor and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review

The debate about the degree to which forests and fungi communicate raises the painful question of confirmation bias

• Sophie Yeo is editor of Inkcap Journal

You have probably heard the theory, that the health of forests depends on common mycorrhizal networks. Trees send resources to their neighbours through strands of hyphae, which act as an underground arboreal postal service, connecting root systems within the soil. Mature trees preferentially provide their offspring with resources, ensuring the survival of their own.

Not ringing any bells? Try switching “common mycorrhizal network” with “wood wide web”, the more familiar term that has described this phenomenon in hundreds of more mainstream places: novels, magazines, films and television series. The wood wide web is one of those rare things – a scientific theory that has captured the popular imagination.

Vibrant blooms mean first stage of plan to cover 1,200 hectares is hailed as a success 18 months after planting

When the sowing began on the coastline of south-west England, conservationists warned it may take a little while for the new wildflower meadows to flourish fully.

But 18 months on, a vibrant display of blooms has popped up in north Devon, a joy for human visitors and a draw for precious birds, insects and mammals.

Activists are convinced a wartime campaign of resistance is the only way to highlight the existing system’s failure to meet the moment

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As pro-Palestinian protesters sparked outrage scaling the roof of Parliament House last week, a few dozen activists at Newcastle were making an equally sharp point – mostly to less fanfare.

Over more than two weeks, campaigners under the Blockade Australia banner have been interrupting trains near the world’s biggest coal port. My colleague Jordyn Beazley reported that by Monday at least 500 train journeys had been cancelled and more than 30 people arrested.

It’s a hot topic for scientists all over the world

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Neonicotinoid was given emergency clearance under Conservative government in 2023 and 2024

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is being investigated by the environmental watchdog after Conservative ministers authorised a bee-killing pesticide that was banned by the EU.

The investigation into Defra was launched after the campaign group ClientEarth submitted a complaint to the Office for Environmental Protection, which was set up after Brexit to replace the EU’s framework for punishing environmental offences by governments in the bloc. On Monday, the OEP announced it would be investigating the emergency authorisation of a neonicotinoid pesticide in 2023 and 2024.

Researchers say EV models with vehicle-to-grid capability will be a huge and flexible resource able to respond to emergencies

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On 13 February, when freak winds brought down a transmission line in Victoria and shut down the state’s largest power station, a fleet of electric cars plugged into a charger in Canberra 500km away stirred.

Within six seconds, 16 vehicles started discharging their batteries, sending power back into the grid. While the contribution – part of a pioneering research project – was minuscule compared with the 90,000 households who lost electricity, the experiment showed how EVs could help ease grid calamities of the future.

Heat warnings or advisories in effect for states on west coast, east coast and south, with more extreme highs forecast

A fierce heatwave that shattered records this weekend will again grip much of the US on Monday, with more than 36 million Americans under excessive heat warnings.

The dangerous temperatures caused the death of a motorcyclist in California’s Death Valley. And they posed challenges for firefighters working in sweltering conditions to battle a series of wildfires across the state.

Rachel Reeves says she will revise planning policy and decisions should be taken ‘nationally, not locally’

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The effective ban on onshore windfarms has been dropped by the Labour government, in news that has delighted environmental and energy experts.

The ban was caused by two footnotes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the rules which govern the building of homes and infrastructure.

Copernicus Climate Change Service says results a ‘large and continuing shift’ in the climate

The world has baked for 12 consecutive months in temperatures 1.5C (2.7F) greater than their average before the fossil fuel era, new data shows.

Temperatures between July 2023 and June 2024 were the highest on record, scientists found, creating a year-long stretch in which the Earth was 1.64C hotter than in preindustrial times.

Another visitor in same motorcycle group hospitalized for ‘severe heat illness’ as other four members treated at scene

A visitor to Death Valley national park died Sunday from heat exposure and another person was hospitalized as the temperature reached 128F (53.3C) in eastern California, officials said.

The two visitors were part of a group of six motorcyclists riding through the Badwater Basin area amid scorching weather, the park said.

The party’s targets of building 1.5m homes over five years and decarbonising the electricity grid by 2030 look a stretch

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A landslide victory for Labour was also a satisfactory result for the vigilantes of the bond market. A Conservative administration that served up Liz Truss’s reckless budget of unfunded giveaways in 2022 has been punished. A Labour party promising fiscal discipline, to the point where it ditched a previous flagship £28bn policy on green investment in case it scared the horses, has been rewarded.

So, yes, one can see why the UK has suddenly acquired haven-like status in the eyes of financial markets. Unlike the US and France, for instance, international investors now know what they’re getting with the UK: a stable government anxious to demonstrate its market-friendly credentials. Meanwhile, inflation is falling and cuts in interest rates lie around the corner. “We believe UK government bonds (gilts) are attractive at current levels,” said Peder Beck-Friis, an economist at Pimco, the enormous bond fund manager.

Working group to look at where birds might be introduced and engage with boroughs and local community in capital

White storks could soon be wheeling in the skies above London and building their huge nests among towers, flats and spires as a result of new rewilding plans.

After the success of the charismatic birds’ successful reintroduction into southern England since 2016, a white stork working group has been established to seek out habitat and gauge the political will to reintroduce the birds to Greater London.

Labour’s victory, alongside strong Green performance, gives next PM mandate to act boldly on net zero, say campaigners

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Labour’s victory in the general election must mark the start of the UK’s transformation to a green and low-carbon economy and society, campaigners and experts have said as the scale of the election win became clear.

The Conservatives’ U-turns on the environment had been “as popular with voters as a root canal”, according to Greenpeace, as the party sank to its worst electoral defeat in modern times.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

Drone footage released by the Grenadian prime minister's office showed widespread destruction on the island of Carriacou after Hurricane Beryl struck. After his visit to Carriacou, Grenada's prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, described the aftermath of the category 4 storm as 'Armageddon-like'. Mitchell said about 98% of the buildings were either damaged or demolished, and the electrical grid and communication systems were almost entirely obliterated

• Hurricane Beryl hits Jamaica after leaving ‘Armageddon-like’ trail in Grenada

An unprecedented storm has caused devastation. Caribbean states need support

The islands that have been hardest hit by Hurricane Beryl will take years to recover. Nine out of 10 homes on Union, which is part of St Vincent and the Grenadines in the eastern Caribbean, were damaged or destroyed on Monday. On Carriacou, which is part of Grenada, hardly any buildings were left unscathed. On Tuesday, the Grenadian prime minister, Dickon Mitchell, described the situation as “almost Armageddon-like”.

The course taken by Beryl meant that Jamaica, which is home to nearly 3 million people, did not receive its full force as had been feared. But houses and roads were flooded, and a woman was killed, taking the overall death toll to at least 10. Barbados and other islands were also damaged.

Study that researchers say highlights chemicals’ ubiquity also shows PFAS association with seafood and red meat

New research aimed at identifying foods that contain higher levels of PFAS found people who eat more white rice, coffee, eggs and seafood typically showed more of the toxic chemicals in their plasma and breast milk.

The study checked samples from 3,000 pregnant mothers, and is among the first research to suggest coffee and white rice may be contaminated at higher rates than other foods. It also identified an association between red meat consumption and levels of PFOS, one of the most common and dangerous PFAS compounds.

From wildflower retreats and Novid rooms to locking yourself in a disabled toilet, hospital staff reveal where they go when they need a moment’s peace