Environment news

• Birdwatch: like a clockwork toy the sandpiper is all whir and whistles

  11-09-2018 22:30
  The common sandpiper is a hyperactive bobbing wader, a pleasure to spot and hardly deserving of its everyday nameWhen it comes to bird names I’ve never much liked the word “common”. Not only is it usually inaccurate (as in gull, scoter and rosefinch), it also suggests that the species is not worth a second glance. For the common sandpiper, that’s certainly not true. It’s always a pleasure to come across this neat little wader, whether along a Scottish stream, on its
  
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• EPA admits scrapping regulations will put more methane into atmosphere

  11-09-2018 21:06
  Obama-era rules targeted climate change gas from oil wellsEPA: move ‘may degrade air quality and adversely affect health’The Trump administration moved closer on Tuesday to rolling back Obama-era rules reducing oil and gas industry leaks of methane gas. Related: Jerry Brown: Trump's 'gross ignorance' main obstacle in climate change fightContinue reading...
  
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• Air, Land & Sea: the 50 greatest wildlife photographs – in pictures

  11-09-2018 20:00
  National Geographic has created the 50 greatest wildlife photographs exhibition. A pop-up, which starts its global debut in Melbourne zoo’s historic Carousel Park, the Air, Land & Sea exhibition showcases the world’s best wildlife photography from the likes of Paul Nicklen, Beverly Joubert and Steve Winter Continue reading...
  
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• Jerry Brown: Trump's 'gross ignorance' main obstacle in climate change fight

  11-09-2018 18:00
  California governor is taking the lead in confronting planet’s ‘existential challenge’ and signs bill for carbon-free power by 2045Jerry Brown, California’s governor, has accused Donald Trump of “gross ignorance” over climate change as he made his most sweeping actions yet to rid the world’s fifth largest economy of fossil fuels. Related: Fossil fuel dependence poses 'direct existential threat', warns UN chiefContinue reading...
  
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• Fresh warnings over lack of climate action across finance sector

  11-09-2018 17:04
  The reinsurance and pension fund sectors are failing to progress the finance sector towards key climate goals by continuing to invest in coal projects over low-carbon alternatives, two reports have claimed.
  
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• Plans for new Cumbria nuclear power station on verge of collapse

  11-09-2018 15:25
  Toshiba’s plan to sell plant in disarray over government’s ‘risky’ financing planPlans for a new nuclear power station in Cumbria are on the verge of collapsing after the Toshiba-owned company behind it laid off 60% of its workforce and embarked on a final effort to sell the project.Toshiba was due to sell the NuGen consortium to South Korea state-owned firm Kecpo in early 2018, as the Japanese firm exits international nuclear projects and looks to recoup some of the &pou
  
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• The North Face to offset all emissions from athlete expeditions

  11-09-2018 13:56
  Outdoor clothing brand The North Face has committed to offset 100% of the emissions it generates by sending athletes on expeditions as its parent company strives to set a science-based target for emissions reductions.
  
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• Morrison says he has not been told of any Liberal party leadership 'bullies'

  11-09-2018 12:58
  PM tells ABC that Lucy Gichuhi told him she was not bullied by anyone in CanberraScott Morrison says the South Australian Liberal senator Lucy Gichuhi has told him she was not bullied by anyone in Canberra during the government’s leadership crisis, and he says no names of any perpetrators had been provided to him.While Gichuhi suggested clearly last week that she had been bullied – a suggestion that was validated implicitly by the minister for women, Kelly O’Dwyer, who said gov
  
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• Fossil fuel dependence poses 'direct existential threat', warns UN chief

  11-09-2018 12:49
  A rapid global shift to clean energy is needed to prevent runaway climate change, says António GuterresUnited Nations secretary general António Guterres has warned that the world is facing “a direct existential threat” and must rapidly shift from dependence on fossil fuels by 2020 to prevent “runaway climate change”.Guterres called the crisis urgent and decried the lack of global leadership to address global warming. Continue reading...
  
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• City of London Corporation invests £2m in UK's Green Finance Institute

  11-09-2018 12:36
  The City of London Corporation has pledged to invest £2m in the UK's new Green Finance Institute once the new body launches next year.
  
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• Global hunger levels rising due to extreme weather, UN warns

  11-09-2018 12:04
  Progress made in the past decade has been reversed, with climate extremes such as droughts and floods identified as a main causeGlobal hunger has reverted to levels last seen a decade ago, wiping out progress on improving people’s access to food and leaving one in nine people undernourished last year, with extreme weather a leading cause, the UN has warned.Hunger afflicted 821 million people last year, the third annual rise since 2015, with most regions of Africa and much of South America
  
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• First AI-assisted passenger boat sets sail to boost fuel efficiency

  11-09-2018 12:02
  Ferry giant Stena Line has unveiled what it claims is the world's first passenger boat that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the most fuel-efficient route.
  
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• Google launches new online data tool to help cities lower emissions

  11-09-2018 11:58
  Google has launched a new online tool to help city planners build policies to lower emissions by targeting projects in the built environment, transport and clean energy sectors.
  
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• Water firms commit to protect the environment

  11-09-2018 11:39
  Nine of the UK's water companies have, along with 20 NGOs, joined together to create a set of "shared principles" to improve the health of the environment.
  
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• Air pollution is 'biggest environmental health risk' in Europe

  11-09-2018 11:30
  Governments are failing to tackle the crisis that causes 1,000 early deaths a day, says damning EU reportAir pollution is now “the biggest environmental risk” to public health in Europe but governments are failing to adequately deal with the crisis, the EU Court of Auditors has found.Europe’s air pollution limits are “much weaker” than WHO guidelines – and most EU countries do not comply with them anyway, according to the damning new report. Continue reading..
  
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• Global demand for fossil fuels will peak in 2023, says thinktank

  11-09-2018 10:40
  Oil and gas firms’ assets at risk from massive growth in wind and solar, says Carbon TrackerGlobal demand for fossil fuels will peak in 2023, an influential thinktank has predicted, posing a significant risk to financial markets because trillions of dollars’ worth of oil, coal and gas assets could be left worthless.Explosive growth in wind and solar will combine with action on climate change and slowing growth in energy needs to ensure that fossil fuel demand peaks in the 2020s, Carb
  
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• Endangered water voles return to Somerset river after 30 years

  11-09-2018 07:47 via bbc.co.uk
  The National Trust conservation project aims to boost wildlife on the Holnicote Estate in Exmoor.
  
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• Country diary: catching flies with the shimmering fireflirt

  11-09-2018 06:30
  Pulborough Brooks, West Sussex: It hovers and snatches at a fly, its tail fanning out in flickering bright flashes of orange-red Common blue butterflies float over the brown, dried grass. Large southern hawker dragonflies– patterned green, blue and black, with bulbous heads and thoraxes and long abdomens – whirr along the edges of the paths at waist height, steadily patrolling their territories, back and forth, for mates and prey. Occasionally, two of the big dragonflies meet and the
  
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• Tony Abbott targets renewables subsidies in latest energy intervention

  11-09-2018 05:59
  Another outspoken conservative, Craig Kelly, wants to know what exactly is the Liberal’s policy on the Paris climate agreementTony Abbott has reignited his push to scrap subsidies for renewable energy, taking on the new energy minister, Angus Taylor, at his first meeting of the government’s backbench energy and environment committee on Tuesday.Sources at Tuesday’s meeting have told Guardian Australia that the former prime minister, who joined the backbench committee as a voting
  
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• Theresa May's £100m pledge: Will the UK lead the world on zero-emission transport?

  11-09-2018 02:36
  The world's first zero-emission vehicle summit will be headlined by a £106m investment from the UK Government into low-emission vehicle development. But, how will the UK's transport ambitions fare in light of new EU legislation and continued uncertainty over post-Brexit trade deals?
  
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• Theresa May's £100m pledge: Can the UK become a 'world leader' for low-emissions transport?

  11-09-2018 02:36
  The world's first zero-emission vehicle summit will be headlined by a £106m investment from the UK Government into low-emission vehicle development. But, how will the UK's transport ambitions fare in light of new EU legislation and continued uncertainty over post-Brexit trade deals?
  
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• Report: Fossil fuel demand to peak in the 2020s due to clean energy growth

  11-09-2018 02:01
  The global transition to clean energy and low-carbon technologies is set to be much quicker than previously expected, with worldwide demand for fossil fuels set to peak in the 2020s.
  
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• Business leaders call for post-Brexit vehicle emissions roadmap

  11-09-2018 02:01
  A coalition of leaders from business, politics and civil society have today (11 September) called for "much greater clarity" on how vehicle emissions will be reduced post-Brexit, on the same day that the UK Government is hosting the world's first zero emission vehicles summit in Birmingham.
  
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• Leaked Queensland report shows state has no overall strategy to save native species

  11-09-2018 02:00
  Exclusive: Conservation staff say 955 species face extinction across the stateThe entire state of Queensland has no overarching conservation strategy to save its native species, according to a leaked internal review that criticises a lack of funding, planning and management of threatened wildlife.The damning report obtained by Guardian Australia is an evaluation by staff in the conservation and sustainability services division of the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, the lead age
  
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• How to eat well - and save the planet

  11-09-2018 01:47 via bbc.co.uk
  Shifting to a healthier diet can reduce a person's water footprint by as much as 55%, according to a study.
  
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• Water voles returning to national park in west country after 30 years

  11-09-2018 01:01
  150 ‘Ratty’ river creatures to be released in Somerset estate where they had become extinctOne of the most beloved and endangered riverine creatures is returning to a west country national park where it has been extinct for more than three decades.Over the next few days 150 water voles will be released at six locations in the Aller river on the Holnicote Estate on Exmoor in Somerset. Continue reading...
  
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• Fossil fuel divestment funds rise to $6tn

  11-09-2018 00:00
  Insurance companies lead the sell-off of coal, oil and gas stocks over climate change and financial fears – oil majors now cite divestment as a risk to themThe funds committed to fossil fuel divestment now total more than $6tn (£4.6tn), with almost 1,000 institutional investors having made the pledge, according to a new report.The sell-off of coal, oil and gas investments is led by the insurance industry, with $3tn of funds. But it also now includes the first nation to divest, Irelan
  
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