Environment news

• Cop 29: Ukraine and Palestinian delegation warn of environmental impact of war – video

  20-11-2024 18:41
  
  Ukrainian environmental protection minister Svitlana Grynchuk and Palestinian chairperson for the Environmental Quality Authority Nisreen Tamimi raised the alarm on the ecological impact of war in their countries and beyond. Grynchuk said Russia's 'unlawful reporting' of its carbon emissions on Ukrainian territory was undermining the integrity of the Paris Agreement. Tamimi said the rebuilding effort in Gaza would release an estimated 30m tonnes of carbon dioxideCop29 live: campaigners say talks
  
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• Cop 29: Ukraine and Palestinian delegates warn of environmental impact of war – video

  20-11-2024 18:41
  
  Ukraine's environmental protection minister, Svitlana Grynchuk, and the Palestinian chair for the environmental quality authority, Nisreen Tamimi, raised the alarm on the ecological impact of war in their countries and beyond. Grynchuk said Russia's 'unlawful reporting' of its carbon emissions on Ukrainian territory was undermining the integrity of the Paris agreement. Tamimi said the rebuilding effort in Gaza would release an estimated 30m tonnes of carbon dioxideCop29 live: campaigners say tal
  
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• Milei plan to privatise Argentina river sparks fears among local communities

  20-11-2024 18:06
  
  Communities on Paraná River fear privatisation of waterway operations will destroy way of life River communities in Argentina fear that Javier Milei’s plans to privatise operations on a key shipping route could lead to environmental damage and destroy their way of life.Since taking office almost a year ago, the self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” president has pledged to privatise a number of the state’s assets. The latest is the Paraguay-Paraná waterway &ndash
  
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• A Bornean orangutan on a fearless quest for figs: Tim Laman’s best photograph

  20-11-2024 17:55
  
  ‘While it was dark, I climbed up and put remote control cameras in the tree. I’d never have got the shot if I’d been up there. An orangutan always knows you’re there’I was following orangutans in Borneo with my wife, Cheryl Knott, a primatologist who has spent 30 years working in Gunung Palung national park, in the Indonesian part of Borneo. I am a biologist by background, and did my PhD research in rainforest ecology in Borneo, before I went into photography and fi
  
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• Sky News documentary ‘Real Cost of Net Zero’ fails to live up to its hubris, with viewers paying the price | Temperature Check

  20-11-2024 15:36
  Chris Uhlmann says power costs are soaring while renewables are falling short, but do the pair have anything in common?Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhat is “The Real Cost of Net Zero” asked political journalist Chris Uhlmann this week, after weeks of trailing his new documentary on Sky News Australia.Uhlmann is no fan of Australia’s shift to renewables, and in a preview published in the Australian said politicians and governments “pushing amb
  
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• Sky News Australia documentary The Real Cost of Net Zero fails to live up to its hubris, with viewers paying the price | Temperature Check

  20-11-2024 15:36
  Chris Uhlmann says power costs are soaring while renewables are falling short, but do the pair have anything in common?Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhat is “The Real Cost of Net Zero” the political journalist Chris Uhlmann asked this week, after weeks of trailing his new documentary on Sky News Australia.Uhlmann is no fan of Australia’s shift to renewables and, in a preview published in the Aust
  
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• Cop29 live: campaigners say talks are ‘reaching point of real emotion’

  20-11-2024 15:06
  ‘Talks aren’t just about figures on paper, they’re about people’s lives’, says Climate Action International as talks reach critical final daysEarlier today I posted about an excellent piece colleagues at the Guardian have published tracking how Earth’s heating has led to rising sea levels and extreme weather – and yet there is no sign of emissions slowing.Unfortunately I did not include a link to the piece [it was early UK time!] so here it is [and as I
  
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• Inside the secret world of McKinsey, the firm hooked on fossil fuels

  20-11-2024 14:00
  Interviews and analysis of court documents show how the world’s most prestigious consulting firm quietly helps fuel the climate crisisTwo giant, mirrored walls are set to rise out of the sands of the Arabian desert. They will run parallel for more than 100 miles from the coast of the Red Sea through arid valleys and craggy mountains. Between them, a futuristic city which has no need for cars or roads will be powered completely by renewable energy.This engineering marvel, its creators say,
  
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• ‘Capitalism incarnate’: inside the secret world of McKinsey, the firm hooked on fossil fuels

  20-11-2024 14:00
  
  Interviews and analysis of court documents show how the world’s most prestigious consulting firm quietly helps fuel the climate crisisTwo giant, mirrored walls are set to rise out of the sands of the Arabian desert. They will run parallel for more than 100 miles from the coast of the Red Sea through arid valleys and craggy mountains. Between them, a futuristic city which has no need for cars or roads will be powered completely by renewable energy.This engineering marvel, its creators say,
  
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• ‘A little dirty’: inside the secret world of McKinsey, the firm hooked on fossil fuels

  20-11-2024 14:00
  
  Interviews and analysis of court documents show how the world’s most prestigious consulting firm quietly helps fuel the climate crisisTwo giant, mirrored walls are set to rise out of the sands of the Arabian desert. They will run parallel for more than 100 miles from the coast of the Red Sea through arid valleys and craggy mountains. Between them, a futuristic city which has no need for cars or roads will be powered completely by renewable energy.This engineering marvel, its creators say,
  
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• ‘My legs were getting smashed in. My face was burning’ – This is climate breakdown

  20-11-2024 13:00
  You had to drive through the fire to leave. I remember my heart racing. This is Olivia’s storyLocation Fort Smith, CanadaDisaster Wood Buffalo Complex fire, 2023Olivia is Dene, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, and works in environmental management. In 2023, she was caught up in the massive evacuation when the Wood Buffalo Complex fire broke out, burning more than 500,000 hectares in and around the national park. Across Canada, the 2023 wildfire season was unprecedented in
  
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• Blackouts, explosions, deaths: why the Caribbean is waking up to the increased threat of lightning

  20-11-2024 13:00
  A recent strike narrowly missed slave trade archives in Barbados, and experts warn more and worse is to come as global heating intensifies stormsWhen the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world’s most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received widespread sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.A section of the 60-year-old building, Block D, located on the grounds
  
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• Almost 120 countries vowed to triple renewables by 2030 – how is it going?

  20-11-2024 12:00
  
  At Cop28 last year they also pledged to double energy efficiency in an effort to cut the world’s reliance on fossil fuelsAlmost 120 countries came together in Dubai last year at the Cop28 climate talks to pledge one of the most ambitious green energy targets in the history of the UN climate talks.The plan put forward was to triple the world’s renewable energy and double its energy efficiency by the end of the decade in an attempt to cut the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. Con
  
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• Patches of wildflowers in cities can be just as good for insects as natural meadows – study

  20-11-2024 11:32
  
  Researchers found no difference in the diversity of species in urban meadows compared with those in rural settingsSmall patches of wildflowers sown in cities can be a good substitute for a natural meadow, according to a study which showed butterflies, bees and hoverflies like them just as much.Councils are increasingly making space for wildflower meadows in cities in a bid to tackle insect decline, but their role in helping pollinating insects was unclear. Researchers working in the Polish city
  
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• Five firms in plastic pollution alliance ‘made 1,000 times more plastic than they cleaned up’

  20-11-2024 11:00
  
  Exclusive: Five oil and chemical companies which promised to divert plastic from environment produced 132m tonnes of it, analysis findsBali recycling scheme swamped with garbageOil and chemical companies who created a high-profile alliance to end plastic pollution have produced 1,000 times more new plastic in five years than the waste they diverted from the environment, according to new data obtained by Greenpeace.The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) was set up in 2019 by a group of companie
  
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• Cop29 live: call to block Azerbaijan president from talks to allow negotiators to work

  20-11-2024 10:56
  Cop28 adviser Paul Watkinson says Ilham Aliyev should be kept away from talks to let negotiations take place“We must, must try” – Maldives’ climate ministerThe Maldives, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, is liable for just 0.003% of global emissions. But it is one of the first countries to endure the existential consequences of the climate crisis.The UK somehow managed to keep Boris Johnson and his gaffes away from Cop26 during the second week – that might be
  
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• UK failing animals with just one welfare inspector for every 878 farms – report

  20-11-2024 10:00
  
  Only 2.5% of more than 300,000 farms were inspected at least once in 2022 and 2023, researchers findThere is just one local authority inspector for every 878 farms in England, Scotland and Wales, according to a report, which says that the current welfare system is continuing to fail animals.Researchers for the Animal Law Foundation found that only 2.5% of the more than 300,000 UK farms were inspected at least once in 2022 and 2023, a marginal decrease from 2018-21 when Covid-19 might be expected
  
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• Cop29 live: negotiators work around clock as summit builds towards climax

  20-11-2024 09:27
  
  Day nine of the summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, with progress slow towards a deal on climate financeLast week one of the main themes to come out of Cop29 was the need to reform the entire process. The impetus for that came after this piece in which a group of influential climate policy experts said the Cop system was no longer fit for purpose.In response the Guardian has published a series of letters from readers debating the future of the summits. Continue reading...
  
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• Plantwatch: Arctic microalgae perform photosynthesis in near darkness

  20-11-2024 07:00
  
  Unlocking secrets of how the algae survive could help extend growing seasons for crop plants at high latitudesPlants left for too long in the dark usually turn sickly yellow and die, but scientists were astonished to discover tiny microalgae in the Arctic Ocean down to 50 metres deep can perform photosynthesis in near darkness.The microalgae were at 88-degrees north and started photosynthesising in late March, only a few days after the long winter polar night came to an end at this latitude. The
  
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• Country Diary: Flushing out barn owls with my explosive sneezes | Derek Niemann

  20-11-2024 06:30
  Frome, Somerset: Not for the first time have I accidentally disturbed a slumbering owl – this one from its perch on a squat church towerMemories of our favourite open-fronted barn in Bedfordshire are forever tarnished by our final visit before moving. Prior to that, we always made a point of pausing in the doorway and checking no one was home before entering. On its concrete floor, there was a regular smattering of pellets – solid evidence that owls had been roosting in the rafters,
  
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• Country Diary: Flushing out barn owls with an explosive sneeze | Derek Niemann

  20-11-2024 06:30
  
  Frome, Somerset: Not for the first time have I accidentally disturbed a slumbering owl – this one from its perch on a squat church towerMemories of our favourite open-fronted barn in Bedfordshire are forever tarnished by our final visit. Before that, we always made a point of pausing in the doorway and checking no one was home before entering. On its concrete floor, there was a regular smattering of pellets – solid evidence that owls had been roosting in the rafters, though I never s
  
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• The climate crisis in charts: how 2024 has set unwanted new records

  20-11-2024 06:00
  
  Data tracks how Earth’s heating has led to rising sea levels and extreme weather – yet there is no sign of emissions slowing“The era of global boiling has arrived” is what the UN chief, António Guterres, presciently declared last year. In 2024, he has continued to be proven right; a report by the EU’s space programme has found it is “virtually certain” that 2024 will be the hottest year on record. The scientists found global temperatures for the p
  
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• Living in Delhi smog is like watching a dystopian film again and again

  20-11-2024 03:34 via bbc.com
  
  Toxic, deadly, poisonous - these words are back in the headlines as Delhi’s pollution spikes again.
  
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• Why children like me have a right to be heard at the People’s Blockade of the Newcastle coal port | Frankie Kelly

  20-11-2024 03:07
  
  From my perspective as a 12-year-old, it’s devastating that the protest is getting such a negative reaction from the NSW governmentFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAll year, I have been looking forward to the People’s Blockade of the Newcastle coal port. I’ve been so excited to see the colourful array of kayaks and get to swim and paddle in the harbour with my friends to make our voices heard, and l
  
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• Australia pledges $50m for climate 'loss and damage' fund, ramps up Cop31 host bid - video

  20-11-2024 01:50
  
  Australia and Turkey are both lobbying to host Cop31, the world's annual United Nations climate change negotiations planned for 2026. The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, said Australia wants to co-host Cop31 'in partnership with our Pacific family'. Bowen also announced a $50m contribution to loss and damage caused by the climate crisis.Paris agreement is working, Australian minister tells Cop29, but much deeper cuts needed by 2035Chris Bowen makes last-minute diplomatic stop in Turkey as
  
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• California and Pacific north-west brace for an atmospheric river – but what is it?

  20-11-2024 01:24
  
  Powerful storm is predicted to be strongest region has seen this season, causing ‘life-threatening’ conditionsNorthern California and the Pacific north-west are bracing for what is expected to be a powerful storm that will bring enough heavy rain and winds to potentially cause power outages and flash flooding.This week’s weather event is predicted to be the strongest atmospheric river the regions have seen this season. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin Tuesday evening with th
  
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• Eight times more children will face extreme heatwaves by 2050s, Unicef says

  20-11-2024 01:01
  
  Without action on climate crisis, far greater numbers will also experience floods, wildfires and droughts, according to reportEight times as many children around the world will be exposed to extreme heatwaves in the 2050s, and three times as many will face river floods compared with the 2000s if current trends continue, according to the UN.Nearly twice as many children are also expected to face wildfires, with many more living through droughts and tropical cyclones, according to the annual state
  
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