Environment news

• UK increases World Bank contribution, boosting climate finance prospects

  29-11-2024 18:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Government puts forward £1.98bn in funding over three years, an increase of about 40% on last pledgeThe UK has increased its contribution to the World Bank, in a move that will boost prospects for climate finance.Next week, at a meeting in Seoul of the International Development Association (IDA) – the body that funds the World Bank’s support for low-income countries – the UK will put forward £1.98bn in funding over three years, an increase of about 40% on the previo
  
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• Staffordshire residents plagued by ‘the stink’ celebrate shutdown of landfill site

  29-11-2024 16:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners say news that Walleys Quarry in Silverdale has been told to close has given them ‘huge relief, just elation’A landfill site in Staffordshire which has plagued residents with noxious fumes for years has been told to permanently shut down, with local campaigners hailing the news as “absolutely amazing”.The Environment Agency said it had brought the closure of Walleys Quarry forward after “exhausting other enforcement options”, and said it had to stop
  
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• Hope of breakthrough at international plastic treaty talks after two-year deadlock

  29-11-2024 16:14 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Important shift’ made in global attempts to address plastic pollution though final treaty text yet to be agreedPressure from an increasingly large bloc of countries has offered hope that a breakthrough at critical international plastic treaty talks could be in sight at last, after two years of deadlock. But some warned that fragile progress could disappear again in the last stages of negotiations over the weekend.For some time, the talks have been split over demands for the treaty t
  
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• New powder that captures carbon could be ‘quantum leap’ for industry

  29-11-2024 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A ‘covalent organic framework’ can be used to capture carbon to store it or convert it for industrial useAn innocuous yellow powder, created in a lab, could be a new way to combat the climate crisis by absorbing carbon from the air.Just half a pound of the stuff may remove as much carbon dioxide as a tree can, according to early tests. Once the carbon is absorbed by the powder, it can be released into safe storage or be used in industrial processes, like carbonizing drinks. Continue
  
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• ‘We’ve become an amusement park’: the Alaskan town torn apart by cruise ship tourism

  29-11-2024 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Juneau’s residents are divided over whether to embrace the economic benefits of millions of visitors, or reclaim their town from an industry that has reshaped itRead more in this series“The noise never stops,” says Karla Hart, her voice competing with the hum of approaching helicopters. “I can feel them before I see them.” She looks at her phone to check a website that monitors air traffic and identifies operators. Hart wants to know whether the pilots are adhering
  
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• Houseplant of the week: Hawaiian palm

  29-11-2024 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Now extinct in the wild, this glossy green plant merits a place in your home as its survival depends on human interventionWhy will I love it?The Hawaiian palm is a houseplant like no other, with its thick, succulent stem and a rosette of glossy green leaves. Despite its name, it’s not a palm at all. This prehistoric-looking plant, known as Ālula in Hawaii, is a fascinating addition to any home.Light or shade?It is happiest in bright, indirect light. Continue reading...
  
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• Week in wildlife in pictures: washed-up turtles, chilled pandas and a disgruntled honey badger

  29-11-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Starmer has discovered a tricky truth about the electric vehicles transition: there’s no gain without pain | Gaby Hinsliff

  29-11-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  The Tories’ targets glossed over the impact on carmakers and cash-strapped drivers – but the move to net zero won’t be cheap or simpleHave cake, will eat. For years it has been the default political response to awkward questions about the climate crisis, with successive governments insisting that going green would create jobs, not destroy them, and that the planet could be saved without stifling growth or demanding uncomfortable sacrifices. Keir Starmer promised only this month
  
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• Starmer has discovered a tricky truth about green transition: no gain without pain | Gaby Hinsliff

  29-11-2024 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The row over electric vehicles is just the start. The change to a green economy was always going to be politically explosive Have cake, will eat. For years it has been the default political response to awkward questions about the climate crisis, with successive governments insisting that going green would create jobs, not destroy them, and that the planet could be saved without stifling growth or demanding uncomfortable sacrifices. Keir Starmer promised only this month not to “tell people
  
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• We need to talk about plastic: five everyday items choking the planet

  29-11-2024 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  It is one of the world’s most dangerous materials, and global leaders are meeting in South Korea to thrash out a treaty to curb its effectsThis week, world leaders are gathering in Busan, South Korea, to hammer out a global plastics treaty to try to curb pollution from one of the most dangerous materials on the planet. While such a high-level event might seem far removed from our everyday lives, it is the products we use every day that are at the heart of the negotiations. Some plastics ar
  
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• Mysterious mass elephant die-off ‘probably caused by toxic water’

  29-11-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Satellite data analysis suggests climate-induced algal blooms could be behind hundreds of deaths in Botswana that sparked flurry of theories in 2020More than 350 elephants that died in mysterious circumstances probably drank toxic water, according to a new paper that warns of an “alarming trend” in climate-induced poisoning.The deaths in Botswana’s Okavango delta were described by scientists as a “conservation disaster”. Elephants of all ages were seen walking in ci
  
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• How climate policies reduce air pollution saving lives and money

  29-11-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Early deaths from air pollution in US could be reduced by between 4,000 and 15,000 a year by 2035, study showsThe burning of fossil fuels that harms our climate also produces air pollution that damages ecosystems and harms our health. But we fail to tally up the benefits of reduced air pollution in our climate policies, and overlook opportunities to tackle these problems together.A reminder of this failure is illustrated in a new study which has found that reduced air pollution from net zero pol
  
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• ‘Climate-induced poisoning’: 350 elephants probably killed by toxic water

  29-11-2024 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Satellite data analysis suggests algal blooms could be behind mass die-off in Botswana that sparked flurry of theories in 2020More than 350 elephants that died in mysterious circumstances probably drank toxic water, according to a new paper that warns of an “alarming trend” in climate-induced poisoning.The deaths in Botswana’s Okavango delta were described by scientists as a “conservation disaster”. Elephants of all ages were seen walking in circles before collapsin
  
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• Country diary: This snow-heavy tree is crackling with invisible birds | Paul Evans

  29-11-2024 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The Marches, Shropshire: The fields have turned white and the fieldfares have arrived, with their Nordic dialects and a hunger for berriesI had to cut my way out of the garden this morning. Last night’s snow, a dollop of wet confection, was too heavy for a liquidambar, full of leaf in glorious gold, red and purple. Branches snapped and folded into an impenetrable tangle: a drastic winter pruning and a reminder of how vulnerable trees are to sudden snowfall.The flakes were more dove th
  
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• Here’s an actual good news story! (unless you are a rodent) | First Dog on the Moon

  29-11-2024 06:21 via theguardian.com
  Lord Howe Island is thriving, and so are the raucous local woodhensSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints Continue reading...
  
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• ‘It signifies renewal’: recipients of Sycamore Gap saplings announced

  29-11-2024 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Trees of hope’ will be planted across the UK, including at a prison and a children’s hospital, in National Trust schemeSaplings from the felled Sycamore Gap tree are to be planted across the UK, including next to one of London’s most famous roads, at a rural category C prison and at a motor neurone disease centre opening in the name of the late rugby league star Rob Burrow.The National Trust on Friday announced the recipients of 49 saplings it has called “trees of
  
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• Living with ‘the stench’: the smelly New Zealand city with an air of despair

  29-11-2024 03:50 via theguardian.com
  
  The odour from a wastewater plant comes and goes, but locals say it’s worsened after an equipment breakdown that authorities warn could take years to fixIn a small city across the harbour from New Zealand’s capital, an invisible villain is terrorising locals. It hovers thick and putrid, seeping through windows, tainting laundry and making people retch. “The stench”, as locals call it, can be so odious, people have to dash between their car and house holding their breath,
  
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• Will flights really reach net zero by 2050 - and at what cost to passengers?

  29-11-2024 02:12 via bbc.com
  
  Governments don’t want to tell people they’re going to have to pay more, argues an expert.
  
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• Spain introduces paid climate leave after deadly floods

  29-11-2024 01:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Government approves up to four days of paid leave so workers can avoid travelling during weather emergenciesSpain’s leftwing government has approved “paid climate leave” of up to four days to allow workers to avoid travelling during weather emergencies, a month after floods killed at least 224 people.Several companies came under fire after the 29 October catastrophe for ordering employees to keep working despite a red alert issued by the national weather agency. The firms said
  
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