Environment news

• Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan is off in the never-never, but our power bills and emissions pledge are not | Lenore Taylor

  28-02-2025 15:00
  The nuclear plan handily leapfrogs the next 10 years – when a Dutton government might actually hold office – a critical time for emissions reduction• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastI don’t often agree with Matt Canavan on matters to do with global heating. But when the senator labelled the Coalition’s nuclear plan a “political fix” last year, I think he was speaking the truth.For 15 gruelling years the Coalition has been trying
  
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• From leaping mudskippers to volcanic eruptions: the World Nature Photography awards 2025 – in pictures

  28-02-2025 15:00
  The World Nature Photography awards have announced their winners for 2025. From white-cheeked terns to a blue-tailed damselfly peeking through a daisy, the photographs are a stark reminder of the beauty and chaos of the natural world. The top award went to Maruša Puhek’s image of two deers running through a Slovenian vineyard Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Ultimate bringers of life’: How one Cornwall farmer is using beavers to stop flooding

  28-02-2025 14:29
  
  Chris Jones is behind change in law to release beavers in England after witnessing the incredible benefits on his land• Beaver releases into wild to be allowed in England for first time in centuriesChris Jones, a beef farmer, is very proud of his beavers. “They are just extraordinary,” he says.Since releasing a couple into an enclosure on his Cornwall farm in 2017, he says they have saved it from drought, prevented flooding in the nearby village, boosted the local economy and ev
  
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• Wild beaver release approved for England

  28-02-2025 13:32 via bbc.com
  
  The decision follows years of trials but some farmers are concerned there could be negative impacts.
  
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• Surge in marine heatwaves costs lives and billions in storm damage – study

  28-02-2025 11:00
  
  Floods, whale strandings and coral bleaching all more likely, say researchers, as 10% of ocean hits record high temperatures in 2023-24The world’s oceans experienced three-and-a-half times as many marine heatwave days last year and in 2023 compared with any other year on record, a study has found.The sustained spike in ocean temperatures cost lives and caused billions of dollars in storm damage, increased whale and dolphin stranding risks, harmed commercial fishing and sparked a global cor
  
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• Week in wildlife: a turtle hatchling, a curious marmoset and an oarfish

  28-02-2025 09:00
  The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
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• Beaver releases into wild to be allowed in England for first time in centuries

  28-02-2025 08:00
  Exclusive: Government to grant nature groups a licence for release of rodent species after earlier setbacksThe release of beavers into English waterways is to be allowed for the first time in centuries, the Guardian can reveal.The environment secretary, Steve Reed, is to announce that nature groups will be able to get a licence for the release. The first releases could happen this autumn. Continue reading...
  
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• Weatherwatch: marine ‘hot spot’ could change makeup of British fish species

  28-02-2025 07:00
  
  Favourites such as cod, haddock and salmon could be replaced as UK waters warm up, scientists warnUK waters, particularly the southern North Sea, are warming fast, making the North Atlantic one of the world’s marine “hot spots”. Scientists have been asked by the UK government to forecast what this means for British food supply and predict potentially dangerous tipping points that lie ahead.While the UK already has milder winters because of warmer seas and heavier rain because o
  
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• Country diary: Admiring the galls of this silver birch | Claire Stares

  28-02-2025 06:30
  
  Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, Arundel, West Sussex: It is beset with parasites, some the size of footballs and one engulfing an entire bough, but they cause no long-term harmAs the light began to fade, we loitered on the path, hoping to spot marsh harriers drifting in to roost in the reedbeds. I was soon distracted by a family party of long-tailed tits foraging in a stand of silver birches, their lollipop stick tails flitting like leaves blowing in a breeze.As I followed the ripple of movement thr
  
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• ‘Green roofs deliver for biodiversity’: how Basel put nature on top

  28-02-2025 06:00
  
  For decades, the Swiss city has been transforming its skyline, and now boasts some of the greenest rooftops in EuropeSusanne Hablützel breaks up her work day by staring out the window at a rooftop garden. The view is not spectacular: a pile of dead wood sits atop an untidy plot that houses chicory, toadflax, thistle and moss.But Hablützel, a biologist in charge of nature projects in Basel, is enthralled by the plants and creatures the roof has brought in. “Tree fungi have settled
  
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• Cop16 nature summit agrees deal at 11th hour but critics say it is not enough

  28-02-2025 02:09
  UN biodiversity conference in Rome ends with fragile accord but questions remain over whether funding will emergeThe task of halting nature loss by 2030 is slipping out of reach, ministers warned, as countries from around the world come to a hard-won compromise on nature finance after marathon negotiations in Rome.Delegates at the UN biodiversity conference – known as Cop16 – broke into applause after finally reaching a deal in the Eternal City following a night of tense and painstak
  
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• Cop16 countries strike crucial deal on nature despite global tensions

  28-02-2025 02:09
  
  Delegates hammer out compromise on delivering billions of dollars to protect species and their habitatsDelegates from across the world have cheered a last-gasp deal to map out funding to protect nature, breaking a deadlock at UN talks seen as a test for international cooperation in the face of geopolitical tensions.Rich and developing countries on Thursday hammered out a delicate compromise on raising and delivering the billions of dollars needed to protect species, overcoming stark divisions th
  
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• Nations salvage funding deal to reverse wildlife decline

  28-02-2025 01:47 via bbc.com
  
  Funding agreed at UN conference in Rome that would attempt to tackle the rapid loss of biodiversity
  
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