Environment news

• Bottle and can deposit return scheme could cost £1bn, say UK retailers

  28-03-2018 17:31
  Major supermarkets express support for government’s plan but key issues, including who would pay for it, remain unclear
  The UK retail industry has warned it could cost £1bn to implement the government’s plan to charge deposits on drinks cans and bottles.Britain’s biggest supermarkets signalled a willingness to work with the environment secretary, Michael Gove, on the scheme, which would result in consumers in England getting the deposit back if they returned the empty dri
  
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• Europe heatwave live: 94 million people to experience temperatures above 35C today

  24-06-2026 13:05
  UK issues rare red heat alert as 68,000 households lose electricity in northern France and Italy puts warnings in place for 16 citiesFrance records hottest day ever as 40 people drown across countryTell us: how is the heatwave in the UK and across Europe affecting you?Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesperson, said the agency is forecasting 39C as a headline maximum temperature on Thursday in the UK, most likely for somewhere in London or the south-east.“It is possible we could see temperat
  
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• ‘Carspreading’ could lead to extra 2,600 crash deaths a year by 2040, study finds

  24-06-2026 12:11
  Analysis shows cars in Europe have grown longer, taller and wider every year since 2000Cars have grown 1.2cm longer, 0.5cm taller and 0.5cm wider each year on average since 2000, analysis of new vehicles sold in Europe has found, in what green groups call “relentless carspreading”.The increase in size, which leaves people more likely to be killed in a crash and increases emissions that hurt lungs and heat the planet, has progressed at a roughly steady rate for two and half decades ev
  
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• Europe heatwave live: UK issues rare red heat warning as record-breaking temperatures in France bring power outages

  24-06-2026 11:18
  Temperatures expected to hit 40C in parts of the UK, as extreme heatwave spreads slowly eastwards, sparking warnings in Italy and the NetherlandsFrance records hottest day ever as 40 people drown across countryTell us: how is the heatwave in the UK and across Europe affecting you?Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesperson, said the agency is forecasting 39C as a headline maximum temperature on Thursday in the UK, most likely for somewhere in London or the south-east.“It is possible we could
  
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• Europe heatwave live: UK braces for record-breaking temperatures; Italy issues red alert for 16 cities

  24-06-2026 09:30
  Temperatures expected to hit 40C in parts of the UK, as extreme heatwave spreads slowly eastwards, sparking warnings in Italy and the NetherlandsFrance records hottest day ever as 40 people drown across countryTell us: how is the heatwave in the UK and across Europe affecting you?Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesperson, said the agency is forecasting 39C as a headline maximum temperature on Thursday in the UK, most likely for somewhere in London or the south-east.“It is possible we could
  
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• Paris in ‘heatwave mode’ has banned alcohol at some public events. Can other cities follow its lead? | Helen Massy-Beresford

  24-06-2026 09:00
  Following a devastating heatwave in 2003 that killed 15,000, France has adopted four alert levels to help people cope with extreme temperaturesHelen Massy-Beresford is a British journalist and editor who lives in ParisOver the weekend, as evening fell on the hilly (and, crucially, shady) Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, one of Paris’s most popular green spaces, the joyfully chaotic Fête de la musique – a summer solstice celebration of music in all its forms – got under way, with
  
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• 24-hour parks and alcohol bans: what cities could learn from Paris’s ‘heatwave mode’ | Helen Massy-Beresford

  24-06-2026 09:00
  Following a devastating heatwave in 2003 that killed 15,000, France has adopted four alert levels to help people cope with extreme temperaturesHelen Massy-Beresford is a British journalist and editor who lives in ParisOver the weekend, as evening fell on the hilly (and, crucially, shady) Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, one of Paris’s most popular green spaces, the joyfully chaotic Fête de la musique – a summer solstice celebration of music in all its forms – got under way, with
  
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• Documenting Ireland’s vanishing boglands: ‘They hold millennia in their layers’

  24-06-2026 07:00
  
  Photographer Shane Hynan explores the tension between the central role peat bogs play in Irish life and their wider environmental impact“You can read Ireland’s history in the boglands. They hold millennia in their layers,” says photographer Shane Hynan of his project, Beofhód (meaning Beneath in English).The boglands, known as portachs in Irish, cover roughly 1.2m to 1.5m hectares or about 14% to 17% of the country’s total land area. The raised bogs of the Irish Mi
  
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• Could mountains be key to unlocking hydrogen’s potential?

  24-06-2026 07:00
  
  Researchers assessed likelihood gas was produced during creation of Alps, Pyrenees and Baetic mountainsHydrogen gas is anticipated to play a central role in phasing out fossil fuels, particularly in industries that are proving more challenging to decarbonise, such as chemical production, shipping and steelmaking. But producing hydrogen synthetically is energy intensive and costly. In order for the hydrogen economy to take off, we need to find reliable natural sources of this gas. Could it be hid
  
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• Country diary: This ‘secret’ island takes me back to Swallows and Amazons | Amy-Jane Beer

  24-06-2026 06:30
  Horsey Island, Hamford Water, Essex: It’s the setting for one of Arthur Ransome’s wonderful books, and today it’s farmed by a single family with innovation and careYou need two permissions to access Horsey Island: one from the farmer, the second from the tide, which offers a four-hour window in every 12 when the causeway can be crossed. It takes me 20 minutes to pick my way over, wading the deeper sections where spindly marker posts show the way. It’s a disconcerting plac
  
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• Different sperm whale ‘dialects’ detected on separate sides of the Mediterranean

  24-06-2026 06:00
  Matriarchal groups in east and west exhibit distinct click patterns, used to form social structuresFrom “Howdy” to “G’day”, English – like other languages – is rich in dialects. Now researchers have found sperm whales on different sides of the Mediterranean show similar variations in their vocalisations.Sperm whales communicate vocally using sequences of short clicks called codas. However, the rhythmic pattern of these clicks, known as the dialect, can d
  
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• Weakening UK net zero policy would damage economy, chief climate adviser says

  24-06-2026 01:01
  Climate Change Committee chair Nigel Topping says U-turns damage investor confidence and disrupt businessesWeakening the UK’s net zero policy would disrupt business and damage the economy, the UK’s chief climate adviser has warned.Nigel Topping, chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), said: “The U-turns are really damaging to inward investor confidence. If we really want to grow the economy, then investing and getting good at building stuff is essential.” Continue re
  
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• Adidas, Uniqlo and Calvin Klein ads in UK banned over ‘recycled’ clothing claims

  24-06-2026 01:01
  UK regulator has increased its scrutiny of fashion retailers over potentially misleading environmental statementsAds for Calvin Klein, Adidas and Uniqlo promoting “recycled” clothing and shoes have been banned by the UK watchdog after the advertisers were unable to prove their green claims.Each of the fashion companies ran paid-for Google ads, with Adidas promoting “recycled running shoes”, Calvin Klein “recycled” tops for women, and Uniqlo advertised fleece c
  
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• Hard-right figures take aim at Ed Miliband and UK net zero policies at ‘anti-woke Davos’

  23-06-2026 20:45
  Kemi Badenoch, who joined US anti-abortion activists and European far-right parties at ARC, described energy secretary as a ‘villain’Britain’s net zero policies and the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, have come under fire at a conference of conservatives, rightwing populists and wealthy US backers linked to Donald Trump.The energy policies pursued by the British government were described as a “tragic mistake” by Trump’s energy secretary, one of a number of offi
  
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• The Guardian view on extreme heat: as risks escalate, adaptation plans are dangerously lagging | Editorial

  23-06-2026 19:30
  Record-breaking temperatures should focus minds on the UK’s lack of preparedness for the climate dangers aheadAs western Europe bakes under what scientists describe as a heat dome, or “atmospheric lid”, reports of dozens of drownings, and heat-linked deaths of children and elderly people in France, are a stark reminder of the threat to life from extreme heat – and the fact that some people face higher risks than others. The red alert covering most of s
  
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• France records hottest day ever as 40 people drown across country

  23-06-2026 18:31
  French weather service says temperature hit 44.3C in Pissos as heat forces Louvre and Eiffel Tower to close earlyEurope heatwave live – latest updatesFrance has registered its hottest day on record as 40 people across the country were confirmed to have drowned while swimming in unsupervised areas over the last few days.“There is a tragic scourge of drownings,” prime minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday. “The latest figures we’ve received are 40 deaths s
  
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• Europe battles record-breaking heat: is this the new normal? - The Latest

  23-06-2026 17:39
  
  Europe is dealing with a debilitating heatwave, with schools closed, trains cancelled and France holding an emergency meeting after heat-related deaths.António Guterres, the UN chief, is urging the world to act on fossil fuels as the continent braces for record-breaking heat.Lucy Hough speaks to Europe environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan Continue reading...
  
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• Europe heatwave live: Forty people drown in France; Met Office warns UK temperatures could reach 39C

  23-06-2026 17:13
  Millions in France and across Europe are enduring extreme heat; ‘London is cooking,’ says UN secretary generalTell us: how is the heatwave in the UK and across Europe affecting you?Forty drown across France in heatwave and parts of Spain above 30C at nightItaly’s health ministry has declared a red heatwave alert in 15 cities including Milan and Rome on Tuesday and said the number would go up to 16 on Wednesday.During a red alert – the highest level – the ministry ad
  
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• From yoghurt to luxury sails: how to shade your home from supercharged UK heatwaves

  23-06-2026 16:00
  
  As hot weather becomes more common, companies and homeowners are coming up with innovative ways to keep properties coolWhen graphic designer Marc Alabaster had a new set of glass doors installed at his West Sussex home eight years ago, he soon realised how they magnified the heat of the afternoon sun.“The kitchen was 40-plus degrees,” he said. Then he went on holiday to Spain and saw an apartment building wrapped in louvre-like rows of angled fins or blades that shaded the external w
  
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• A super El Niño threatens disaster. Trump is handling it recklessly | Terry Garcia

  23-06-2026 14:00
  The administration interrupted data streams that are key to forecasting. These systems should not be vulnerable to political whimsIn 1877, North Americans experienced an unusually mild winter – it was known as the “year without a winter”. It coincided with one of the strongest El Niño events ever recorded. Scientists suspect the same El Niño was a major factor in one of the worst environmental disasters in history. As much of the world was enveloped in drought, ha
  
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• Europe’s June heatwave – in pictures

  23-06-2026 13:50
  The ‘heat dome’ settling over western Europe could bring temperatures of up to 40C to some parts of England and Wales in the middle part of this week Continue reading...
  
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• Can the UK kick its cod habit? Fish and chip shop favourite slips down the menu as prices soar

  23-06-2026 13:00
  The cost of the traditional takeaway has doubled since 2019, and more outlets are trying to tempt customers with cheaper options such as coley, pollack and hakeIn late April, visitors to Harbour Lights in Falmouth, Cornwall, may have raised an eyebrow. The fish and chip shop was in the midst of a “cod-free week”, its owners having removed cod from its menu entirely.It was the second time owner Pete Fraser had undertaken the experiment, 15 years after the first. He also removed cod fr
  
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• Scientists alarmed after two wildfires hit Greenland within a week

  23-06-2026 12:44
  Researchers say it is ‘quite wild’ to see fires at such high northern latitudes happen so early in the yearScientists have expressed concern after two wildfires broke out within a week of each other on the Arctic island of Greenland earlier this month.Fires were burning close to Sisimiut, Greenland’s second largest town and a popular tourism centre, on 14 and 15 June, satellite imagery has shown, while a second blaze hit Kujalleq, on the island’s southern tip, on 17 June.
  
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• Air pollution is a fixable problem – just look at how London and New York have cleaned up their acts | Sadiq Khan and Michael Bloomberg

  23-06-2026 12:42
  We’ve shown that rapid, measurable progress is achievable in our cities. Here’s how that can now be replicated worldwideSadiq Khan is the mayor of London. Michael Bloomberg is a former mayor of New York CitySome public health threats make global headlines: Covid-19. Ebola. Famine. When these disasters hit, photographs and videos of people suffering and dying spur countries to respond, international bodies to cooperate and individuals to donate supplies and money. Yet one of the world
  
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• Europe heatwave live: ‘London is cooking,’ says UN chief as UK forecast to hit 38C; France has hottest night since records began

  23-06-2026 12:23
  António Guterres urges world to act on fossil fuels as continent braces for record-breaking heat; French PM to hold emergency meeting after heat deathsTell us: how is the heatwave in the UK and across Europe affecting you?Two children found dead in car in France as heatwave hits EuropeItaly’s health ministry has declared a red heatwave alert in 15 cities including Milan and Rome on Tuesday and said the number would go up to 16 on Wednesday.During a red alert – the highest leve
  
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• Europe heatwave live: UK temperatures forecast to reach 38C after overnight storms; France has hottest night since records began

  23-06-2026 11:26
  Temperatures could smash June record in England and Wales set in 1976; French PM to hold emergency meeting after heat deathsTell us: how is the heatwave in the UK and across Europe affecting you?Two children found dead in car in France as heatwave hits EuropeItaly’s health ministry has declared a red heatwave alert in 15 cities including Milan and Rome on Tuesday and said the number would go up to 16 on Wednesday.During a red alert – the highest level – the ministry advises peo
  
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• Goodbye, pilates princess – hello, gym goblin: how the just-got-out-of-bed look took over fitness

  23-06-2026 11:00
  The colour-coordinated ‘clean girl’ athleisure aesthetic is dead. Now it’s all about mismatched outfits and vintage sportswearAt first, the goblins came for our downtime. Going “goblin mode” was a lifestyle confined to the home – to the bed, mostly. The “comforts of depravity” it brought (“watching 90 Day Fiancé on mute while scrolling endlessly through social media, pouring the end of a bag of chips in your mouth”, for example)
  
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• ‘Climate change is a form of oppression’: the voices affected most by environmental crisis

  23-06-2026 11:00
  In HBO documentary The Welcome Table, director Josh Fox brings together people from across the world whose lives have been dramatically altered by the climate crisisIn an age of division, director Josh Fox is hoping to bring people of all kinds together. Specifically, he wants them to share a table – to break bread for a meal, and come together in exuberant song.In his new documentary film The Welcome Table, the director of the the Emmy-winning Gasland travels around the world to talk to p
  
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• Europe heatwave live: UK temperatures forecast to reach 38C; French PM to hold crisis meeting after heat deaths

  23-06-2026 09:21
  Temperatures could smash June record in England and Wales set in 1976; red alerts in France after 19 heat deathsTwo children found dead in car in France as heatwave hits EuropeHere are the UK temperature milestones that could be passed during the current heatwave, according to data published by the UK’s Met Office. Continue reading...
  
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• Ed Miliband to say UK must stick to net zero targets to deliver jobs and growth

  23-06-2026 09:00
  Energy secretary expected to argue that UK clean economy is booming as private sector pledges over £100bn of investmentEd Miliband is to say that the UK must stick to net zero targets to deliver jobs and growth, as speculation surrounds the energy secretary’s role under a new prime minister.He will make the speech as data shows more than £100bn in green investment has been pledged by private sector companies in this parliament. Continue reading...
  
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