Environment news

• Dying in agony

  01-02-2018 01:26 via BBC News
  While the US suffers an overdose epidemic, most of the world misses out on painkillers.
  
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• These Australian ‘forest fairies’ have all but disappeared from the wild – now they have a new neighbourhood

  09-11-2026 15:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Exclusive: With only a handful of lowland Leadbeater’s possums left in Victorian forests, conservationists hope a bespoke sanctuary will help the acrobatic marsupials bounce backSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereWith just 13 animals left, time was running out for the Leadbeater’s possums at Yellingbo conservation area.The critically endangered forest sprites have exacting habitat needs. They prefer cool, wet and dark forest, with large o
  
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• ‘I’m surrounded by millions of people but I could still die from the heat’ – This is climate breakdown

  09-11-2026 13:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  He went to Saudi Arabia to perform the sacred hajj pilgrimage – then the heat came. This is Zirrar Ali’s storyLocation: Mecca, Saudi ArabiaDisaster: Heatwave, 2024After a transformative experience in Iran, Zirrar Ali quit his corporate 9-5 job and began travel writing. Seven years later, he and his elderly father were participating in the sacred five-day Muslim pilgrimage, the hajj, when temperatures soared to more than 51C. The climate crisis has already made peak temperatures in Mecca abou
  
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• This grim story of marine park whales could yet have a positive outcome – if it teaches us to value other species | Elle Hunt

  09-11-2026 11:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  There is no ‘saving’ these traumatised mammals from places like Marineland in Canada. Humans need to understand that our actions are not easily undoneRemember “Save the whales”? Now that was an environmental campaign everyone could get behind. Surely you don’t want whales to die!It may have got the 1986 global ban on commercial whaling over the line, but in these sophisticated times that slogan seems woefully reductive, even naive. As Greenpeace warns on its website, 40 years later: �
  
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• Rare call for more electricity supplies as wind power drops across Europe

  09-11-2026 09:12 via Environment | The Guardian
  Neso issues ‘electricity margin notice’ for gas power plants on Britain to fire up and boost generation this morning amid energy shortfallThe government body tasked with keeping the lights on has issued a rare call for more electricity supplies this morning due to low wind power generation forecasts across Europe on Monday.A notice issued by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) on Sunday night said it faced a “shortfall” of almost 1,400 megawatts in its electricity supply margins f
  
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• ‘A new age of climate extremes’: Earth accumulating heat at accelerating rate

  09-11-2026 08:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  Increased heat will supercharge extreme weather events, warns UN agency as Cop31 climate summit beginsHeat is accumulating in Earth’s systems at an accelerating rate, the UN’s weather agency has reported as the Cop31 climate change summit begins in Turkey, with 2026 on track to be one of the four warmest years on record.The imbalance between incoming energy from the sun and energy leaving Earth reached its highest level since monitoring began, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said
  
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• A new start after 60: I was burnt out and facing redundancy. So I set up a bee farm – and learned the joys of a simple life

  09-11-2026 07:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  Jeff Lee had spent decades as an investigative journalist. But when he upped sticks with his wife to buy a farm in rural British Columbia, he didn’t just change jobs – he found a different way to liveJeff Lee became interested in beekeeping in his late 50s after his wife, Amanda, took part in a “beard of bees” event at Science World’s “science of fear” exhibition in Vancouver, Canada, where they lived. She stepped into a Perspex booth, a caged queen bee was placed beneath her chin
  
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• Democrats to attend Cop31 climate talks boosted by midterms and eager to make up for Trump-era setbacks

  09-11-2026 07:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  US government will have no official presence at UN’s annual climate summit, this year’s Cop31 held in Antalya, TurkeyThe US will be absent from key UN climate talks that start on Monday, a further sign of Donald Trump’s scornful dismissal of the climate crisis. But Democrats’ crushing win in the US midterm elections has delivered a timely shot of optimism to countries now looking beyond the Trump era of climate obstruction.For the second year in a row, there will be no official US govern
  
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• Is Cop31 a huge scam? Let’s ask the penguins of the future | First Dog on the Moon

  09-11-2026 06:39 via Environment | The Guardian
  It’s 2126 and class is getting under way beneath the Earth’s remaining ocean Sign 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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• Country diary: Teasing out spiders with a tuning fork | Susie White

  09-11-2026 06:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  Hexham, Northumberland: Revelations aplenty as we embark on a spider hunt with a man called Fran who knows his arachnidsWe gathered at the bandstand, an elegant Edwardian building in the abbey grounds, all slender ironwork and tented top. Fran Garcia was leading a spider walk and our group of 10 included two children, one of them my granddaughter. Fran is a member of the British Arachnological Society and communicates knowledge with lively humour.As an introduction to spiders he explained the
  
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• ‘I can’t bear it’: young family takes refuge in bedroom as choking haze engulfs Indonesian city

  09-11-2026 05:05 via Environment | The Guardian
  Mother tells of desperate efforts to keep her five-month-old son healthy as residents of Palangkaraya flock to clean-air ‘safe houses’ to escape toxic hazeEvery day in Palangkaraya starts with an air quality check. For people who can afford one, a handheld device can test the air for toxic particles floating into their lungs. For others, a look out the window will reveal skies turned orange with smoke.But for those closest to the fires ravaging this part of Indonesia, the check is done befor
  
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• Heavy rain floods displaced families’ tents in Gaza – in pictures

  08-11-2026 19:50 via Environment | The Guardian
  The first winter storm began affecting the people of Gaza this weekend with heavy rain hitting on Saturday. Reports that about 70,000 tents were flooded within 12 hours prompted warnings of a worsening humanitarian situation for hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in temporary camps lacking adequate protection from rain and cold Continue reading...
  
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• Labour expected to cut EV targets for UK’s car industry despite MPs’ protests

  08-11-2026 18:51 via Environment | The Guardian
  Exclusive: Louise Haigh likely to weaken mandate for sales that forms key part of emission reduction planAnalysis: Climate always comes second – are green issues slipping down Burnham’s agenda?Ministers are expected to make steep cuts to the government’s electric vehicle (EV) targets this week, in a move that will relieve carmakers but alarm many Labour MPs who are worried about the government’s commitment to the green agenda.Louise Haigh, the de facto deputy prime minister, will finalis
  
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• Nicola Jennings on Cop31 in Turkey – cartoon

  08-11-2026 18:11 via Environment | The Guardian
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• The tiny world of Australian fairywrens – in pictures

  08-11-2026 15:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Howard Loosemore, alongside a few talented photographer friends, spent 15 years capturing every Australian fairywren species and plumage in vivid detail that’s been published in a new book about the small and colourful lives of fairywrens Continue reading...
  
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• Cop31 must deliver climate progress that people can see is real, host says

  08-11-2026 14:24 via Environment | The Guardian
  High-stakes talks involving 190 countries begin on Monday as world grapples with El Niño supercharged by fossil fuelsThe Cop31 summit must produce progress, “a tangible outcome ... that people can see is real”, its host has said as scores of world leaders and representatives of close to 190 countries gather in Turkey for the UN climate talks.The high-stakes meeting begins on Monday, as countries around the world grapple with the strongest El Niño weather system on record, supercharged by f
  
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• Revealed: how a UK firm is spearheading growth in trade of US fracked ethane

  08-11-2026 14:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Ineos is driving exports with potentially far-reaching environmental and social repercussions“My children started getting sick,” says Lois Bower-Bjornson, a campaigner at the Clean Air Council in Washington County, Pennsylvania.“My oldest son had rashes all over his body. His ears, his eyelids, everywhere. My youngest had terrible nosebleeds, it was so bad that he became anaemic and would almost pass out. He would wake up bleeding.” Continue reading...
  
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• Who’s who at Cop31: key players at the climate talks

  08-11-2026 12:48 via Environment | The Guardian
  What are the relationships and dominant interests in play, as the summit kicks off after a bitter row over its hosting?Hosting Cop was a key pledge from Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese in 2021, while in opposition, before his successful election campaign. But arcane rules meant the country had to wait its turn to bid and was then embroiled in an angry row with Turkey over the hosting. The final compromise put Australia in charge of the negotiations which will take place in the Tur
  
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• Cop31: what is at stake at the UN climate summit and what can it achieve?

  08-11-2026 12:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Delegates from more than 190 countries are gathering in Turkey for climate talks, but the US will be absentAs the planet faces unprecedented human-caused global heating, heads of government are meeting for the next fortnight for the latest round of climate talks. We ask why it matters and what is likely to be achieved. Continue reading...
  
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• Reintroduction of white-tailed eagles puts seabird colonies at risk of wipeout, say experts

  08-11-2026 09:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Naturalists divided over potential impact of proposals to increase number of wild raptors in England and WalesWhite-tailed eagles reintroduced into England and Wales imperil endangered seabird populations and risk wiping out some colonies, ecologists and conservationists are warning.Puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes are among the birds for which breeding populations could collapse if large numbers of white-tailed eagles are released, according to some academics and conserva
  
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• Environmentalists criticise choice of Earthshot prize venue owned by fossil fuel firm

  08-11-2026 07:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Mumbai facility is part of Reliance Industries, owner of world’s biggest oil refinery and funder of controversial mega-zooThe Prince of Wales’s Earthshot prize will host its forthcoming annual awards ceremony at a venue owned by the billionaire Ambani family conglomerate, drawing criticism from conservationists over their fossil fuel businesses and their foundation’s controversial mega-zoo.A spokesperson for the Earthshot prize, which awards £1m to five winners every year to invest in con
  
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• Let a thousand blossoms bloom: Sydney’s jacarandas put on their spring show – in pictures

  07-11-2026 20:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  The city enters its purple patch with jacaranda trees blazing into flower in the warmer weather. Every October and November the fast-growing trees are festooned with trumpet-shaped blossoms that soon carpet the ground below them, drawing sightseers, photographers – and people taking photos of people taking photosBlooming beautiful! The Tesselaar tulip festival – in pictures Continue reading...
  
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• How do you broker UN climate talks when your own country is a big coal and gas exporter? Chris Bowen is about to find out

  07-11-2026 20:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Ahead of Cop31, climate change minister dismisses concerns about whether Australia as a major producer can keep the world moving away from fossil fuelsListen to the podcast: Chris Bowen on how he’ll reach consensus at Cop31Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereAustralia has been urged to set aside support for its near US$100bn fossil fuel export industries and fight for a global agreement to move away from coal, gas and oil as its climate chan
  
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• National Trust votes to seek banking partner more in tune with its environmental policies

  07-11-2026 16:06 via Environment | The Guardian
  Charity’s AGM decides overwhelmingly to begin tendering process amid criticism of Barclays’ fossil fuel investmentsThe National Trust has voted overwhelmingly to seek a new banking partner in a significant victory for members who have long argued that its relationship with Barclays was at odds with its commitment to protecting the natural world.The resolution, passed at the charity’s annual general meeting on Saturday with the backing of its board of trustees, instructs the organisation to
  
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• Thunderstruck: what does the future hold for lightning?

  07-11-2026 15:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Humans have always been awed by the power and beauty of lightning. How does the experience and understanding of it change in a warming world?In a rock shelter in Kakadu national park in the north of Australia is an image of a being the Bininj people call Namarrkon. His flesh bleached away to reveal the bones beneath, he wears stone axes on his head, elbows and knees, and wields a great band of lightning that runs from his ankles up, over his head.Namarrkon’s journey from the Arafura Sea to the
  
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• ‘Mind-blowing’: dark-sky fans gather on Exmoor to see what light pollution hides

  07-11-2026 14:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  The UK is 14th most light-polluted country, but in south-west England the veil is lifted at the dark skies festival“It’s just mind-blowing,” says the astronomer and teacher Jo Richardson. She is standing in Exmoor national park talking about Saturn, the first planet she ever saw through a telescope.But it is not the cosmic colour of the planet that Richardson is drawn to, nor its mysteries – it is the vastness. “Saturn, on average, is 800m miles away,” she says, the equivalent to tra
  
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• Autumn colours around the world – in pictures

  07-11-2026 09:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  The seasonal transformation offers the chance to enjoy warm, golden colours before winter Continue reading...
  
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• Country diary: After the devastating summer fires, the first green shoots | Amanda Thomson

  07-11-2026 06:30 via Environment | The Guardian
  Cairngorms: The scale and depth of damage is shocking, but there are precious small signs of recoveryIt’s over three months since the fire started that eventually engulfed 25 square kilometres of moorland and forest in the Cairngorms. I’ve now seen much of the area where the fire raged and have been shocked at the blackness of the land, how many of the moorland pines are dark as charcoal, their needles an unnaturally singed rust colour that goes on into the far distance, into the forest itse
  
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• What’s the point? Ten years after the Paris treaty, are climate talks getting anywhere?

  07-11-2026 06:00 via Environment | The Guardian
  Its key temperature goal has been missed but experts say the agreement is still proving a vital moral compass for progressIt was a curious way of conducting negotiations. Ahead of the 2025 climate summit, in the Amazonian port of Belém last year, the Brazilian hosts had taken off the table the issue that most had assumed would be at its heart: concrete plans from each country laying out exactly what they would be doing to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.Brazil was insisting, instead, that th
  
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• UK dairy farmers face further pressure as milk processor cuts prices

  06-11-2026 17:27 via Environment | The Guardian
  Freshways lowers price paid to producers by 7p a litre, prompting warnings confidence in the sector is ‘at rock bottom’“Milk is leaving the farm at a loss,” says dairy farmer Ian Harvey, as he warns confidence in the sector is “at rock bottom”.Most of the UK’s dairy producers were already being paid less for their milk than it costs to produce it after a year of volatile farmgate milk prices, combined with the impact of the summer’s drought and soaring costs of vital fuel and fer
  
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