Environment news

• Former Ikea CSO Steve Howard: Why 'change is the new normal' for business

  13-11-2018 12:42
  Ikea's former chief sustainability officer Steve Howard has urged business leaders to take bold actions to champion decarbonisation, resource efficiency and social equality in order to adapt to global megatrends such as digitisation, urbanisation and population growth.
  
  Read more

• Iguazu Falls in South America hits record 10 times normal water flow – video

  16-10-2026 11:37 via theguardian.com
  Iguazu Falls, an Unesco world heritage site, has reached a record water flow after heavy rains across the river basin. El Niño weather patterns are said to have driven the water flow to hit 10 times the normal amount. Usually the water flow is 1.5m litres per second, but local government registered a flow of 15m litres of water per second.Argentina temporarily closes Iguazu Falls after El Niño-fuelled surge in water levels Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• ‘Clean air is not a favour’: Indonesia’s neighbours fed up with acrid haze as Singapore threatens to prosecute

  16-10-2026 10:34 via theguardian.com
  Companies behind fires in Indonesia threatened with legal action as region dogged by persistent, transboundary hazeSingapore is threatening to prosecute companies responsible for some of the worst fires in years in neighbouring Indonesia, as the region grows increasingly frustrated with a persistent, acrid haze that could result in diplomatic relations fraying.Lawrence Wong, the Singaporean prime minister, said his government was distributing masks to vulnerable citizens and working with countri
  
  Read more

• The week in wildlife: a penguin posse, a little leopard cat and a chonky squirrel

  16-10-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Revealed: VW, Ford and Tesla batteries linked to destructive deforestation of indigenous lands

  16-10-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Mines in supply chains of western carmakers linked to widespread deforestation of primary rainforest in nickel-rich lands inhabited by Tolaki people in IndonesiaVolkswagen, Ford and Tesla are among the electric carmakers whose batteries may contain nickel mined in indigenous woodlands plagued by deforestation, an analysis has found, highlighting the struggle to make vehicles that are free from environmental destruction.Corporate disclosures and trade flows from the last two years show mines in t
  
  Read more

• Four years after the promises of Cop15, our biodiversity targets are slipping away

  16-10-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  ​The world pledged to halt biodiversity loss by 2030, but as Cop17 delegates meet in Armenia next week the outlook is bleak and optimism has faded• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe world has lost its way on nature once again. Next week, biodiversity Cop17 begins in Yerevan, Armenia, and expectations are low. Very low.Almost four years ago, governments reached an historic agreement at the biodiversity Cop15 to halt the destruction of Earth’s
  
  Read more

• Like dinosaur eggs in the sand: the pterosaur museum built to thrive in the Gobi desert

  16-10-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  How architects worked with harsh environment to create sustainable building in location where fossils were foundViewed from afar, the silver-hued Hami Pterosaur Museum almost looks like a space base on Mars. Viewed from above, it resembles a collection of dinosaur eggs in the sand. Nestled in the Gobi desert, in north-west China, the new tourist attraction showcases hundreds of impressive fossils of pterosaurs, ancient flying reptiles related to dinosaurs. But far from reflecting its prehistoric
  
  Read more

• Commercial kitchen staff exposed to high levels of air pollution, study finds

  16-10-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  US research says nitrogen dioxide in restaurants that cook with gas can exceed WHO limits, which also affects dinersEach time we enjoy a meal out or order a takeaway, someone cooks for us in a commercial kitchen. In the UK, 3.6 million people work in catering and hospitality. In the US it is estimated at close to 16 million. A first-of-its-kind study in the US has found catering staff can experience high air pollution at work – and that this can affect diners too.Dr Drew Michanowicz, senio
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Country diary: A three-day perambulation around my own parish | Simon Lockett

  16-10-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Golden Valley, Herefordshire: Even vicars can get stuck too much behind a desk, and the 800th anniversary of St Francis of Assisi’s death is a good excuse to strike out, and speak to local peopleI was sitting at my desk again, with the dull hum and the blue glow of the screen. It seems that every occupation traps people at their desk, and being a vicar is no different. But I wanted to resist, and it happened to be the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis of Assisi’s death. With Jesus o
  
  Read more

• Severe drought declared in six areas of England as reservoirs run low

  15-10-2026 14:18 via theguardian.com
  Some reservoirs in south at critical levels as water companies call for extended restrictions that would affect golf clubs, private schools and car washesA severe drought has been declared in six areas of England, with some reservoirs at critically low levels, threatening public supplies.Parts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex have moved into severe drought, and urgent measures are being taken to secure public supplies of water after the UK experienced its hottest
  
  Read more

• Severe drought declared in six areas of England as public water supplies under threat

  15-10-2026 14:18 via theguardian.com
  Some reservoirs in south-east and south-west at critically low levels as water companies call for non-essential user bans on businessesA severe drought has been declared in six areas of England with some reservoirs at critically low levels, threatening public supplies.Parts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex have moved into severe drought, and urgent measures are being taken to secure public supplies of water after the UK experienced its hottest summer on record. C
  
  Read more

• The hidden costs of fracking: boom in Argentina linked to trail of sickness

  15-10-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Families in Vaca Muerta, the centre of Patagonia’s shale operation, report cancers, miscarriages and pollutionIn Allen, a small town in Argentine Patagonia, many people living on the same street ended up falling ill. For some, it was severe migraines, nausea or skin irritation. For others, cancers, congenital abnormalities, miscarriages or stillbirth seemed to affect foetuses or children. People say it all started 13 years ago – when a well was drilled near their homes to extract gas
  
  Read more

• ‘Like selling wolves from Yellowstone’: how protected US sharks are being sold off to foreign aquariums

  15-10-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  While anglers cannot take endangered sand tiger sharks, a loophole lets private firms catch the fish to sell abroad, profiting from Delaware Bay’s conservation successShortly after 12.45pm, what remains of a 300-metre line goes taut. Somewhere beneath the murky green surface of Delaware Bay, on the eastern US coast, a sand tiger shark has taken the bait of a mackerel chunk. Marine researchers at the University of Delaware haul the line towards a small boat as the shark’s grey-brown o
  
  Read more

• No timeline for lifting Land Registry paywall as ownership remains opaque

  15-10-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Defra promised in March to work towards free access to data on large plots in England and Wales The government has refused to say when the public will be able to freely access information about who owns large plots of land across England and Wales.Emma Reynolds, the previous secretary of state for the environment, announced in March that the paywall protecting large amounts of the Land Registry would be partly lifted. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Musk says US government may be behind slowdown of Ukraine drone speeds

  15-10-2026 06:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ukraine says Starlink access has improved but it is still facing speed limits which are disrupting its battlefield "missions".
  
  Read more

• Country diary: Thrilled by Darwin, and the wonder of worms | Lev Parikian

  15-10-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Downe, Kent: It’s hard not to feel the earth move by a visit to the great man’s house. He truly valued these creatures of the dirtThe garden beds are moistened by steady rain, but the ground is still unyielding. A blackbird hops across bare soil. A dart, a jab, and up it comes – a wriggling tube of pink flesh. A simple catch. But when I rummage in the dirt, my only reward is loam under the fingernails. Perhaps I should have brought a bassoon.I’ve come to Down House.
  
  Read more

• ‘I am still a child, it cannot be good to be married’: how drought forces Afghan families to sell girls as brides

  15-10-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  As climate breakdown pushes families to starvation, many feel forced to ‘sacrifice’ daughters to save siblings. Photographer Elise Blanchard travelled the country speaking to girls as young as eight, 10 and 14 who have been engaged or married to repay debts or pay for food‘I’m not happy about this,” says 11-year-old Khatira, who was sold into marriage to repay debts, sitting in her home in Qala-e-Naw, capital of Badghis province in north-west Afghanistan. “She
  
  Read more

• A perfect storm: how the super El Niño is devastating the fishing industry

  15-10-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Peru’s anchoveta have made up about a 10th of the entire global commercial fishing catch since 1970, more than any other fish. A combination of warming seas and decades-long overfishing spells disasterOn 10 June 2026, the government of Peru made a decision that it knew would hurt one of the world’s major fishing industries. It stopped all anchoveta fishing boats from going out to sea, suspending the fishing season. At first the order was temporary, but in mid-August, the suspension t
  
  Read more

• 'Nowhere to escape' - Indonesians share footage of orange haze blanketing towns

  15-10-2026 05:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Thick orange smog descended on the Indonesian city of Palangka Raya as wildfires continue raging nearby.
  
  Read more

• Dog that hunts invasive 'sea vomit' honoured as animal of the year

  15-10-2026 01:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sgiath is thought to be the UK's first sea squirt-hunting dog and has been trained to sniff out the marine pest.
  
  Read more

• India and China aren't friends - but Nepal wants to unite them against climate threats

  15-10-2026 01:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Can Nepal bring the two regional giants together to confront a shared climate threat in the Himalayas?
  
  Read more

• Why is Starlink internet so important on the battlefield in Ukraine?

  14-10-2026 21:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  It is the "backbone of military communications in Ukraine" that provides vital high-speed internet to forces across the country.
  
  Read more

• For the future of green politics, look beyond the Green party | Zoe Williams

  14-10-2026 19:15 via theguardian.com
  Environmentalists of all political hues must find the language and ideas that turn passion for climate action into impetusThe future of Green politics is under constant discussion after the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, but a much heavier clash – in meaning, symbolism and portent – happened earlier this summer, in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk. The council declared a climate emergency in 2021, along with hundreds of others, and while it was under Conservative control. It is
  
  Read more

• Plan unveiled to increase share of land farmed organically in England to 10%

  14-10-2026 18:49 via theguardian.com
  Government says ambition for 2036 will be good for food and climate resilience, but concerns remain over fundingThe government has set an ambition to increase the share of English land farmed organically to 10% by 2036, but concerns remain over how the transition will be funded.Currently, just 3.4% of England’s agricultural land is farmed organically, one of the smallest shares in Europe. France, for example, farms 10.4% of its land organically, and aims to increase this to 18% by 2027. Co
  
  Read more

• Industrial fire linked to fish and eels' deaths

  14-10-2026 18:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Chemicals from firewater runoff entered a brook and spread downstream where dead fish and eels were later found, the Environment Agency has confirmed.
  
  Read more

• Mont Blanc, the ‘roof of Europe’, loses more than a metre of height in a year

  14-10-2026 17:33 via theguardian.com
  Peak of French mountain now 4,807 metres high and fluctuates year by year due to changes in Alpine climateEurope’s highest peak shrank by more than a metre last year, data has shown.Mont Blanc in France now stands 4,807.47 metres above sea level, a team of surveyors from the Haute-Savoie regional department said on Wednesday, putting “the roof of Europe” 1.29 metres lower than in 2025. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Is it really ‘madness’ to account for emissions from fossil fuels burned overseas? The Coalition sure thinks so | Temperature Check

  14-10-2026 16:14 via theguardian.com
  The emissions might occur elsewhere, but they generate global harm that scientists can now quantifySign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereThe Coalition has come up with the perfect solution to deal with the climate pollution from when Australian fossil fuels are burned overseas.We should either just pretend they don’t exist, or ignore the reason why people are concerned about them, even if those people include a majority of high court j
  
  Read more

• Is it really ‘madness’ to account for emissions from fossil fuels burned overseas? The Coalition sure thinks so |Temperature Check

  14-10-2026 16:14 via theguardian.com
  The emissions might occur elsewhere, but they generate global harm that scientists can now quantifyThe Coalition has come up with the perfect solution to deal with the climate pollution from when Australian fossil fuels are burned overseas.We should either just pretend they don’t exist, or ignore the reason why people are concerned about them, even if those people include a majority of high court judges or the international court of justice.Sign up to get climate and environment editor Ada
  
  Read more

• Burnham - Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas decisions coming 'shortly'

  14-10-2026 16:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged the prime minister to stop "faffing about" with the North Sea oil and gas fields.
  
  Read more

• I work for a major insurer. Much of my industry is fudging the numbers in the face of the climate crisis | Anonymous

  14-10-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Insurers are taking on more risk than they should. If – or when – a major disaster hits, the catastrophe will have far-reaching consequencesI work for a major insurer, assessing the risk posed by natural disasters on properties around the world, from family homes to schools, government offices and multibillion-dollar commercial centres. The world is facing greater risk than ever from extreme weather. We are not prepared – and that inaction could have profound consequences for t
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!