Environment news

• Spain plans switch to 100% renewable electricity by 2050

  13-11-2018 16:13 via theguardian.com
  Ambitious scheme also aims to fully decarbonise country’s economy shortly afterSpain has launched an ambitious plan to switch its electricity system entirely to renewable sources by 2050 and completely decarbonise its economy soon after.By mid-century greenhouse gas emissions would be slashed by 90% from 1990 levels under Spain’s draft climate change and energy transition law. Continue reading...
  
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• Introducing Ulez was my hardest decision as mayor of London – but now we know its astonishing impact | Sadiq Khan

  19-08-2026 00:30 via theguardian.com
  Critics said I was attacking motorists. It’s more important for me that the city’s children are no longer breathing dangerous levels of pollutionUlez led to better lung size and function among London children, study findsWhen I introduced London’s clean air zone – the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) – more than seven years ago, no city had ever attempted anything quite like it. At the time, the scheme in central London provoked fierce opposition. When I decided to ex
  
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• Rebecca Hendin on Richard Tice and the climate crisis – cartoon

  18-08-2026 17:34 via theguardian.com
  
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• Heavy rain on dry ground may cause UK floods but will not reverse drought

  18-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  ‘First meaningful rain for a long time’ is forecast but water firms continue to ask customers to restrict useFloods and drought could hit the UK at the same time this week, with heavy rain forecast to fall on hard, parched soil.While some parts of the UK will have the “first meaningful rain for a long time” in the coming days, it will not reverse widespread drought conditions that have put pressure on wildlife, farmers, firefighters and water resources. Continue reading..
  
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• Heavy rain on dry ground may cause UK floods as taps run dry for thousands

  18-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  Forecasters say ‘first meaningful rain for a long time’ will not reverse widespread drought conditionsFloods and drought could hit the UK at the same time this week, with heavy rain forecast to fall on hard, parched soil.While some parts of the UK will have the “first meaningful rain for a long time” in the coming days, it will not reverse widespread drought conditions that have put pressure on wildlife, farmers, firefighters and water resources. Continue reading...
  
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• Heavy rain forecast will not reverse widespread drought conditions in UK

  18-08-2026 15:44 via theguardian.com
  Forecasters say intense showers might cause flooding as rain falls on dry, hard groundFloods and drought could hit the UK at the same time this week, with heavy rain forecast to fall on hard, parched soil.While some parts of the UK will have the “first meaningful rain for a long time” in the coming days, it will not reverse widespread drought conditions that have put pressure on wildlife, farmers, firefighters and water resources. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘We humans are inept at taking care of baby animals’: why well-fed orphan bears die in the wild

  18-08-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Scientists surprised to find all but two of 12 grizzlies were dead within a year of ‘feelgood’ release, unable to sustain their high-calorie diet and inclined to approach humansThe orphaned grizzly bear cubs were bulked up with a generous diet of roadkill, watermelon, dog food and snacks donated by the public. Their contact with carers was limited to two people. Then, after up to a year in rehabilitation, they returned home to the wilds of British Columbia.“It’s a feelgoo
  
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• ‘A new normal’: Miami faces worsening seaweed problem as piles of algae wash up on beaches

  18-08-2026 13:30 via theguardian.com
  Officials have had to remove thousands of tons of sargassum from Florida’s beaches amid the climate crisisDealing with seaweed is the bulk of Chris Bumpus’s job during the summer. As chief of conservation for Miami-Dade county’s parks, recreation and open spaces department, Bumpus is in charge of cleaning sargassum off 17 miles (27km) of county beaches. But some days, the odds are stacked against him and his team.More and more sargassum, a kind of floating brown algae, has been
  
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• England’s ancient oak trees dying in extreme hot and dry weather

  18-08-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Woodland Trust says trees struggling in drought stress, with older ‘survivors’ disproportionately affectedEngland’s ancient oak trees are dying in the summer’s extreme heat and dry weather, according to the Woodland Trust, with trees and ecosystems unable to adapt fast enough to the changing climate.The heatwaves across much of Europe this summer have had a notable impact on crop growth and plant health. To cope with the extreme conditions, many trees are undergoing &ldqu
  
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• Iraq’s ghost villages: Islamic State drove people away – now a new enemy is preventing their return

  18-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Nearly a decade after fighting ended in northern Iraq, the climate crisis has brought extreme heat and a water shortage, making life almost impossibleThe first thing that strikes visitors arriving in Faka, a small village in Sinjar district, northern Iraq, is the silence. No children play in the streets. No shops are open. Roofless houses stretch across the hillside, their walls pockmarked by shellfire, while weeds and wild grasses grow through collapsed living rooms.A decade after Islamic State
  
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• Burnham is choosing jobs over climate security. That’s a big risk | Gaby Hinsliff

  18-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  The PM’s net zero pragmatism may please some voters, but as parts of the country go up in flames, it’s an increasingly hard sellWhen the siren sounded on Friday night, my first thought was fire.Weeks of unrelenting sun in the normally soggy Peak District, where I was visiting my mum, have bleached green valleys a dangerously dry, crispy blond. One of her neighbours had earlier pointed out an ominous cloud of smoke on the horizon, coming from one of the wildfires raging all summer on
  
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• Country diary: Waiting for a nightjar is elusive and maddening – then thrilling | Mark Cocker

  18-08-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Goyt Valley, Derbyshire: My patience into dusk is rewarded with a full display of unlikely calls and aerial prowessThe setting sun spread a last Iberian glow over the hills opposite before they were drained of colour and sound, and by nine, the world was in monochrome. In line with national increases in their numbers and range, nightjars have prospered here recently. It seems especially so with the clearance of conifers, which has left a mix of old Scots pine and open space perfectly suited to t
  
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• Extreme heat more dangerous for people 60 and over than previously thought

  18-08-2026 00:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Study finds older adults could face harmful heat stress at just 1.5C of warming above preindustrial levelsPeople aged 60 and over face dangers to their health from exposure to heat at much lower temperatures than previously thought, research has found.Older adults will bear the brunt of increasingly frequent sustained spells of extreme heat globally as the world continues to warm up, according to a study in The Lancet Public Health. Continue reading...
  
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• Reform’s Tice accused of misinformation after urging people to enjoy heatwaves

  17-08-2026 20:06 via theguardian.com
  Backlash from nurses, medical experts and green campaigners in response to deputy leader dismissing efforts to reach net zeroReform’s deputy leader has been accused of spreading misinformation after he dismissed efforts to tackle the climate crisis and urged British people to enjoy the warmth of the recent heatwaves.Richard Tice prompted a backlash from nurses, medical experts and green campaigners on Monday after he told a press conference he believed it was “arrogant” to try
  
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• European farmers face ‘unprecedented crisis’ after successive heatwaves

  17-08-2026 18:01 via theguardian.com
  Vegetable and grain growers call for urgent action, warning of ‘catastrophic’ harvests due to continent-wide droughtSuccessive intense heatwaves and an increasingly severe, continent-wide drought have left many of Europe’s farmers in an “unprecedented” crisis, with vegetable and grain growers in particular warning of “catastrophic” harvests.French vegetable production is down by “a very significant extent” compared with previous years, French
  
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• Sharks have always stoked panic in Australia. While scientific understanding grows, conservation efforts can be unseated by fear | Anna Clark

  17-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  From Aboriginal rock art to colonial encounters, sharks have been a figure of fear and fascination throughout the long human history of this continentIs there a more primal fear among beach-goers than the shark? Although many more Australians drown each year at the beach than are killed by these creatures, it’s sharks that inhabit the jagged edges of our collective consciousness.After a terrifying spate of bites earlier this year, calls for shark culls resurfaced. Ocean swimming and surfin
  
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• Reform’s Tice says people should stop fighting climate crisis and ‘enjoy’ heat

  17-08-2026 16:51 via theguardian.com
  Deputy leader says it is ‘arrogant’ to try to stop global heating, despite UK being left reeling by summer firewaveReform’s deputy leader has dismissed efforts to tackle climate breakdown as futile, as he urged British people to “enjoy” the warmth of the recent heatwaves.Richard Tice told a press conference on Monday he believed it was “arrogant” to try to stop the climate emergency and added that politicians should focus instead on adaptation efforts, w
  
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• I tried everything to rid my yard of mosquitoes. This German-engineered trap finally worked

  17-08-2026 16:15 via theguardian.com
  After trying nearly everything to prevent mosquito bites, I tested Biogents’ traps, used by the CDC and WHO, to find if backyard results are worth $200This $380 kayak goes from backseat to lake in 10 minutesSign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better thingsDon’t get me wrong: I’m a peaceful person with compassion for all earthly creatures. Except mosquitoes, which deserve all the swats, cursing and loathing they get.As someone for whom a sing
  
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• Temperatures to fall across Europe as substantial rain heading for parts of UK

  17-08-2026 14:44 via theguardian.com
  Temperatures could drop by more than 15C compared with last Thursday as cold front moves inRelief from the unrelenting heat is finally arriving this week across western Europe, with more unsettled conditions bringing the chance of rain. Temperatures are expected to fall back towards the seasonal norm, with some parts of the UK even falling about 3C below normal by Thursday. After such a scorching summer, and with a temperature drop of more than 15C compared with last Thursday’s heat, it ma
  
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• Thom Yorke, Romy and Brian Eno among 200 musicians urging PM to reject new North Sea drilling

  17-08-2026 13:16 via theguardian.com
  Robert Smith, Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma also among signatories to letter saying exploitation of Rosebank and Jackdaw fields defies climate realityBusiness live – latest updatesMore than 200 musicians including Massive Attack and Brian Eno have written to Andy Burnham urging him to reject plans for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.The letter, signed by 211 artists such as Bobby Gillespie, Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma, called on the prime minister to reject the Rosebank oi
  
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• Rhossi, a rare sea turtle, recovers after 5,000-mile trek from Wales to Texas

  17-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, near death on Welsh beach in 2023, is thriving in Houston despite lingering pneumoniaA Kemp’s ridley sea turtle native to the Gulf of Mexico is largely thriving after he was found nearly dead on a beach in Wales in late 2023, nursed back to health and then flown to Houston recently to continue recovering – though scans revealed signs that the creature has been grappling with lingering pneumonia, according to his caretakers.Rhossi’s condition was
  
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• ‘Our new normal’: how marine heatwaves affect life in British seas

  17-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  As warming seas push native species to cooler waters farther north, once-rare visitors have become more common‘It sounds silly but I thought it was a person in the water waving,” says Kurt Lander, skipper of the Yellowfin charter boat, based out of Brighton. But when he grabbed his binoculars, he realised the fluttering movement he had noticed in the middle of the Channel shipping lane was a pair of sunfish.The huge fish were lying on their sides and flapping their fins. “Appar
  
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• British Gas paid me £38,000 by mistake, and I can’t give it back

  17-08-2026 08:00 via theguardian.com
  It said that was what I was due after I submitted a claim for £300 for energy exported through my solar panelsBritish Gas paid me more than £38,000 by mistake, then had no idea how to reclaim it. I receive quarterly feed-in tariff (Fit) payments for energy exported by my solar panels.In May, I submitted a claim for £300, based on my meter reading, and I received an email stating that I was due £38,611.59. Continue reading...
  
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• Spotlight on UN desertification summit as it mulls how to spend $12bn war chest

  17-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Extreme weather has raised the significance of Cop17 talks starting this week on tackling drought and land degradationAs swathes of the northern hemisphere bake in what could be the hottest year on record, with wildfires blazing across North America and Europe and heatwaves afflicting millions across Asia, the UN’s bi-annual talks on desertification have assumed much greater importance – and have started attracting more money.Work will begin this week on allocating more than $12bn (&
  
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• Country diary: Solar eclipse night was a social phenomenon – who cares if it was cloudy? | Mary Montague

  17-08-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Lisnabreeny, Co Down: There was little fanfare beforehand, but when the moment arrived, so did a group of strangers with a sense of occasion “Eclipses be – predicted – / And Science bows them in –” wrote the poet Emily Dickinson. As last Wednesday’s solar eclipse was bowed in across my news apps, those lines resonated with me. Dickinson’s masterly use of dashes to suspend the word “predicted” mirrored my experience of the Met Office&rsqu
  
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• Country diary: Solar eclipse night was a phenomenon – who cares if it was cloudy? | Mary Montague

  17-08-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Lisnabreeny, Co Down: There was little fanfare beforehand, but when the moment arrived, so did a group of strangers with a sense of occasion“Eclipses be – predicted – / And Science bows them in –” wrote the poet Emily Dickinson. As last Wednesday’s solar eclipse was bowed in across my news apps, those lines resonated with me. Dickinson’s masterly use of dashes to suspend the word “predicted” mirrored my experience of the Met Office&rsquo
  
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• Coping with 54C heat: Delhi slum diaries detail living in extreme temperatures

  17-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  With heatwaves now recognised as disasters, personal testimonies are key to a new project that looks to protect those living in the most cramped districts of India’s capitalEvery summer evening, Gulshan follows the same routine. She washes the floor of her one-room home several times so it cools a little for her four children to sleep on. Last summer, the family saved enough to buy a desert cooler, which uses evaporation as a cheaper alternative to air conditioning.The family uses the appl
  
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• Nicola Jennings on Andy Burnham’s disposable barbecue ban – cartoon

  16-08-2026 17:37 via theguardian.com
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• ‘Awed by nature’: fans mourn California’s beloved Jackie the bald eagle, whose legacy soars on

  16-08-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Famous raptor helped livestream viewers in difficult moments, and inspired a conservation project at her lake homeThe bald eagle Jackie made her home on the shore of southern California’s Big Bear Lake for most of her 14 years. But her death earlier this week drew international attention.The Los Angeles Times described her as “arguably the world’s most famous bald eagle”. For years, millions of people tuned into a live stream of Jackie’s nest, watching her rear her
  
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• Is it inevitable that consumerism will literally fill up the planet?

  16-08-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsReaders reply: How is it physically possible to continue breaking sporting records?If consumer capitalism continues at its current rate, will we reach a point at which there is literally no space left on Earth for all the stuff that has been created? Alex Robinson, Alnwick, NorthumberlandPost your answers (and new questi
  
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