Environment news

• Volkswagen's U.S. diesel emissions settlement to cost nearly $15 billion - source

  27-06-2016 22:51
  Volkswagen AG's settlement with nearly 500,000 U.S. diesel owners and government regulators over polluting vehicles is valued at nearly $15 billion (11.39 billion pounds), a source briefed on the matter said on Monday. The settlement, to be announced on Tuesday, includes just over $10 billion to offer buy backs to owners of polluting vehicles and nearly $5 billion in funds to offset excess diesel emissions and boost zero emission vehicles, the source said.
  
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• ​W​hy are European leaders staying silent after our summer of climate shock?

  26-08-2026 16:40 via theguardian.com
  Lethal temperatures ​and wildfires have exposed a widening gulf between voters demanding ​action and politicians unwilling to confront the long-term choices global heating requires• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereThe climate crisis means “we’re going to have to change everything – the way we live, the way we produce, the way we trade,” France’s veteran radical-left firebrand, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, told the s
  
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• 1.3m plastic bottles collected in a day in global volunteer ocean cleanup

  26-08-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Ocean Conservancy says last year’s cleanup collected 13.9m pieces of rubbish from beaches and rivers worldwideMore than 1.3m plastic bottles were collected from beaches, rivers and waterways last year during the world’s largest single-day volunteer ocean cleanup.About 630,000 people took part in the International Coastal Cleanup in 2025, removing almost 13.9m pieces of rubbish from more than 15,000 miles of coastline and waterways. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘You can taste the ash’: surviving in America’s wildfire smoke capital

  26-08-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  A magical corner of Oregon has the highest US rate of wildfire smoke deaths. How do residents live with the haze – and grief?Driving into the county, you can’t miss the sign.“IT’S THE CLIMATE”. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘National scandal’: extreme heat linked to 40,000 deaths in England between 1988 and 2025

  26-08-2026 12:55 via theguardian.com
  ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further recordsMore than 40,000 more people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected in normal temperatures, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths. Th
  
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• ‘132F’: meet the man calling out NYC’s infernally hot subway stations

  26-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Jack Klein takes heat readings, gives fans to overheated passengers and lugs big jugs of water into the stationsOn a recent August day in the subterranean furnace of New York City’s subway, one bearded, curly haired man was studying his phone for different reasons than the other wilting passengers – to track the soaring temperatures and ponder how underground train stations can cool down in an era of climate crisis.Jack Klein, a 31-year-old construction site manager, has in the past
  
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• ‘Shocking scandal’: extreme heat linked to 40,000 deaths in England between 1988 and 2025

  26-08-2026 11:51 via theguardian.com
  
  ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further recordsMore than 40,000 more people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected in normal temperatures, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths. Th
  
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• Heatwaves show UK must do more to promote cycling and walking, campaigners say

  26-08-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Civil society groups argue climate crisis means transport sector needs to urgently reduce its carbon emissionsDozens of civil society groups have demanded the UK government do more to promote cycling and walking, after this summer’s extreme heat exposed the desperate need to decarbonise transport.This summer’s heatwaves and wildfires were “immediate, real-world manifestations of the climate emergency”, the groups said, making reform of transport – responsible for mo
  
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• 'Magical' and rare barn owl has bumper breeding season

  26-08-2026 07:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ten chicks have been successfully reared by two breeding pairs at secret sites across Fermanagh.
  
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• Does 'rewilded' land need better wildfire prevention measures?

  26-08-2026 07:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  RSPB is considering measures it can take to improve resilience in the wake of a five week long fire
  
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• Toxic waste sites exposed in Michael Sheen documentary are 'tip of the iceberg'

  26-08-2026 07:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One scientist says there are thousands of sites across the UK that need investigating.
  
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• RSPB reports record-breaking chough numbers

  26-08-2026 07:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  RSPB England says 161 Choughs have been counted - 32 more than the 129 recorded last year.
  
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• Muck-spreading: The smellier the better as farmers ask for patience

  26-08-2026 07:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  East Yorkshire farmers explain the process as they prepare their fields for next year's crops.
  
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• Sand overextraction weakening riverbanks as concrete demand soars

  26-08-2026 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Research finds demand has more than doubled since 2000 and 80% of current demand comes from AsiaA booming demand for concrete has resulted in sand and gravel being extracted from riverbeds faster than nature can replenish it. A study published in Reviews of Geophysics shows that the demand for sand and gravel has more than doubled in the last two decades, with overextraction leading to weaker riverbanks, lower groundwater levels, coastal salt intrusion and poorer water quality.In 2024, city-buil
  
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• Country diary: A farm that’s a pocket rocket of rewilding – and a success in the face of opposition | Amy-Jane Beer

  26-08-2026 06:30 via theguardian.com
  Asturias, Spain: Wild Finca is thrilling in its ecological abundance, and was created in just eight years despite countless obstaclesOn a rocky 13-hectare pocket in the foothills of the Picos de Europa, Luke Massey and Katie Stacey are raising children, dogs, cattle, chicken, ducks, geese and eyebrows. In their eight years here, the farm they call Wild Finca has become a mass of scrub, with scattered large trees and dozens of clearings that Luke calls fields, but which look more like tiny irregu
  
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• Mood-boosting benefits of birdsong drowned out by traffic noise, study finds

  26-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Even low levels of traffic noise can negate the benefits of listening to natural sounds, researchers sayHearing the trill or whistle of a bird while going about daily life is well known to boost people’s mood. But a new study suggests the psychological benefits of hearing birdsong are being threatened by traffic noise.Researchers found that even low levels of traffic noise negatively affected the benefits to wellbeing that could otherwise be derived from listening to natural sounds. Contin
  
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• Call to ban marmot hunting in France as campaigners say they are ‘killed for fun’

  26-08-2026 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Protests and petitions planned amid growing concerns over impact of climate crisis on numbers of Alpine rodentAnimal rights campaigners are gearing up for protests and petitions aimed at persuading the French government to ban the hunting of Alpine marmots.Open season on the rodents, members of the squirrel and groundhog family, begins in September, a few weeks before they go into a long winter hibernation. Continue reading...
  
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• A nosy polar bear and a lucky squirrel: Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 shortlist

  26-08-2026 01:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The polar bear image taken by Audun Rikardsen was among the 'highly commended' entries in this year's competition.
  
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• Yellow warnings in force as rain and thunderstorms hit parts of UK

  26-08-2026 01:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Torrential downpours will affect parts of England and Wales, delivering some of the wettest weather in several weeks
  
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• Relief may be near for Indiana city after days without power

  25-08-2026 18:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  After nearly two-weeks without power, Gary, Indiana residents and officials call for accountability, infrastructure improvements, and customer relief measures.
  
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• NSW’s koala national park will protect threatened species and cap logging across the state. Could the Greens really block it? | Adam Morton

  25-08-2026 17:00 via theguardian.com
  The Albanese government approved a proposal allowing the park to create carbon credits worth hundreds of millions of dollars, sparking a schism among environmentalistsWhat qualifies as a win in environmental campaigning?Is it when a huge forest area that is home to a stack of threatened species, including koalas, and has been the focus of years and years of campaigning, is protected from logging? Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Not any old vermin’: rats numbers are on the rise thanks to global heating – and poison may not be the answer

  25-08-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Robert Corrigan has been dealing with the ‘smart’ rodents all his life – and believes there are better solutions to deal with the growing infestation in the world’s cities“The rodents have paid for every single bill I’ve ever had – every mortgage, every car payment, every pint of Guinness,” says Dr Robert Corrigan. “It’s been a great ride and I’m still at it.”New York-based Corrigan is one of the most respected voices in the
  
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• ‘I love rats but we can’t live with them’: the headache of rising rodent populations around the world

  25-08-2026 16:00 via theguardian.com
  Robert Corrigan has been dealing with the ‘smart’ rodents all his life – and believes there are better solutions to deal with the growing infestation in the world’s cities“The rodents have paid for every single bill I’ve ever had – every mortgage, every car payment, every pint of Guinness,” says Dr Robert Corrigan. “It’s been a great ride and I’m still at it.”New York-based Corrigan is one of the most respected voices in the
  
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• We asked our climate reporters to highlight one idea for positive change. We got a chronicle of global transformation

  25-08-2026 14:27 via theguardian.com
  There are countless initiatives around the world that can inspire people and spur them into action. Amid the devastation of the climate crisis, our journalists strive to highlight these stories of hope Climate campaign 2026: help us reach 30,000 acts of supportThe news is very often about the bad things (especially if you’re on the Guardian’s environment desk). Wildfires, floods, tipping points, billionaires making huge profits and buying themselves island refuges for the apocalypse
  
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• US fossil fuel lobbyists also represent hundreds of cities fighting for climate damages

  25-08-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  Local governments working with firms also linked to fossil fuel giants, analysis of federal lobbying disclosures showsCongressional lobbyists working for fossil fuel firms that are exacerbating the climate crisis are simultaneously representing more than 300 local governments raising funding to recover from climate damage, according to a new analysis.The research by F Minus and Make Polluters Pay reviewed congressional lobbying disclosures for the first quarter of 2026, finding that another 568
  
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• Climate-saving wonder – or €240m vanity bauble that ages like milk? The rocks set to hit Rotterdam docks

  25-08-2026 13:37 via theguardian.com
  
  MVRDV – the firm behind Marble Arch Mound – says Rotterdam ROCKS! will inspire visitors to live sustainably. But in an era when the greenest building is the one that already exists, this tottering cairn looks set to misfire‘It looks like something Shrek would throw up,” sniffed one online commentator, unflatteringly comparing Rotterdam ROCKS!, the recently unveiled proposal for a waterfront site in Europe’s largest port, with the vomitings of a cartoon ogre. Designe
  
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• US building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China in AI boom, analysis finds

  25-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  There has been a 76% increase in under-construction gas-fired projects amid ‘frenzy’ to build more datacentersThe US has surged ahead of China in the building of new gas-fired power generation, largely to feed a boom in artificial intelligence (AI) that is adding vast amounts of planet-heating emissions, a new analysis has found.For decades, China’s rapid economic growth has seen it outpace the US in the addition of new gas power generation but a recent “frenzy” in
  
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• Fishy business: who really profits when sardines go viral? - video

  25-08-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Once a cheap store-cupboard staple, sardines are fast becoming a luxury food item. Last year, #SardineGirlSummer saw influencers promoting the health benefits of sardinemaxxing, while sardinecore became the must-have fashion trend. Now, demand is accelerating just as Morocco’s sardine stock has collapsed, causing shortages on supermarket shelves. The Guardian travels to Matosinhos in Portugal, the cultural home of the sardine industry, to investigate who is profiting from the boom, how it
  
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• From Scotland, I look at England’s water privatisation disaster. I wish you had done what we did | Devi Sridhar

  25-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  Listening to debate, you’d think bringing English water companies into public ownership was a radical socialist idea. Here, we call it common senseProf Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of EdinburghEvery few months, there are more shocking headlines about the behaviour of England’s water companies. The latest are about the ever-increasing pay of the chief executives and chief financial officers, which rose to a total of £25.3m across 14 companies o
  
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• ‘Environmental violence’: inside the fight to save indigenous land from becoming a nuclear dumping ground

  25-08-2026 11:00 via theguardian.com
  New documentary To Use a Mountain spotlights the pain and triumph of resisting government efforts to turn parts of rural US into disposal sitesNuclear energy was supposed to be our salvation, humanity’s chance to retool technology first conceived as a weapon of mass destruction into an engine of limitless prosperity. But even as the industry touted nuclear fission as an economic game-changer (never mind the astronomical startup costs), a safety paragon (never mind the spills at Chornobyl,
  
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