Environment | The Guardian

German's appointment to head Convention on Biological Diversity follows global failure to meet any targets on protecting ecosystemsThe next UN biodiversity chief will be Astrid Schomaker, an EU civil servant who will be entrusted with helping the world confront the ongoing catastrophic loss of nature.Schomaker has been a career official with the EU commission for 30 years. A surprise appointment, she will be tasked with corralling governments to make good on their commitments to protect life on Earth - something they have not done in more than 30 years since the UN biodiversity convention was created.Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on X for all the latest news and features Continue reading...

While Toyota falls in line on vehicle emission standards, questions are raised about solar sunshot' and carbon offsets

Ninety wildlife and landscape photographers from around the world are marking the primatologist Jane Goodall turning 90 with a print sale of environmental pictures. The Jane Goodall Institute and the nonprofit Vital Impacts have collaborated on The Nature of Hope: 90 Years of Jane Goodall's Impact, a 90-day sale with 60% of the proceeds going to the institute Continue reading...

Exclusive: public anger over river pollution affecting employee safety, union survey suggestsWater industry workers say they have been physically assaulted and feel unsafe working alone for fear of attack amid a public backlash over sewage dumping.More than one in three UK water employees have been verbally abused at work, according to a survey of almost 1,300 staff conducted by the GMB union. Continue reading...

Rate of decline in 2023 thought to be linked to climate breakdown as UK-wide survey shows mixed picture across 58 speciesThe small tortoiseshell butterfly has suffered its worst year on record in England, and has declined by 82% across the UK since 1976, according to the annual scientific count of butterfly populations.The sharp decline in numbers of the once-common garden butterfly has puzzled scientists, but it is thought to be linked to climate breakdown. It had its worst year on record in England, its second worst in Wales and its joint-fifth worst in Scotland in 2023 but did well in Northern Ireland, logging its second-best year. Continue reading...

After years of swinging extremes, state snowpack is at rare average of 110%, setting up good water savings account for year aheadOn Tuesday morning California officials trekked into the mountains to share some exciting and unusual news: the state's snowpack measurement is just about average. Across the state, the snowpack came in at roughly 110% - a measurement that is exceedingly rare in a changing climate.The fourth survey of the year, conducted at the beginning of April, is considered one of the most crucial. It serves as an indicator for how the state's water supply will fare through the drier, warmer seasons ahead. The snowpack acts as a water savings account for the state, supplying roughly 30% of California's water and slowly refilling reservoirs, pumping rivers and streams and wetting soils during the dry, warm seasons as it melts. April typically marks the shift out of the precipitation season, which is why this snowpack measurement carries so much weight. Continue reading...

Meteorologist says bears were not aggressive but they fired signal gun to scare them awayKatarzyna Kudacz was preparing a breakfast of scrambled eggs at a research station on Svalbard when she looked up to see she had three unexpected guests.Shocked and in awe, the meteorologist immediately alerted her colleagues to the female polar bear and her two cubs peering into the Polish research station in Hornsund, in the south of the Norwegian archipelago, their noses pressed up against the window. Continue reading...

An old flooded slate mine used as a dumping ground for cars in north Wales is in danger of being destroyed by visitors trashing the site, it has been claimed. The eeriness of the flooded cave attracts Instagram photo seekers. The cave, part of the Gaewern slate mine, became a dumping ground for old cars, TVs, microwaves and other rubbish after its closure in the 1970s. It was rediscovered by urban explorers who posted stunning photographs of the scrap illuminated by shafts of sunlight, leading to others braving a perilous 20-metre (65ft) descent and using inflatable dinghies to cross the lake to reach the scrap. Volunteers are now working to remove trash and graffiti

Modelling points to huge' soil emissions in interior rangelands, which are more sensitive to a warming climate

Recent $74m investment made alongside assessment that 10% of electricity could be generated by geothermal by 2050A limitless supply of heat exists beneath our feet within the Earth's crust, but harnessing it at scale has proved challenging. Now, a combination of new techniques, government support and the pressing need to secure continuous clean power in an era of climate crisis means that geothermal energy is finally having its moment in the US.Until recently, geothermal has only been viable where the Earth's inner heat simmers near the surface, such as at hot springs or geysers where hot water or steam can be easily drawn to drive turbines and generate electricity. Continue reading...

Pipeline' of clean projects being assembled, according to head of agency charged with multibillion-dollar transformation

Letters revealed under FoI laws show council asked environment secretary to investigate planThe government has been accused of quietly shelving a delayed plan to restore the polluted River Wye after letters from the government show it is incomplete with no publication date in sight.Letters revealed to the Guardian under freedom of information (FoI) laws show the then environment secretary, Therese Coffey, told stakeholders in August that the government was close to finalising" the plan to save the Wye and measures would be published within three months. Continue reading...

Fall to 14.4p comes after shareholders said they were unwilling to inject further fundsA bond issued by Thames Water's parent company has fallen to record lows as the embattled company scrambles to secure its future, and the government signalled it is ready to step in if necessary".The 400m bond, issued by the water supplier's parent company, Kemble, has slumped to only 14.4p after shareholders indicated that they were unwilling to inject further funds into the heavily indebted utility company. Continue reading...

Reducing cattle populations and restoring native ecoystems is our best chance to tackle global heating. Here's one way to do itThere is a simple, cost-effective and scientifically sound way to turn back the clock on global warming and reverse the catastrophic collapse of biodiversity: pay ranchers to raise trees instead of cattle.By mass, the world's 1.7 billion cows are the dominant animal species on Earth, far outweighing the human population, and outweighing all the wild terrestrial mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians left on Earth by more than 15-fold. More than a third of Earth's land is used to feed livestock. Continue reading...

Rainfall expected to ease before surging back later this week after central Victoria and western Melbourne hit by flooding and building damage

Increase in Fairtrade income to 13m shows shoppers still prioritising environment and workers' wellbeingBritish consumers might have faced the sharpest increase in living costs for four decades, but despite the cost of living crisis, concerns over the environment and the treatment of farmers in poorer countries has fuelled a steady increase in ethical shopping.As households across the country rein in their spending to deal with rising bills, Michael Gidney, the chief executive of the Fairtrade Foundation trade body, said consumers were still prioritising ethical products. Continue reading...

Labor describes claims as fear-mongering' and says government would not accept waste from other nations

Dutch court's ruling that KLM misled customers is a wakeup call' on decarbonisation plans, climate advocacy group says

Proposal would allow states and territories to make decisions about coal mining and unconventional gas where water resources are affected

Possible charity highlights financial savings and environmental benefits for low-paid staffMinisters should consider a social leasing scheme for care workers in rural areas across the UK to use electric cars, a climate charity has argued, saying this would save often low-paid staff large sums, while bringing a big environmental boost.A focus group of carers in rural and semi-rural parts of the UK, carried out as part of the study, found that one woman earning less than 20,000 a year as a mobile carer drove four hours a day on average, spending 100-150 a month on petrol. Continue reading...

Residents of Balikpapan Bay in eastern Borneo dismiss claims that Nusantara will be a sustainable city that coexists with natureIn eastern Borneo, beyond the thick jungle forests, an epic building project is under way. Giant trucks, cement mixers and diggers lumber along battered roads. Cranes tower overhead. Yellow dust clouds the air, caking everything in reach: the leaves of eucalyptus trees, the sides of passing vehicles and the homes of nearby residents.This site - a 2,560 sq km area encompassing industrial plantations, mines, Indigenous communities and agricultural land - is to form Nusantara, Indonesia's new administrative capital. Continue reading...

Charity publishes survey findings as it calls for youngsters to be no more than a 15-minute walk from green spacesMore than three-quarters of children want to spend more time in nature, the National Trust has found, as the conservation charity pushes ministers to ensure youngsters are no more than a 15-minute walk from green spaces.Nearly two-thirds - 63% - of parents are able to take their children to nature spaces only once a week or less, citing accessibility as the main barrier, the survey of 1,000 children aged seven to 14 and 1,000 parents by the trust and the children's newspaper First News found. Continue reading...

Pilot scheme supplies 1,000 folding boxes to farms and wholesalers to reduce single-use cardboard, paper and plastic

Other endangered animals rescued in 2023 included a burrowing parrot, an African spurred tortoise and a blood-eared parakeetSpecialist wildlife police in eastern Spain have rescued an exotic list of endangered animals over the past year, including a pair of Nile crocodiles, an African spurred tortoise weighing 25kg and a 2-metre Burmese python.The Seprona division of the Guardia Civil said in a statement on Sunday that its officers recovered numerous examples" of species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora during 2023. Continue reading...

Former UN climate chief warns of global impact of a possible regression in US green policiesVictory for Donald Trump in the US presidential election this year could put the world's climate goals at risk, a former UN climate chief has said.The chances of limiting global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels are already slim, and Trump's antipathy to climate action would have a major impact on the US, which is the world's second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and biggest oil and gas exporter, said Patricia Espinosa, who served as the UN's top official on the climate from 2016 to 2022. Continue reading...

Smalltooth sawfish are behaving oddly, eliciting a first-ever plan to rescue and rehabilitate the species from the wildThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is launching what the agency described as an emergency response effort in south Florida after emerging reports of smalltooth sawfish spinning, whirling and displaying other abnormal behaviors.In a statement released last Wednesday, NOAA said that in addition to the abnormal behaviors, there have been reports of fish deaths in the lower Florida Keys, including more than 28 smalltooth sawfish as of 24 March. Continue reading...

Investigation reveals project oil giant promoted may never leave drawing board and has received no licence or government supportMotorists concerned about the impact on the planet of petrol and diesel cars may be comforted by Esso's marketing campaign on thoughtful driving".One of its most eye-catching initiatives is a proposal to trap carbon dioxide at a vast oil refinery and petrochemical complex on the south coast and store it under the seabed of the English Channel. Continue reading...

Participants in Oxford v Cambridge competition were warned to cover wounds due to risks from E coli-polluted waterwayOn a bright, unexpectedly warm afternoon, it would have been easy to assume the crowds that gathered by the Thames yesterday for the 169th Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race were a signal that all remains rosy in the world of rowing and rivercraft.Couples of all ages stood in the sunshine sipping pints and proseccos, groups waved dark-blue Oxford and light-blue Cambridge flags, and families posed for selfies. All appeared content about the prospects of watching another engrossing competition between the two old rivals - a battle that was eventually won by Cambridge in both the men and women's races. Continue reading...

Responders have currently found no immediate threat', but 14 of at least 56 containers carrying contaminants were destroyedAs authorities clean up the wreckage left behind by Tuesday's deadly collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, they are also looking for signs of potential environmental contamination.Responders have currently found no immediate threat to the environment". But for environmental experts, concerns still loom. Continue reading...

Conservative fifth circuit overturns EPA's ban prohibiting Inhance from using manufacturing process creating toxic compoundA federal appeals court in the US has killed a ban on plastic containers contaminated with highly toxic PFAS forever chemicals" found to leach at alarming levels into food, cosmetics, household cleaners, pesticides and other products across the economy.Houston-based Inhance manufactures an estimated 200m containers annually with a process that creates, among other chemicals, PFOA, a toxic PFAS compound. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December prohibited Inhance from using the manufacturing process.This article was corrected on 1 April 2024 to correct the company name Inhance in relation to a quote and to clarify Inhance's relationships with regulators. Continue reading...

A 12-year industry roadmap has been unveiled to address the rising amount of solar panel waste headed for the tip

Labour party analysis of figures since 2010 shows raw sewage was discharged for more than 3.6m hours last yearWaterborne diseases such as dysentery and Weil's disease have risen by 60% since 2010 in England, new figures reveal.Analysis of NHS hospital admissions by the Labour party has found that the number of people admitted to hospital with diseases transmitted via waterborne infection has increased from 2,085 in 2010-11 to 3,286 in 2022-23. Continue reading...

Proposal aims to decarbonize all of nation's public housing units, with an investment of between $162bn and $234bn over next decadeWith a sweeping legislative proposal, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders are attempting to place public housing at the center of the green energy transition, tackling the twin crises of global warming and soaring housing costs.Public housing should be the gold standard for affordable, environmentally friendly, and safe communities," Ocasio-Cortez said in an email. This bill is how we ensure that." Continue reading...

The singer, who is known for her attempts to run her career sustainably, likened the practice to The Hunger Games - playing a game to get fans to keep buying moreBillie Eilish has criticised the practice of musicians releasing several vinyl variants of the same record in order to drive sales and earn them more money", likening it to The Hunger Games franchise: We're all going to do it because [it's] the only way to play the game."I can't even express to you how wasteful it is," Eilish, 22, told Billboard in an interview about her push to run her career in a sustainable and less environmentally impactful way. Continue reading...

Germans want to ban torture breeding' for extreme characteristics. Plus: don't even think about swimming in British waters this EasterI'll say this for the Germans: when they're right, they're so right. Word reaches us that dachshunds are to be banned in Germany. Continue reading...

Analysis finds majority of paraquat, banned in 60 countries, is used in counties where Latinos make up 75% of the population or higherLow-income Latinos living in California are disproportionately threatened by paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide widely used on US cropland, a new analysis of state data finds.The notorious weedkiller is banned in more than 60 countries and for some uses in the US, like golf courses, because it is so dangerous. But the US government still allows its use on crops, putting agricultural workers or those living in communities near where it is spread at risk. Continue reading...

Vivien Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, believes biodiversity could help feed an entire planet in crisisThe first year that the Hudson Valley Seed Company tried growing yakteen at their farm in upstate New York, the heirloom variety of Palestinian gourd quickly spread until its vines were sending their tendrils across a full acre of land. Born of a partnership with the artist, researcher and conservationist Vivien Sansour, that pilot plot was just one of many pieces of evidence supporting Sansour's thesis: that saving Palestinian heirloom seeds could benefit not just Palestinians, but could help feed an entire planet in crisis.Sansour is the founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, a project that began in 2016 to conserve Palestinian heritage and culture by saving heirloom seed varieties and telling the stories and history from which they emerged. Continue reading...

Descendants of miners who dug up gold, silver and emeralds worth billions call on Colombia to halt plan to lift cargoIndigenous communities in Bolivia have objected to Colombia's plans to recover the remains of an 18th-century galleon believed to be carrying gold, silver and emeralds worth billions, calling on Spain and Unesco to step in and halt the project.Colombia hopes to begin recovering artefacts from the wreck of the San Jose in the coming months but the Caranga, Chicha and Killaka peoples in Bolivia propose that the galleon and its contents should be considered common and shared patrimony". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Satellite analysis revealed to the Guardian shows farms devastated and nearly half of the territory's trees razed. Alongside mounting air and water pollution, experts says Israel's onslaught on Gaza's ecosystems has made the area unlivableIn a dilapidated warehouse in Rafah, Soha Abu Diab is living with her three young daughters and more than 20 other family members. They have no running water, no fuel and are surrounded by running sewage and waste piling up.Like the rest of Gaza's residents, they fear the air they breathe is heavy with pollutants and that the water carries disease. Beyond the city streets lie razed orchards and olive groves, and farmland destroyed by bombs and bulldozers. Continue reading...

When the research team at Vernadsky base are not defending their homeland, they are on the frontline of the climate crisisWhen Ukraine's Antarctic research and supply vessel Noosfera left Odesa on its maiden voyage on 28 January 2022, it passed Russian warships in the Black Sea. A month later, Vladimir Putin launched Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour. Noosfera has not been back since.A few weeks later, and Noosfera would have been an important symbolic target for Russia," said Vadym Tkachenko, a biologist who recently completed his second Antarctic winter at Ukraine's Vernadsky base. The ship now supplies both Ukrainian and Polish Antarctic bases from Chile and South Africa twice a year, at the start and end of the winter. Continue reading...

The best of this week's wildlife photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Poor harvests in extreme weather conditions have led to a tripling of cocoa prices - but farmers have seen no benefitAround the world this holiday weekend, people will consume hundreds of millions of Easter eggs and bunnies, as part of an annual chocolate intake that can exceed 8kg (18lb) for every person in the UK, or 5kg in the US and Europe. But a global shortage of cacao - the seed from which chocolate is made - has brought warnings of a chocolate meltdown" that could see prices increase and bars shrink further.This week, cocoa prices rose to all-time highs on commodity exchanges in London and New York, reaching more than $10,000 a tonne for the first time, after the third consecutive poor harvest in west Africa. Ghana and Ivory Coast, which together produce more than half of the global cacao crop, have been hit by extreme weather supercharged by the climate crisis and the El Nino weather phenomenon. This has been exacerbated by disease and underinvestment in ageing plantations. Continue reading...

A process called biofortification puts nutrients directly into seeds and could reduce global hunger, but it's not a magic bulletIn 2004, Donald Davis and fellow scientists at the University of Texas made an alarming discovery: 43 foods, mostly vegetables, showed a marked decrease in nutrients between the mid and late 20th century.According to that research, the calcium in green beans dropped from 65 to 37mg. Vitamin A levels plummeted by almost half in asparagus. Broccoli stalks had less iron. Continue reading...

Decision increases concerns about financial future of UK's biggest water firm and increases prospect of nationalisation

Experts are trying everything from drums to whale calls to lure kiisaiis - or Brave Little Hunter - out of the Canadian lagoon she has been trapped in since the stranding death of her motherAs a two-year-old orca calf circled a lagoon off the west coast of Canada on Monday, she heard a comforting sound resonating through the unfamiliar place in which she found herself: the clicks and chirps of her great-aunt.But the calf, named kiisaiis (pronounced kwee-sahay-is, which roughly translates as Brave Little Hunter) by local First Nations people, could not locate another whale in the shallow waters. The calls, broadcast from speakers placed underwater, were part of a complex and desperate operation still under way to try to save the stranded calf. Continue reading...

Experts say the hybrids risk polluting' the genetic stock, but scientists disagree on how to deal with them. In Piedmont, Italy, the sight of a blond wolfdog signals the risk of another new litter

World's fossil-fuel producers on track to nearly quadruple output from newly approved projects by decade's end, report findsThe world's fossil-fuel producers are on track to nearly quadruple the amount of extracted oil and gas from newly approved projects by the end of this decade, with the US leading the way in a surge of activity that threatens to blow apart agreed climate goals, a new report has found.There can be no new oil and gas infrastructure if the planet is to avoid careering past 1.5C (2.7F) of global heating, above pre-industrial times, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has previously stated. Breaching this warming threshold, agreed to by governments in the Paris climate agreement, will see ever worsening effects such as heatwaves, floods, drought and more, scientists have warned. Continue reading...

The World Nature Photography award winners have been announced from a pool of entries from all corners of the globe - including a baby elephant in Kenya and an owl-like plant in Thailand. The top award and cash prize of $1,000 went to Tracey Lund from the UK for her image of two gannets under the water off the coast of the Shetland Islands. Lund and her fellow winners were drawn from thousands of images Continue reading...

French president tells Brazil forum both parties need to be much stronger' on biodiversity and climateEmmanuel Macron has called a proposed trade agreement between the EU and South America's Mercosur bloc a very bad deal" that lacks proper climate considerations.As it is negotiated today, it is a very bad deal, for you and for us," the French president told Brazilian businessmen in Sao Paulo on Wednesday while on a three-day trip to Brazil, Latin America's largest economy. Continue reading...