Category Archives: Environment

‘The whole thing stinks’: UK water firms to pay out £14.7bn in dividends as customers foot sewage costs

Posted on by

With cost of cleanup to be passed on to bill payers, analysis shows they will also pay £624 more by 2030 to fund investor payouts

Water companies will pay an estimated £14.7bn in dividends by the end of this decade, while making customers pay for new investment to stem the tide of sewage pollution in seas and rivers, analysis for the Observer has revealed.

Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron denounced the billions going to shareholders as “absolutely scandalous” while families struggling with the cost of living would be facing increases in bills to pay for the sewage cleanup.

Continue reading...

Tidal barrier proposal for Lincolnshire and Norfolk sets off wave of opposition

Posted on by

Wildlife and environment groups condemn plan promising renewable energy for 600,000 homes

Plans for a renewable energy tidal barrier linking Norfolk and Lincolnshire have sparked fierce debate between scientists, wildlife charities and a port company CEO who is leading the project.

Entrepreneur James Sutcliffe, who has managed and advised port companies in Sierra Leone and Bangladesh, has now set his sights on the Wash, which is the sea, mudflats and salt marsh between the two counties.

Continue reading...

‘No one saw this level of devastation coming’: climate crisis worsens in Somalia

Posted on by

Torrential rain, coming on top of the country’s worst drought in four decades, has forced 250,000 people to leave their homes

Jamal Ali Abdi has seen flooding in Beledweyne before but never on the scale witnessed earlier this month when the Shabelle River burst its banks, causing devastation to the central Somali town and displacing almost the entire population.

As water gushed through the streets, Ali’s home was soon surrounded by murky brown flood water.

Continue reading...

Sierra Club clashes with union over layoffs and restructuring plan

Posted on by

Staffers raise concerns about inclusivity and accountability after US environmental organization says it needs to cut costs

The Sierra Club, one of the US’s oldest and largest environmental advocacy groups, is going through a turbulent restructuring, which a union has issued two formal complaints about and warned could lead to more than 100 job losses.

Some staff also raised questions about how the changes might affect its recent efforts to improve workplace culture following allegations of misconduct, and boost inclusivity in the aftermath of scrutiny over the racial views of its founder, the conservationist John Muir.

Continue reading...

Italy’s disasters suggest the climate crisis is at the gates of Europe

Posted on by

This week’s floods are latest weather disaster to hit country, as policymakers finally begin to respond to crescendo

This week, parts of northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region received half their average annual rainfall in just 36 hours. Rivers burst their banks and thousands of acres of farmland lie submerged. By Thursday evening, an estimated 20,000 people had been left homeless and 13 were confirmed dead.

It is just the latest weather disaster to hit the country. Six months ago, 12 people died on the southern island of Ischia in a landslide triggered by torrential rain. Eleven more were killed last September by flash floods in the central region of Marche.

Continue reading...

Developing country voices will be excluded at UN plastic talks, say NGOs

Posted on by

Limits on numbers at Paris summit mean some of those ‘most needing to be heard’ will not be in attendance

Scientists and NGOs have accused the UN’s environment programme (Unep) of locking out those “most needing to be heard” from upcoming negotiations in Paris aimed at halting plastic waste.

Last-minute restrictions to the numbers of NGOs attending what the head of Unep described as the “most important multilateral environmental deal” in a decade will exclude people from communities in developing countries harmed by dumping and burning of plastic waste as well as marginalised waste pickers, who are crucial to recycling, from fully participating, they said.

Continue reading...

Death toll mounts in Italy’s worst flooding for 100 years

Posted on by

Older and disabled people trapped in homes as rescuers battle harsh conditions in Emilia-Romagna region

Older and disabled people were trapped in their homes as rescuers worked under pounding rain throughout the night to save people in the most catastrophic flooding to affect Italy in 100 years.

The floods in the northern Emilia-Romagna region have claimed 13 lives as of Thursday evening. An estimated 20,000 have been left homeless in a disaster that caused 23 rivers to burst their banks and 280 landslides, engulfing 41 cities and towns.

Continue reading...

‘The city was underwater’: quarter of a million Somalis flee flooded homes

Posted on by

Climate crisis a key factor in flash flooding of Beledweyne as rains end drought and Shabelle River breaks its banks

Floods have caused almost a quarter of a million people to flee their homes after the Shabelle River in central Somalia broke its banks and submerged the town of Beledweyne, even as the country faces its most severe drought in four decades, according to the government.

Aid agencies and scientists have warned that the climate crisis is among the most significant factors accelerating humanitarian emergencies, while those affected are some of the least responsible for CO2 emissions.

Continue reading...

Climate breakdown made southern Asia heatwave at least 2C hotter, study finds

Posted on by

Temperatures up to 45C recorded in April in parts of India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Laos

A searing heatwave in parts of southern Asia in April was made at least 30 times more likely by climate breakdown, according to a study by international scientists.

Unusually high temperatures of up to 45C (113F) were recorded last month in monitoring stations in parts of India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Laos.

Continue reading...

Could Guyana’s Exxon ruling scare big oil off risky exploration?

Posted on by

Ruling requiring ‘unlimited guarantee’ from oil firms to cover costs of spills could change offshore drilling throughout region

A ruling from Guyana’s high court could change the face of offshore oil drilling throughout the Caribbean, according to financial and legal analysts.

The ruling ordered the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require an independent liability insurance policy from Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL) and an “unlimited guarantee” from its parent company, ExxonMobil, in the case of any damage caused by the company’s oil and gas development in the country.

Continue reading...

Devastating floods in Italy claim lives and leave thousands homeless

Posted on by

Twenty-one rivers burst their banks after heavy storms across country cause landslides and submerge villages

Nine people have died and thousands have been evacuated from their homes after heavy storms wreaked havoc in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, causing severe flooding and landslides.

People sought refuge on the rooftops of their homes after 21 rivers broke their banks, submerging entire towns.

Continue reading...

Norway under pressure to scale back fossil fuel expansion plans north sea

Posted on by

Campaigners say development of huge Rosebank field in North Sea would drive climate breakdown

The Norwegian government is facing growing pressure to scale back its huge global fossil fuel expansion plans – including the development of a controversial new oilfield in the North Sea.

Climate activists from around the world descended on Stavanger in Norway last week to attend the AGM of the state-owned oil and gas giant Equinor. They warned that its plans to develop the huge Rosebank field in the North Sea, as well as other mega-projects in Canada, Brazil and Suriname, would drive climate breakdown with devastating consequences for humanity.

Continue reading...

MP questions referendum wording – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Quad still a priority, White House says

Despite the postponement of Joe Biden’s visit, the White House says that partnerships like the Quad remain a priority.

Revitalizing and reinvigorating our alliances and advancing partnerships like the Quad remains a key priority for the President. This is vital to our ability to advance our foreign policy goals and better promote global stability and prosperity. We look forward to finding other ways to engage with Australia, the Quad, Papua New Guinea and the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum in the coming year.

I think he will obviously be working very hard for this not to happen. We’ve danced this dance before, as the phrase goes …

I think we’ll get to a good place and I think that’s why he’s wanting to stay there, to focus on just that.

Continue reading...

Snowy 2.0 project making no progress on a number of environmental requirements, report says

Posted on by

Ten of 16 management plans for multibillion-dollar pumped hydro project overdue by up to 31 months, says National Parks Association

Snowy Hydro’s giant pumped hydro project is in breach of its conditions of approval, with many of its management plans overdue and no progress on its threatened fish and biosecurity programs, the National Parks Association has said.

The multibillion-dollar Snowy 2.0 project, already delayed until possibly 2029 with one of its tunnel borers stuck for months, was found to be non-compliant in 15 instances by the third independent audit, completed last year. It also cited 11 additional “opportunities for improvement”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

No 10 food summit ‘no more than a PR stunt’ and failed to tackle key issues

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak’s Farm to Fork meeting, the first of its kind, failed to address solutions to inflation, soaring costs and food security, say attenders

Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street food summit has been described as “empty" by food and farming industry representatives, who rounded on the prime minister for failing to discuss soaring inflation or set out measures to safeguard British food production.

The Farm to Fork summit, the first meeting of its kind, brought together farmers, food producers and some of Britain’s largest supermarkets.

Continue reading...

Potential antidote found for toxin in world’s most poisonous mushroom

Posted on by

Chinese and Australian researchers have identified that a dye used in medical imaging can block the toxic effects

Scientists believe they have found a potential antidote for a potent toxin found in the world’s most poisonous mushroom, the death cap.

The death cap mushroom, Amanita phalloides, is responsible for about 90% of mushroom-related deaths globally.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Grid connection delays for low-carbon projects ‘unacceptable’, says Ofgem

Posted on by

Watchdog’s chief writes to energy bosses as Grid sets out plan to cut waits by up to a decade

The energy watchdog for Great Britainwill label the decade-long wait to connect low-carbon projects to the electricity grid as “unacceptable”, amid tensions over a “blame game” for a mounting backlog of green power projects.

Jonathan Brearley, the chief executive of Ofgem, has written to energy bosses to warn that the current system, whereby energy projects queue for their connection, could be replaced by new methods to match power generation with demand.

Continue reading...

Intensive farming is biggest cause of bird decline in Europe, study says

Posted on by

Use of pesticides and fertilisers identified as most significant factor behind loss of 550 million birds from skies

The use of pesticides and fertilisers in intensive agriculture is the biggest cause of the dwindling number of birds in the UK and the rest of Europe, scientists have said.

Compared with a generation ago, 550 million fewer birds fly over the continent, with their decline well documented. But until now the relative importance of various pressures on bird populations was not known.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Cyclone Mocha batters Bangladesh and Myanmar

Posted on by

Refugee camps bear brunt of deadly category-5 storm, while temperature divide is expected in North America

Cyclone Mocha brought strong winds and torrential rain to parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar on Sunday, with refugee camps bearing the brunt of the category-5 storm, leaving at least five dead and causing half a million people to be evacuated.

The region was rocked by sustained winds of more than 160mph as Mocha made landfall, whipping up gusts closer to 200mph and a storm surge of up to 4 metres. The world’s largest refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, was badly hit and more than 1,300 shelters were destroyed. Heavy rain triggered landslides and floods.

Continue reading...

Inquiry into Menindee ‘catastrophic fish deaths’ to consider ways to prevent future ecological disasters

Posted on by

Terms of reference include water monitoring data, environmental conditions and whether community consultation was sufficient

An independent inquiry into the deaths of millions of fish in the Darling-Baaka River at Menindee in March will look at whether local management interventions could prevent future fish kills.

The terms of reference for the inquiry, which was announced last month, were released on Monday. They include an investigation of the environmental conditions and water monitoring data in the lead up to the fish kill, the success of the emergency management framework which saw New South Wales Police as the lead agency responding to an ecological and public health disaster and whether there was sufficient community consultation, particularly with First Nations people.

Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter

Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletter

Join the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the community

Continue reading...