Category Archives: Environment

Climate change could make insurance too expensive for most people – report

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Munich Re, world’s largest reinsurance firm, warns premium rises could become social issue

Insurers have warned that climate change could make cover for ordinary people unaffordable after the world’s largest reinsurance firm blamed global warming for $24bn (£18bn) of losses in the Californian wildfires.

Ernst Rauch, Munich Re’s chief climatologist, told the Guardian that the costs could soon be widely felt, with premium rises already under discussion with clients holding asset concentrations in vulnerable parts of the state.

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Final Wittenoom residents to be forced out of asbestos-ridden mining town

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Western Australian government to compulsorily acquire properties in deadly Pilbara site, where there are fears for tourists who still visit the area

Landowners who refuse to move from the most contaminated site in the southern hemisphere will have their properties compulsorily acquired by the Western Australian government.

A bill to finalise the closure of the former asbestos mining town Wittenoom in the Pilbara, which was de-gazetted in 2007, was due to be introduced to state parliament on Wednesday.

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US judge halts hundreds of drilling projects in groundbreaking climate change ruling

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In a rebuke of the Trump administration’s ‘energy-first’ agenda, a judge rules greenhouse gas emissions must be considered

In the first significant check on the Trump administration’s “energy-first” agenda, a US judge has temporarily halted hundreds of drilling projects for failing to take climate change into account.

Drilling had been stalled on more than 300,000 acres of public land in Wyoming after it was ruled the Trump administration violated environmental laws by failing to consider greenhouse gas emissions. The federal judge has ordered the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages US public lands and issues leases to the energy industry, to redo its analysis.

The decision stems from an environmental lawsuit. WildEarth Guardians, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Western Environmental Law Center sued the BLM in 2016 for failing to calculate and limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from future oil and gas projects.

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Mozambique rescue teams struggle to save thousands

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Workers appeal for more helicopters as flood waters keep rising after Cyclone Idai

Rescue teams in Mozambique are struggling to reach the thousands of people stranded on roofs and in trees and urgently need more helicopters and boats as post-cyclone flood waters continue to rise.

Mozambique, which was hit by Cyclone Idai over the weekend, has declared a state of emergency and is appealing for international help.

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Chinese fishmeal plants leave fishermen in the Gambia all at sea | Hannah Summers

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Scientists and campaigners warn that factories in coastal villages are wreaking environmental and economic havoc

Before the arrival of fishmeal factories in the Gambia, Musa Duboe would catch red snapper and barracuda to be sold at the local market. But his income had begun to dwindle due to depleted stocks.

Then in 2016 the Chinese-owned fishmeal plant Golden Lead began operating out of the coastal town of Gunjur, increasing demand for fish to export for overseas aquaculture.

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Report calls for reform of ‘unhealthy’ land ownership in Scotland

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Commission set up by Scottish government recommends new powers to split monopolies

Scottish land ownership rules must be radically reformed to reverse the concentration of the countryside in the hands of a small number of ultra-wealthy individuals and public bodies, a major review has warned.

The study by the Scottish Land Commission, a government quango, says that in extreme cases where landowners abuse their power they could face compulsory purchase or community buyouts.

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Brazilian drug gang opens fire on convoy of trucks carrying nuclear fuel

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Latest incident raises concerns about Brazil’s nuclear security in a state struggling with violent crime

A convoy of trucks carrying nuclear fuel came under armed attack on a highway in Rio de Janeiro state on Tuesday as it drove past a community controlled by a drug gang. Gang members armed with rifles opened fire on the convoy, Rio’s O Globo newspaper said.

Armed police escorting the convoy exchanged fire with armed gang members as the trucks carrying uranium continued to a nearby nuclear plant. The attack is the latest of several violent incidents in the area where Brazil has two nuclear reactors and has raised concerns about its nuclear security in a state struggling with high levels of violent crime.

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Nebraska floods: private pilots fly in to help city walled off by water

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Some are offering free flights to shuttle stranded residents to and from Fremont, and bringing in supplies

A Nebraska city walled off by massive flooding is getting a big lift from private pilots who are offering free flights to shuttle stranded residents to and from their hometown.

Flooding from the Platte River and other waterways is so bad that just one highway lane into Fremont remains uncovered, authorities said Monday. Emergency responders have restricted access for safety reasons, leaving residents in the city of 26,000 stuck on an island in the middle of Nebraska farm country, about 40 miles north-west of Omaha. The flooding in Fremont comes as communities in several midwestern states grapple with swollen rivers and breached or overtopped levees following heavy rain and snowmelt.

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Use forecast to talk about climate change, urges ex-BBC presenter

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Bill Giles calls on broadcasters to add slot explaining humans’ impact on climate

The veteran weatherman Bill Giles is calling on the BBC and other major broadcasters to radically overhaul their forecasts to incorporate information about climate change.

The former head of BBC weather presenters has said more needs to be done by broadcasters to highlight climate change to face the “reality more squarely and openly”.

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England could run short of water within 25 years

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Exclusive: Environment Agency chief calls for use to be cut by a third

England is set to run short of water within 25 years, the chief executive of the Environment Agency has warned.

The country is facing the ‘‘jaws of death”, Sir James Bevan said, at the point where water demand from the country’s rising population surpasses the falling supply resulting from climate change.

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US and Saudi Arabia blocking regulation of geoengineering, sources say

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Delegates at UN environment assembly say the oil producers are protecting their industries

The United States and Saudi Arabia have hamstrung global efforts to scrutinise climate geoengineering in order to benefit their fossil fuel industries, according to multiple sources at the United Nations environment assembly, taking place this week in Nairobi.

The world’s two biggest oil producers reportedly led opposition against plans to examine the risks of climate-manipulating technology such as sucking carbon out of the air, reflective mirrors in space, seeding the oceans and injecting particulates into the atmosphere.

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At least 50 people killed by flash floods in eastern Indonesia

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Torrential rain in Papua province triggers landslides, damaging dozens of homes

At least 50 people have been killed by flash floods in Indonesia’s eastern Papua province.

The floods in Sentani, near the provincial capital of Jayapura, were triggered by torrential rain and subsequent landslides on Saturday, and also left 59 people injured.

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‘It’s our time to rise up’: youth climate strikes held in 100 countries

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School and university students continue Friday protests to call for political action on crisis

From Australia to America, children put down their books on Friday to march for change in the first global climate strike.

The event was embraced in the developing nations of India and Uganda and in the Philippines and Nepal – countries acutely impacted by climate change - as tens of thousands of schoolchildren and students in more than 100 countries went on “strike”, demanding the political elite urgently address what they say is a climate emergency.

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Former Liberal adviser appointed head of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

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Josh Thomas, who worked with three Liberal environment ministers, will get an annual salary of $353,180

A former policy adviser to multiple Liberal party environment ministers has been appointed the new chief executive of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the government body responsible for managing the reef.

Josh Thomas, who worked as an adviser to current minister Melissa Price, as well as former environment ministers Josh Frydenberg and Greg Hunt, will start a five-year term in the role on 18 March with an annual salary of $353,180.

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Pollutionwatch: China shows how political will can take on air pollution

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Sulphur dioxide in Beijing was reduced by 70% and particle pollution by 36% in just four years

It’s been a while since we saw images of smog-obscured Beijing landmarks in the news. A United Nations report explains this.

In four years, sulphur dioxide in the city was reduced by 70% and particle pollution by 36% by tackling the problem at source. Initially, old coal-powered industry and power stations were fitted with air pollution abatement systems before being replaced by cleaner facilities built to run on natural gas.

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‘Social disaster’: South Korea brings in emergency laws to tackle dust pollution

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Air quality has become a key political issue after record pollution levels hit the country last week

South Korea has passed emergency measures to tackle the “social disaster” being unleashed by air pollution, after record levels of fine dust blanketed most of the country in recent weeks.

The national assembly passed a series of bills on Wednesday giving authorities access to emergency funds for measures that include the mandatory installation of high-capacity air purifiers in classrooms and encouraging sales of liquified petroleum gas vehicles, which produce lower emissions than those that run on petrol and diesel.

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‘A good day’: New Zealand adds area half the size of Auckland to national park

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Environmentalists ‘stoked’ by expansion they say will protect blue duck, native kaka bird, bats and giant land snails

A national park in New Zealand has been expanded by 64,000 hectares – the largest gain for a national park in the country’s history.

Kahurangi national park is situated in the north-west corner of New Zealand’s South Island, and is already the second-largest national park in the country.

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Resource extraction responsible for half world’s carbon emissions

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Extraction also causes 80% of biodiversity loss, according to comprehensive UN study

Extraction industries are responsible for half of the world’s carbon emissions and more than 80% of biodiversity loss, according to the most comprehensive environmental tally undertaken of mining and farming.

While this is crucial for food, fuel and minerals, the study by UN Environment warns the increasing material weight of the world’s economies is putting a more dangerous level of stress on the climate and natural life-support systems than previously thought.

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