Category Archives: Environment

Biodiversity declining even faster in ‘protected’ areas, scientists warn Cop16

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Just designating key areas will not meet 30x30 target on nature loss, study says, pointing to oil drilling in parks

Biodiversity is declining more quickly within key protected areas than outside them, according to research that scientists say is a “wake-up call” to global leaders discussing how to stop nature loss at the UN’s Cop16 talks in Colombia.

Protecting 30% of land and water for nature by 2030 was one of the key targets settled on by world leaders in a landmark 2022 agreement to save nature – and this month leaders are gathering again at a summit in the Colombian city of Cali to measure progress and negotiate new agreements to stop biodiversity loss.

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‘Ambassador’ grizzly bear dies after being hit by car in Wyoming

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Grizzly No 399 was at least 28 years old and beloved by many in Grand Teton national park

A famous grizzly bear beloved for decades by countless tourists, biologists and professional wildlife photographers in Grand Teton national park is dead after being struck by a vehicle in western Wyoming.

Grizzly No 399 died on Tuesday night on a highway in Snake River Canyon south of Jackson, park officials said in a statement on Wednesday.

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Project to build German EV microchip factory put on hold

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US firm Wolfspeed and German car parts supplier ZF postpone plans over doubts about viability

A project to build a €3bn factory making microchips for electric vehicles once hailed as part of a “return of the industrial revolution” in Germany has been put on hold, as the crisis in the country’s hi-tech manufacturing industry deepens.

The US company Wolfspeed and the German car parts supplier ZF have postponed plans to build an EV chip factory, adding to problems caused by a delay to two large-scale factories belonging to the US chip giant Intel and possible factory closures being considered by Volkswagen.

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Plan to put solar panels on all new English homes could be scrapped

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Long-delayed regulations may ‘encourage’ housebuilders to equip homes with solar panels, rather than requiring them

Labour is considering making solar panels optional on new homes in England, after pressure from housebuilders, in a move that would weaken low-carbon regulations, the Guardian has learned.

Ministers are preparing to publish long-delayed regulations for new homes, known as the future homes standard, which would ensure that all newly built homes are low-carbon.

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Parks Australia ordered to pay $200,000 fine for disturbing sacred site in Kakadu national park

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Judge finds ‘reliance of trust’ breached when Parks Australia built walkway near rock art without permission

A landmark case has resulted in Parks Australia having to pay more than $700,000 in fines and compensation after pleading guilty to disturbing a sacred site in Kakadu national park.

Sitting by Gunlom Falls on Wednesday, Judge Elizabeth Morris ordered Parks Australia to pay a $200,000 fine for building a walkway near rock art without permission from the sacred sites watchdog, the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority.

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Cop29 host Azerbaijan set for major fossil gas expansion, report says

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Exclusive: Those with ‘interest in keeping world hooked on fossil fuels’ should not oversee climate talks, say report authors

Azerbaijan, the host of the Cop29 global climate summit, will see a large expansion of fossil gas production in the next decade, a new report has revealed. The authors said that the crucial negotiations should not be overseen by “those with a vested interest in keeping the world hooked on fossil fuels”.

Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and gas company, Socar, and its partners are set to raise the country’s annual gas production from 37bn cubic metres (bcm) today to 49bcm by 2033. Socar also recently agreed to increase gas exports to the European Union by 17% by 2026.

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Cockatoo rescued after ‘living on brioche’ for four weeks inside Sydney supermarket

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NSW environment minister hopes ‘Mickey will be flying free by tomorrow’ after successful capture by wildlife services

A sulphur-crested cockatoo called Mickey that had been “living on brioche” inside a Sydney supermarket for four weeks has been captured by wildlife services and is expected to be set free soon.

The New South Wales environment minister, Penny Sharpe, announced on Tuesday evening that the bird had “been safely captured by wildlife rescuers after spending way too long in Macarthur Square”.

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Millions of teenagers in Africa have undiagnosed asthma – study

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Rapid urbanisation thought to be damaging adolescent health, as researchers say need for medication and diagnostic tests is urgent

Millions of teenagers in Africa are suffering from asthma with no formal diagnosis as the continent undergoes rapid urbanisation, researchers have found.

The study, published in the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, involved 27,000 pupils from urban areas in Malawi, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria. It found more than 3,000 reported asthma symptoms, but only about 600 had a formal diagnosis.

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Australia to toughen rules around acceptable levels of key PFAS chemicals in drinking water under draft guidelines

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National Health and Medical Research Council proposal lowers the limits for four PFAS chemicals in drinking water

Australia could toughen the rules regarding the acceptable levels of key PFAS chemicals in drinking water, lowering the amount of so-called forever chemicals allowed per litre.

The National Health and Medical Research Council on Monday released draft guidelines revising the limits for four PFAS chemicals in drinking water.

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Cotswold wildlife park successfully breeds endangered Madagascan lemur

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Greater bamboo lemur births in captivity are extremely rare and park is only UK collection to have bred it this year

Cotswold wildlife park has successfully bred one of Madagascar’s most endangered lemurs.

The as yet unnamed youngster was born to a breeding male, Raphael, and female, Bijou, at the wildlife park.

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The ‘active transport’ ideas from around the world that could make Australians healthier and our cities cleaner

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Policies such as cash payouts for bicycle commuters have knock-on effects including reduced pollution and better physical and mental health

It’s time for a major rethink of transport in Australia, experts say – and, while some new ideas may meet resistance, “these are not ideas from radical left Scandinavian pot-smoking greenies”, Prof Matt Burke says.

Policies lumped together as “active transport” include proposals to offer rebates for people who ditch their cars for public transport, or cash payouts for people who cycle to work.

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Protecting the Green Triangle: experts warn of ‘irreversible’ groundwater decline

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The groundwater system in western Victoria and south-east South Australia has begun to show signs of collapse, threatening the water security of SA’s second biggest city

Some of the best-quality groundwater in Australia underlies the upper and lower south-east of South Australia and parts of south-western Victoria.

But almost 200 years of draw down for agriculture, farming and domestic use has changed the surface drainage. Underground water in some areas has collapsed and water quality is deteriorating, putting at risk not only a fragile natural ecosystem but a $5bn regional economy.

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Environmentalists acquitted after contentious murder trial in El Salvador

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Former guerillas were accused of 1989 killing, but supporters say government wants to intimidate activists

Six former guerrillas, whose trial for a civil war-era murder was criticised by fellow environmentalists as politicised, have been acquitted by a court in El Salvador.

Prosecutors had sought up to 36 years in prison for the former rebels of the hard-left Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front.

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Anti-fossil fuel comic that went viral in France arrives in UK

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World Without End topped bestseller lists but was criticised for embracing nuclear power

In 2019, France’s best known climate expert sat down to work with its most feted graphic novelist. The result? Perhaps the most terrifying comic ever drawn.

Part history, part analysis, part vision for the future, World Without End weaves the story of humanity’s rapacious appetite for fossil fuel energy, how it has made possible the society people take for granted, and its disastrous effects on the climate.

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Hundreds evacuated in Oakland after California brush fire grows out of control

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Residents told to flee as firefighters battle blaze, with two homes burned and several others damaged

A fast-moving fire fed by strong winds burned two homes on Friday and damaged several others in a hillside neighborhood in the city of Oakland, where roughly 500 people were ordered to evacuate, officials said.

Damon Covington, the city’s fire chief, said that at about 1.30pm, calls had come in reporting a fire in front of a home in the Oakland hills. Crews arrived as the inferno quickly grew with winds ranging from calm breezes to 40mph (64km/h) gusts during red-flag conditions.

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Sydney beaches reopen after tar balls wash ashore but mystery remains over source

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NSW Maritime executive director says balls appear to be made up of fatty acids, chemicals found in cleaning and cosmetic products, and fuel oil

A baffling tar ball emergency that closed major beaches in Sydney’s eastern suburbs appears to be over.

The remaining beaches closed to bathers at Coogee, Maroubra and Clovelly have been cleared to reopen on Saturday after Bondi and several others reopened on Friday.

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Could Australia’s outdated voltage standards be taking years off the life of your toaster?

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Lowering voltage about 5% could lower emissions and save customers on the national electricity market around $110 a year, research shows

Ever wondered why your trusty toaster abruptly failed or your widescreen TV suddenly went on the fritz, far too early in the life of the appliance?

Excessively high voltage levels might be to blame for their premature demise, energy experts say.

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Weather tracker: Storm destruction and 5cm hailstones hit south-east Australia

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Hail swath estimated at 120 miles damages crops in western Victoria as winds break windows and rip tiles from roofs

On Wednesday, the Australian state of Victoria was hit by thunderstorms. The town of Casterton was particularly badly affected, receiving 21mm of rain in just 30 minutes, followed by large hailstones.

Vehicles and properties were severely damaged, with reports of broken windows and tiles blown off roofs due to strong winds.

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Overwhelming majority of young Americans worry about climate crisis

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Survey of young people aged 16-25 from all US states shows concerns across political spectrum

The overwhelming majority of young Americans worry about the climate crisis, and more than half say their concerns about the environment will affect where they decide to live and whether to have children, new research finds.

The study comes just weeks after back-to-back hurricanes, Helene and Milton, pummeled the south-eastern US. Flooding from Helene caused more than 600 miles of destruction, from Florida’s west coast to the mountains of North Carolina, while Milton raked across the Florida peninsula less than two weeks later.

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Anti-whaling activist held in Greenland appeals for political asylum in France

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Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd organisation faces extradition to Japan after arrest in Nuuk in July

Paul Watson, the anti-whaling activist detained in Greenland and awaiting possible extradition to Japan, has appealed to Emmanuel Macron for political asylum in France.

Watson was detained in July after a Japanese request to Interpol over his confrontational tactics aimed at disrupting whaling operations in the Antarctic, and could face up to 15 years in prison if he is extradited and convicted.

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