Category Archives: Environment

Former Tory minister vows to vote Labour over party’s climate failures

Posted on by

Exclusive: Chris Skidmore, ex-energy minister, says Rishi Sunak’s bid to turn net zero into culture war issue is ‘greatest tragedy of his premiership’

The Conservatives’ former net zero tsar has revealed that he intends to vote Labour for the first time because Rishi Sunak has been “siding with climate deniers” to politicise the energy transition.

Writing exclusively in the Guardian, Chris Skidmore, a former energy minister, said he could not back the Tories, who had argued that net zero was “a burden and not a benefit”, a decision that he said would cost it votes.

Continue reading...

Nuclear engineer dismisses Peter Dutton’s claim that small modular reactors could be commercially viable soon

Posted on by

Hugh Durrant-Whyte says 2045 is a realistic timeframe, adding it was likely to be ‘more expensive than anything else you could possibly think of’

Australia would need “many decades” to develop the regulations and skills to operate a nuclear power plant, and the experience gained at the existing Lucas Heights facility won’t help much, according to New South Wales’ chief scientist and engineer.

Hugh Durrant-Whyte said he stood by comments made to a 2019 NSW upper house inquiry into uranium mining and nuclear facilities that running a plant and its fuel supply chain would require skills “built up over many decades”.

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

Continue reading...

Power bills could rise by $1,000 a year under Coalition plan to boost gas until nuclear is ready, analysts say

Posted on by

Experts predict major electricity price hikes if opposition proposal to slow rollout of large-scale renewable projects goes ahead

Australians’ annual household power bills could increase by hundreds of dollars, and up to $1,000, under a Coalition plan to slow the rollout of large-scale renewable energy and use more gas-fired electricity before nuclear plants are ready, analysts say.

As Peter Dutton faced cross-party resistance to his announcement that he would go to the next election promising to eventually build seven nuclear plants, energy market analysts warned the Coalition’s proposal would probably lead to a significant rise in prices over the next decade, before a nuclear industry came online.

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

Continue reading...

Activists spray planes with paint at UK airfield where Taylor Swift jet landed

Posted on by

Two Just Stop Oil activists broke into private airfield at Stansted airport on Thursday before targeting jets

Just Stop Oil activists have sprayed orange paint over private jets at Stansted airport on the airfield where Taylor Swift’s plane is stationed, the environmental group has said.

Two activists, Jennifer Kowalski, 28, a former sustainability manager from Dumbarton, and Cole Macdonald, 22, from Brighton, broke into a private airfield in Stansted at 5am on Thursday before targeting the jet.

Continue reading...

Deadly heat in Mexico and US made 35 times more likely by global heating

Posted on by

Researchers find extreme heat four times more likely than at turn of millennium and urge reduction in fossil fuels

The deadly heatwave that scorched large swaths of Mexico, Central America and the southern US in recent weeks was made 35 times more likely due to human-induced global heating, according to research by leading climate scientists from World Weather Attribution (WWA).

Tens of millions of people have endured dangerous day – and nighttime temperatures as a heat dome engulfed Mexico – a large and lingering zone of high pressure that stretched north to Texas, Arizona and Nevada, and south over Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Continue reading...

‘This is monumental’: Australia takes first step to world heritage nomination for parts of Cape York

Posted on by

‘We want this to be on the bucket list of visitors from around the world because it is so special globally,’ environment minister says

Australia has taken the first steps to nominating parts of Cape York for recognition as Unesco world heritage.

The area features 17,000 year-old rock art – some of the world’s largest – and is home to more than 300 threatened species, including the green sawfish, Cape York rock wallaby and southern cassowary.

Continue reading...

How the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu drastically cut plastic pollution

Posted on by

With lagoons once choked by rubbish, pressure from the appalled community led the government to ban certain single-use products

For generations, the people of Erakor village in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu would pass their time swimming in the local lagoon. Ken Andrew, a local chief, remembers diving in its depths when he was a child, chasing the fish that spawned in its turquoise waters.

That was decades ago. Now 52, Andrew has noticed a more pernicious entity invading the lagoon: plastic.

Continue reading...

Canada to ban open-net pen salmon farming in British Columbia

Posted on by

Environmentalists hail decision to end practice in five years but aquaculture industry warns of 6,000 jobs at risk

Canada will ban open-net pen salmon farming in British Columbia coastal waters in five years, the government has announced, a decision that has been welcomed by environmental groups but opposed by the aquaculture industry.

The Liberal government made the decision in 2019 to transition to closed containment technologies to protect declining wild Pacific salmon populations.

Continue reading...

France urged to step in to spur TotalEnergies’ transition from oil

Posted on by

Commission recommends 33-point plan to ensure oil giant complies with state climate commitments

The French government should intervene in TotalEnergies and spur faster climate action, a senate inquiry commission has concluded.

The commission, set up to explore ways the state could guarantee that the oil conglomerate complies with French climate commitments, recommended 33 steps the government should take to “encourage a rapid, orderly and effective transition”.

Continue reading...

‘No credible reason’ to expect cheaper power bills under Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy plan, experts say

Posted on by

Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute rejects Coalition’s claim electricity prices are high due to Labor’s renewables policy

Peter Dutton’s claim that nuclear energy would lead to cheaper power bills has been rejected by energy experts, with one saying there was “no credible reason” to think adding “the most expensive form of bulk electricity” would cut prices.

They said a range of evidence, including a recent CSIRO analysis, suggested nuclear power would be more expensive than other options, and that solar and wind system under construction – supported by firming technology – was the cheapest option.

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

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Dutton announces Coalition’s nuclear policy and proposed sites, but no costs

Posted on by

Sites named at Collie, Mt Piper, Callide, Tarong, Liddell, Northern energy in South Australia and Loy Yang. Follow the day’s news live

Sussan Ley says Coalition nuclear policy will be a ‘sensible proposition’

I just wanted to return to Sussan Ley’s appearance on Sky News this morning, where she was asked how a potential future Coalition nuclear policy would circumvent nuclear bans:

We’ll work through all that. We have a sensible proposition to put to the Australian people and I know that when we talk about nuclear people are starting to tune in, understanding that if 19 of the 20 biggest economies in the world are using nuclear, if it makes sense for cleaner baseload power, because it’s zero emissions, if it helps us get to 2050 net zero, if it does all of the things that we want it to do in terms of emissions, and in terms of securing affordable cheaper power for Australians … why would people not consider it? And I believe they will.

Now, the government says it’s renewables only. We can see that that’s actually not going to happen. The government talks about hydrogen, it’s not at scale. It’s not even something they can demonstrate works in that short timeframe and they talk about batteries that aren’t going to provide the storage for their renewables.

So, they are in a complete mess over this, and they need to be put on the sticky paper and asked what they are going to do for families, households and manufacturing businesses.

Continue reading...

Peter Dutton names seven potential nuclear power station sites but avoids questions on cost

Posted on by

Coalition will push ahead with potential sites across Australia, but serious questions remain about viability and cost

Peter Dutton has announced seven potential sites for nuclear power plants including two in Queensland and two proposed small modular reactors but dodged questions about the cost of the Coalition’s nuclear power plan.

A snap Coalition party room meeting on Wednesday heard the opposition will propose that Tarong and Callide in Queensland; Mount Piper and Liddell in New South Wales; Collie in Western Australia; Loy Yang in Victoria; and the Northern power station in South Australia could host nuclear power plants.

Continue reading...

Microplastic discovery in penises raises erectile dysfunction questions

Posted on by

The contaminants have also recently been found in testes and semen amid concerns about falling male fertility

Microplastics have been discovered in penises for the first time, raising questions about a potential role in erectile dysfunction.

The revelation comes after the pollutants were recently detected in testes and semen. Male fertility has fallen in recent decades and more research on potential harm of microplastics to reproduction is imperative, say experts.

Continue reading...

Indian engineers warn of prolonged blackouts amid searing heatwave

Posted on by

Increasing use of fans, air coolers and air conditioners is placing ‘serious’ strain on grid in north of country

Engineers in India have warned of the possibility of prolonged power outages in the north, where a heatwave has brought misery for millions of people.

Demand for electricity has soared due to fans, air coolers and air conditioners being run constantly, placing a strain on the grid in Delhi and elsewhere in the north. Manufacturers of air conditioners and air coolers report sales rising by 40-50% compared with last summer.

Continue reading...

Matt Kean, a sometimes lone Coalition voice on climate threat, announces shock retirement

Posted on by

NSW Liberal MP rules out running for federal parliament as he exits state politics after 13 years

New South Wales Liberal MP Matt Kean has announced his resignation from politics after 13 years in state parliament.

Kean made the surprise announcement in a snap press conference at NSW parliament on Tuesday, hours after the Minns Labor government handed down its second budget.

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

Continue reading...

Coalition’s climate and energy policy in disarray as opposition splits over nuclear and renewables

Posted on by

Simon Birmingham contradicts Nationals’ leader, saying renewables are ‘an important part of the mix’ while Queensland LNP leader rules out nuclear

The federal Coalition’s climate and energy policy is in disarray, with a senior Liberal contradicting the Nationals’ anti-renewables push and the Queensland LNP leader ruling out allowing nuclear energy in that state.

After the Nationals further undermined the push for net zero by 2050 by claiming the Coalition would “cap” investment in large-scale renewable energy, the Liberal leader in the Senate, Simon Birmingham, declared on Tuesday it is an “important part of the mix”.

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

Continue reading...

Millions face record-high temperatures as heat dome intensifies over US

Posted on by

Cities in midwest and north-east brace for heatwave with some to experience highs of 105F – 25 degrees above normal

Extreme heat has begun to hit the US, delivered by a high-pressure weather pattern that the federal weather prediction center says will be “potentially the longest experienced in decades for some locations”.

According to meteorologists with WeatherBELL Analytics, about 265 million people in the US are forecast to see air temperatures reach or exceed 90F (32C), with many of them experiencing heat indices of about 105F by next Sunday.

Continue reading...

Coldplay: vinyl copies of new album Moon Music will be made from old plastic bottles

Posted on by

Band say carbon emissions for vinyl production will be reduced by 85% thanks to new method, as they announce 10th studio album

Coldplay are aiming to make the most ecologically sustainable vinyl record yet, for their newly announced album Moon Music.

Each 140g vinyl copy of Moon Music, released 4 October, will be manufactured from nine plastic bottles recovered from consumer waste. For a special “notebook edition”, 70% of the plastic has been intercepted by the environmental nonprofit The Ocean Cleanup from Rio Las Vacas, Guatemala, preventing it from entering the Gulf of Honduras and the Atlantic Ocean.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Mexico and southern Texas brace for torrential rain

Posted on by

Disturbance in south-west Gulf of Mexico has 60% chance of developing into a hurricane over next seven days

A weather system is set to move over southern Texas and Mexico through this week, bringing vast quantities of rain. The National Hurricane Center noted a tropical disturbance in the south-west Gulf of Mexico that has a 60% chance of developing into a tropical depression during the next seven days. This potential tropical depression, essentially an area of low pressure, may be in a spot where the environmental conditions are good for its gradual development, and could end up moving towards hurricane status.

But even if it does not turn into a hurricane, heavy rain is expected to affect southern Texas and Mexico. Southern Texas may experience up to 100mm (3.9in) of rainfall on Wednesday through to Friday, and some Mexican states bordering the gulf may have up to 150mm. Rainfall totals of this magnitude, especially within such a small time frame, can cause catastrophic, life-threatening flooding.

Continue reading...

EU passes law to restore 20% of bloc’s land and sea by end of decade

Posted on by

Narrow win for supporters after fierce farmers’ protests, loss of green seats to far right and political wrangling

The EU has passed a landmark law to protect nature after a knife-edge vote, ending a months-long deadlock among member states spooked by fierce protests from farmers.

The law, which has proven to be the most controversial pillar of the European Green Deal and nearly failed at the final hurdle, sets a target to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea by the end of the decade.

Continue reading...